Laymans vs CoCounsel

CoCounsel and Laymans represent two fundamentally different approaches to applying AI technology in the legal field. CoCounsel, developed by Thomson Reuters (acquired from Casetext), is an enterprise-grade legal AI assistant designed for attorneys and law firms, deeply integrated with Westlaw and other professional research tools. Laymans, by contrast, is a B2B2C legal platform built to bridge the "legal aid gap" - serving pro se litigants, small businesses, and legal professionals who work with underserved communities. While CoCounsel enhances the efficiency of established legal practices, Laymans focuses on democratizing access to legal tools and education for those who cannot afford traditional representation.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Laymans	CoCounsel
Primary Users	Pro se litigants, small businesses, community-focused attorneys	Law firms, corporate legal departments, practicing attorneys
Pricing Model	Freemium with free educational resources	Enterprise subscription, integrated with Westlaw pricing
Core Purpose	Access to justice for underserved populations	Efficiency enhancement for legal professionals
AI Assistant	"Leyla" - document drafting, legal education	Legal research, document review, contract analysis
Document Templates	600+ contracts and legal forms	N/A (focuses on research, not templates)
Legal Research	Educational resources, seminar system	Advanced AI-powered legal research with case law analysis
Collaboration	Movements (pre-class action organizing), Campaigns (crowdfunding)	Law firm workflow integration, team collaboration
Integration	Standalone platform with unbundled services marketplace	Deep integration with Westlaw, Practical Law, Thomson Reuters ecosystem
Learning System	4MAT educational seminars for legal literacy	Professional legal research training
Financing Options	Case Funds (litigation financing), Campaigns (crowdfunding)	N/A

What is CoCounsel?

CoCounsel is an AI-powered legal assistant developed by Casetext and acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2023. Built on OpenAI's GPT-4 technology, CoCounsel is specifically trained on legal data to assist attorneys with high-level legal work. The platform excels at tasks traditionally performed by junior associates: legal research memoranda, document review, contract analysis, deposition preparation, and timeline creation from discovery materials.

CoCounsel is designed for licensed attorneys and legal professionals working in law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies. It integrates seamlessly with Thomson Reuters' Westlaw research platform, allowing lawyers to leverage AI-powered insights alongside traditional legal research databases. The tool is positioned as a "co-counsel" rather than a replacement - augmenting attorney capabilities while maintaining the requirement for human judgment and oversight.

The pricing model reflects its enterprise focus. CoCounsel is typically sold as part of Thomson Reuters' professional legal subscription packages, often bundled with Westlaw access. Individual pricing is not publicly advertised, with costs negotiated based on firm size, usage volume, and integration needs. This positions CoCounsel firmly in the professional legal services market, inaccessible to individuals and small practices without substantial budgets.

What is Laymans?

Laymans is a comprehensive legal platform designed to serve the 80% of Americans who face civil legal issues but cannot afford traditional legal representation - the "legal aid gap." The platform operates on a B2B2C model, serving three primary audiences: pro se litigants (individuals representing themselves), small businesses and organizations, and legal professionals who work with underserved communities.

At its core, Laymans provides free educational seminars using the 4MAT learning system, which adapts legal education to different learning styles. The AI assistant "Leyla" helps users draft legal documents, understand legal concepts, and navigate the legal system. The platform includes over 600 contract templates, an unbundled legal services marketplace connecting users with attorneys for specific tasks, and unique features like Movements (for organizing collective legal action before formal class certification) and Campaigns (litigation crowdfunding tools).

Laymans emphasizes community-driven solutions and access to justice. Case Funds enable litigation financing for individuals who cannot afford upfront legal costs. The platform is designed to be mobile-accessible and user-friendly for people without legal training, while still providing sophisticated tools for legal professionals serving these communities. Unlike enterprise legal tech, Laymans operates on a freemium model with many core features available at no cost, lowering barriers to legal information and assistance.

Key Differences

Target Audience

CoCounsel serves licensed attorneys, paralegals, and legal departments in established law firms, corporations, and government agencies. Users are expected to have legal training and understanding of legal research, case law, and professional practice standards. The tool assumes users already know what legal questions to ask and how to evaluate AI-generated legal analysis.

Laymans serves three distinct groups: (1) Pro se litigants - individuals representing themselves in legal matters, often due to financial constraints; (2) Small businesses and community organizations that cannot afford ongoing legal counsel; (3) Legal professionals who work with underserved populations, including solo practitioners, legal aid attorneys, and community advocates. The platform is designed for users without legal training, though it also provides professional-grade tools for attorneys.

Pricing Model

CoCounsel operates on an enterprise subscription model, typically bundled with Thomson Reuters' Westlaw and other professional legal products. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies based on firm size, number of users, and usage volume. The cost structure assumes institutional budgets, making it inaccessible to individuals and many small practices. Annual costs for a firm can range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on scale.

