A Big Law attorney and two techies built an AI that predicts judges' rulings. See the pitch deck they used to raise $5 million.

Imagine if attorneys could gain insight into a judge's thinking process before presenting their case. This is the promise of Bench IQ, a legal tech startup that recently secured $5 million in funding to develop an AI capable of forecasting judicial rulings. Founded by Jimoh Ovbiagele alongside two tech experts, Bench IQ utilizes a proprietary dataset enhanced with advanced language models to analyze judges' past behaviors and decisions. While specific data sources remain undisclosed for competitive reasons, it is suggested that federal court transcripts are part of the dataset. Attorneys can initiate an inquiry such as, "How has this judge ruled on emergency motions previously?" Bench IQ then deploys thousands of virtual agents to sift through its comprehensive data, promptly delivering a report that outlines the judge's historical decisions. The creators of Bench IQ, including veteran attorney Jeffrey Gettleman, believe that this tool will become indispensable for litigators. Currently, four out of the top five Am Law 200 firms are users, with notable firms like Cooley, Fenwick & West, and Wilson Sonsini also backing the venture. While competitors like LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters provide tools that analyze ruling patterns and precedents, Ovbiagele asserts that Bench IQ goes a step further. He explains that understanding a judge's decision-making is akin to grasping the reasons behind wildfires, offering deeper insights beyond mere statistical occurrences. Investors are optimistic about the market potential for such insights. Bench IQ announced that it has raised $5.3 million in a seed round co-led by Battery Ventures and Canadian firm Inovia, with previous investors Haystack and Maple increasing their investments after an earlier $2.1 million pre-seed round in early 2024. Currently focused on federal courts, Bench IQ plans to utilize its new funding to broaden its dataset to include state courts while expanding its engineering and customer support teams. However, the startup faces stiff competition from other legal tech firms like Harvey and Hebbia, which aim to streamline legal processes. Ovbiagele brings a wealth of experience, though his past includes a controversial legal battle. His previous company, Ross Intelligence, was embroiled in a lawsuit with Thomson Reuters, which accused it of improper use of Westlaw content to develop a competing product. This litigation led to Ross's closure, prompting Ovbiagele to seek redemption and success with Bench IQ. As Bench IQ prepares to carve out its niche in the legal tech landscape, it promises to offer attorneys the kind of insights that could revolutionize their approach to litigation.