In speaking yesterday to Fastcase CEO Ed Walters about the company’s hiring of Steve Errick as COO, which I wrote about earlier today, I learned about other news of interest from Fastcase.  In July, Fastcase will launch a new, first-of-its-kind product — an artificial intelligence sandbox for law firms.

A sandbox typically refers to a testing environment for software. But from Walter’s description, the yet-to-be-named product sounds more like a working environment where law firms can have access to various AI platforms and various sets of data, as well as bring in their own data.

It will be a subscription product hosted on a secure, private server through Amazon Web Services. Fastcase will populate the product with AI tools such Neota Logic and IBM Watson, as well as with data provided by Fastcase. Law firms will be able to add their own data, as well.

The product will allow law firms to analyze just the Fastcase data, just their own data, or to run mash-ups using various sets of data.

Walters said the product will likely include court-docket data. It will add other forms of data — such as SEC filings, perhaps — based on what customers want.

The product will be announced during the American Association of Law Libraries annual meeting July 15-18 and will be online in time for the announcement, Walters said. I will provide more details when I have them.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.