Laymans uses a freemium model designed to maximize access. Educational seminars, basic AI assistance from Leyla, and many legal resources are available at no cost. Premium features like advanced templates, priority support, and specialized tools are offered at accessible price points. The unbundled legal services marketplace operates on a fee-per-service model, allowing users to pay only for specific legal tasks they need rather than retaining full representation.

Core Features

CoCounsel's strengths lie in professional legal research and document analysis. Key capabilities include:

• AI-generated legal research memos with case law citations
• Contract review and analysis identifying issues, risks, and non-standard clauses
• Document review across large discovery sets, extracting key information
• Deposition and hearing preparation from case materials
• Timeline generation from legal documents
• Skills-based searching using natural language instead of Boolean operators

Laymans' features center on access, education, and community action:

• 600+ legal document templates for contracts, forms, and filings
• Free educational seminars using the 4MAT learning system
• AI assistant "Leyla" for document drafting and legal concept explanation
• Movements for organizing collective legal action (pre-class action coordination)
• Campaigns for litigation crowdfunding and community support
• Case Funds for litigation financing
• Unbundled legal services marketplace connecting users with attorneys for specific tasks
• Mobile-optimized interface for accessibility

AI Capabilities

CoCounsel leverages GPT-4 technology specifically fine-tuned on legal corpora including case law, statutes, regulations, and legal documents. The AI is trained to perform tasks traditionally done by attorneys: analyzing legal issues, identifying relevant precedents, reviewing contracts for standard clauses and deviations, and synthesizing information from large document sets. The AI output is designed to be reviewed and validated by licensed attorneys, not used directly by end clients.

Laymans' AI assistant "Leyla" focuses on legal education, document drafting assistance, and simplifying legal concepts for non-lawyers. Rather than performing attorney-level analysis, Leyla helps users understand their legal options, guides them through document creation using templates, and provides context about legal processes. The AI is designed to empower self-representation while acknowledging its limitations and directing users to professional legal assistance when necessary.

When to Use CoCounsel

CoCounsel is the right choice when:

• You are a licensed attorney or legal professional seeking to enhance research efficiency
• Your firm or organization already subscribes to Westlaw or other Thomson Reuters products
• You need AI assistance with complex legal research, case law analysis, and precedent identification
• You handle large-scale document review or contract analysis projects
• You want to reduce time spent on tasks traditionally performed by junior associates
• Your practice involves litigation preparation including deposition and hearing readiness
• You have the budget for enterprise-level legal technology subscriptions
• You need seamless integration with existing professional legal research workflows
• Your work requires AI-generated legal memos with proper citations and case law references
• You are comfortable evaluating and validating AI-generated legal analysis

CoCounsel excels in traditional law firm environments where attorneys need to work faster and more efficiently on established legal tasks. It's designed to enhance, not replace, professional legal judgment.

When to Use Laymans

Laymans is the right choice when:

• You are representing yourself (pro se) in a legal matter and cannot afford full legal representation
• You are a small business or organization that needs legal documents but lacks in-house counsel
• You want to understand your legal options before deciding whether to hire an attorney
• You need specific legal tasks performed (unbundled services) rather than full representation
• You are organizing collective legal action around a shared issue affecting your community
• You need to crowdfund litigation costs or find litigation financing
• You are a legal professional serving underserved communities and need affordable tools
• You want free legal education to better understand the legal system
• You need mobile-accessible legal tools without complex professional training
• You are part of a community facing similar legal challenges and want to coordinate action
• You want to draft legal documents using templates with AI-guided assistance
• You need affordable access to legal resources without enterprise subscription costs

Laymans excels at bridging the access to justice gap, empowering individuals and communities to understand and navigate legal challenges when traditional representation is out of reach.

The Bottom Line

CoCounsel and Laymans serve fundamentally different markets and should not be viewed as direct competitors. CoCounsel is a professional tool designed to make licensed attorneys more efficient, integrated into the premium legal research ecosystem used by law firms and corporate legal departments. It assumes users have legal training and professional budgets, focusing on enhancing the speed and quality of traditional legal work.

Laymans addresses a different problem: the 80% of civil legal needs that go unmet because people cannot afford lawyers. It provides education, tools, and community support to enable self-representation and affordable access to unbundled legal services. Where CoCounsel enhances professional practice, Laymans democratizes legal access.

For attorneys in established practices, CoCounsel offers powerful AI assistance for research and document analysis. For individuals, small businesses, and community organizations facing the "legal aid gap," Laymans provides the education, tools, and connections needed to pursue justice despite financial constraints.

The choice between them is not about which is "better" - it's about which problem you're trying to solve. If you need professional-grade legal research AI and have the budget for enterprise legal tech, CoCounsel is an excellent tool. If you need accessible legal education, document templates, community organizing tools, and affordable legal assistance, Laymans is designed specifically for you.

Both platforms represent important innovations in legal technology, but they advance different visions of what legal AI should accomplish: one focuses on efficiency for the profession, the other on access for the underserved.