Notes Stack for Legal Professionals
Legal research demands precision, organization, and confidentiality. Notes Stack lives in your browser side panel so you can annotate case law, organize research by matter, and keep sensitive client notes secure — all without leaving your research platform.
Why Legal Professionals Choose Notes Stack
Lawyers spend hours reading case opinions, statutes, and filings online. Notes Stack lets you capture your analysis right where you read it, so your reasoning is always attached to the source.
- Case law annotations — While reading an opinion on Westlaw or LexisNexis, open the side panel and note the holding, key reasoning, and how it applies to your matter. Return to that case weeks later and your analysis is waiting.
- Client matter stacks — Create a stack for each client or case. All research notes, filing deadlines, and strategy memos live in one organized place.
- Statutory analysis — Annotate individual statutes with your interpretation, related case law, and how they affect your argument.
- PIN-lock confidential notes — Protect client-privileged information, case strategy, and settlement figures behind a PIN. Essential for shared workstations and screen-sharing situations.
Tips and Tricks
Create a stack for each matter number or case. Color-code by practice area (e.g., blue for corporate, red for litigation, green for IP). This gives you instant visual organization across your caseload.
Use a consistent format for every case you review: Citation, Facts, Issue, Holding, Reasoning, Application to our matter. This IRAC-style format keeps your research systematic and reviewable.
Statute of limitations, response deadlines, and filing dates are non-negotiable. Set browser reminders for critical deadlines, with advance warnings to give yourself preparation time.
Filter notes by westlaw.com or lexisnexis.com to see all your case research in one view. This is especially helpful when you need to review everything you've read for a specific motion.
Export a matter stack to CSV before writing a memorandum. The exported data includes case URLs, timestamps, and your annotations — a ready-made outline for your legal argument.
Platforms That Work Great With Notes Stack
- Westlaw — Annotate case opinions, statutes, and secondary sources with your own analysis and matter-specific notes.
- LexisNexis — Keep research notes attached to the cases and articles you find during legal research sessions.
- PACER — Add notes to court filings, docket entries, and case documents as you track federal litigation.
- Google Scholar — Annotate legal opinions available through Google Scholar's case law database.
- Clio — Supplement your practice management tool with quick side-panel notes on client matters.
- SEC EDGAR — Annotate SEC filings and corporate disclosures during securities research.
A Real-World Workflow
- Receive a new matter — Create a "Johnson v. Smith" stack with a red litigation color code.
- Research case law — Search Westlaw for relevant precedent. On each case, open the side panel and note the holding, key reasoning, and relevance to your arguments.
- Analyze statutes — Navigate to the relevant statute. Annotate each section with your interpretation and how opposing counsel might argue differently.
- Track deadlines — Set reminders for the motion to dismiss deadline (30 days) and discovery cutoff (90 days).
- Draft the motion — Export your matter stack to CSV. Use the structured annotations as the foundation for your memorandum of law.
- Secure and archive — PIN-lock notes containing privileged strategy discussions. After the matter closes, export the full stack for your permanent file.
Precision, organization, and confidentiality — Notes Stack brings all three to your legal research workflow.
Ready to get started?
Add Notes Stack to your browser and start capturing ideas right from the side panel.
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