Cases you may have missed - finding authority your brief doesn't cite

Short answer: on a finished brief check, click "Find cases you may have missed." LegiMatch reads the brief's introduction, statement of facts and summary of argument, runs Case Match on them, leaves out every case the brief already cites, and opens a results page of the closest matching decisions with an explanation of why each one matched.

Disclosure: we make LegiMatch.

Why it matters

A citation checker tells you whether the cases you cited are right. It can't tell you about the case you didn't cite - the controlling decision with nearly your facts, or the adverse one your opponent will raise. Westlaw and Lexis offer "recommended authority" inside their platforms; most standalone citation checkers don't.

How it works

1. The brief's own story. LegiMatch takes the introduction, statement of facts and summary of argument (up to about 8,000 characters), skipping the table of contents.
2. Fact-based search. It runs Case Match - the same search as describing a matter yourself - on that story.
3. Leaving out what you cited. Every decision the brief already cites is excluded.
4. Scope. If most of the brief's cases come from one state, it searches that state plus federal courts; otherwise the whole country.
5. Results. A normal Case Match results page: each decision with its court, year, similarity and a short explanation of why it matches.

What it costs

It runs only when you click the button. With AI it uses 1 AI credit (like any AI Case Match search); clicking again shows the same results without a second charge. Without AI credits it runs standard matching at no charge.

How to use the results

• Read the top results' facts and holdings. Similar facts aren't the same as support for your argument.
• Look for adverse authority - a near-identical case that went the other way is worth knowing before your opponent cites it.
• Check treatment of anything you add.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work on briefs I checked before?

Briefs checked before the feature launched need to be checked again first.

How accurate is the matching?

It uses Case Match; see our published test of finding similar cases.

Will it suggest cases from other jurisdictions?

Only when the brief's own citations don't point to one state.