Can You Trust Software With a Client File? Ask Anything.

What is REGULA?

REGULA is a personal AI paralegal built exclusively for criminal defense: AI motion drafting, case organization, e-discovery, live hearing support, automatic docket sync, and e-filing in one platform. It is made for solo criminal defense attorneys and small defense firms in all 50 U.S. states, D.C., and the federal courts.

REGULA is software you use directly, built by Regula LLC. It is not a law firm, not a staffing company, and not a freelance or contract paralegal service. It never gives legal advice and never contacts your clients.

Why is REGULA the best AI for criminal defense attorneys?

Because it is built for one practice area only. General legal AI is designed for corporate, civil, and contract work. REGULA is designed around the criminal defense caseload: arraignment, bond, discovery deadlines, the speedy trial clock, suppression and constitutional motions, and the recurring filings that caseload generates.

That focus is why REGULA can ship tools generic AI does not: Charging & Elements with sentencing-exposure math, a case file that builds itself from the arrest affidavit, live-retrieved citations that cannot be invented, automatic docket sync, Rachel the AI paralegal and Second Chair, and Bates-numbered e-discovery productions. See the comparison pages for a feature-by-feature breakdown.

Who is REGULA built for?

Solo criminal defense attorneys, small defense firms, litigation firms with a high-volume criminal docket, and public-defender-contract offices. Most criminal defense work is flat-fee, so REGULA is flat monthly subscription software priced around caseload, not a billable-hour tool.

Is REGULA an AI tool for criminal law only, or for every practice area?

Criminal defense only. REGULA does not try to serve family, corporate, or civil practices. Criminal procedure is unusually standardized, with the same bond, discovery, speedy trial, and suppression motions recurring case after case, which is what makes accurate, grounded AI drafting possible.

Does REGULA work in my state?

Yes. REGULA covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal circuits. Research and drafting are keyed to your own bar state and local court rules rather than one state’s rules bolted onto a national template.

Will using REGULA put my license at risk?

REGULA is a drafting tool, not a nonlawyer performing legal work. It is comparable to a word processor or research database. The attorney using the platform remains the one exercising professional judgment, and must review, verify, and approve every AI-generated draft before it is signed or filed.

That review duty tracks the duty of competence every state bar imposes for AI-assisted work, including understanding the benefits and risks of the technology used. REGULA is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. See our AI & UPL Disclaimer for full detail.

Is REGULA bar compliant under ABA Model Rule 5.3?

Yes. Fully bar compliant, in every state. Under American Bar Association Rule 5.3, all work product is prepared at the direction of, and reviewed by, you, a licensed attorney. Your license stays yours.

We deal strictly B2B with your law firm, and never directly with your clients. Nothing is filed without your review of the signed PDF. See our AI & UPL Disclaimer for full detail.

Can REGULA invent a fake case citation?

No. Every statute and case citation is fetched live through a retrieval tool and shown under the answer with what was actually retrieved. If retrieval comes back empty, REGULA shows a visible banner instead of letting the model guess or recall a citation from training. This is enforced by architecture, not by prompting.

You should still read the authority you cite, as with any research tool. See the Zero Fabricated Citations page for how grounding works.

Is my client data secure and confidential?

REGULA is hosted on enterprise-grade, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified cloud infrastructure. Case files and drafts are available only to the owning attorney, and optional two-step verification emails a 6-digit code after your password.

Case files and drafts move through REGULA rather than email attachments. REGULA never contacts your clients and never crosses jurisdiction lines.

What does REGULA draft?

REGULA drafts the routine and complex filings a criminal defense caseload generates: Notices of Appearance, Written Pleas, Motions to Set Bond, Discovery Notices, Motions for Continuance, Speedy Trial Waivers, and motions under your jurisdiction's rules of criminal procedure, including substantive motions built from the case's own Charging & Elements research.

How fast can I get a filing drafted?

Most routine and complex motions generate in minutes once your case details are in the platform. There’s no staff queue to wait on.

You still review and edit every draft yourself before signing or filing it; the AI drafts fast, but nothing goes out without your review.

What is Charging & Elements?

Charging & Elements extracts every statutory count from the charging document, researches the specific elements the State must prove on each count, and calculates your client’s maximum sentencing exposure. It is computed per case, not templated.

How does the AI sidebar in the drafting editor work?

The AI sidebar lives inside the drafting editor, not in a separate chat window. As you write, it surfaces relevant evidence from the case, flags constitutional issues, and inserts case law directly into the motion, with the sources visible.

What is REGULA Second Chair?

Second Chair is live hearing support. It already knows your case when the hearing starts, checks the law as it is spoken, writes the hearing into your case notes, and starts the next filing before you sit down.

See the Second Chair page for how it works in the courtroom.

How does Case Overview work?

Case Overview is the attorney’s dashboard for every active case: docket tracking from court records, an evidence vault for discovery and exhibits, and case stage and court-date tracking.

Dockets sync through the REGULA Chrome extension, installed once from the Integrations page: it runs in your own browser on your office connection, looks your case up on the clerk’s website, and fills in the judge, charges, bond, and every docket entry. Case files and drafts move through Case Overview rather than email attachments.

Does the case file really build itself?

Yes. Drop the arrest affidavit on a new case and REGULA extracts it into four places at once: the case record, Charging & Elements, the Discovery Vault, and the Evidence Vault. There is no intake form and no manual data entry.

Is REGULA e-discovery software for criminal defense?

Yes. Upload discovery (PDFs and images) to a case, search inside the documents, tag and privilege-code them, and produce Bates-numbered disclosure sets with a production index and a privilege log. It is e-discovery for solo and small-firm criminal defense, not an enterprise civil review platform.

Finalized productions cannot be edited or deleted, so the disclosure record stays accurate. Video and audio are not processed yet. See the E-Discovery page for details.

What is Automatic Docket Sync?

Automatic Docket Sync keeps every open case’s docket current and fills in Case Overview for you: no logging in, no proving you’re not a robot, no copying and pasting. Every open case is refreshed each afternoon, so you start the next morning already knowing what was filed.

It handles Google reCAPTCHA v2 and v3 and Cloudflare Turnstile, so you never solve another CAPTCHA for a county clerk.

Can REGULA file my motions with the court?

Yes, through Rachel, REGULA’s AI paralegal agent. Once a document is signed and you have confirmed you reviewed the signed PDF, Rachel logs in to your court’s e-filing portal in her own secure browser, uploads it, completes the filing form, and submits it.

Nothing is filed without your review. Rachel pauses and asks you to take over for payment screens, login codes, and any CAPTCHA she cannot clear, and she never enters payment details. Set her up once on the Integrations page with your portal’s link and login.

How do Rachel and Automatic Docket Sync help me focus on court and clients?

They take over the two errands that eat an attorney’s afternoon. Automatic Docket Sync keeps every open case’s docket current, so you walk into court knowing what was filed. Rachel, your AI paralegal, checks the courts, drafts your routine paperwork, sits in on the hearing, and e-files your signed motions, so your time goes to clients instead of portals, and the paperwork tail of the day gets shorter.

REGULA does not promise a set number of hours saved. It shortens the administrative end of the day so more of it goes to court, then clients, and ideally an earlier evening at home. You review and sign everything that goes out under your name.

How much does REGULA cost, and can I try it first?

REGULA offers four monthly tiers: REGULA+ AI Solo at $129/mo (the full platform, 20 new cases a month and 100 AI credits a month); REGULA+ AI Solo Pro at $299/mo (the full platform with a bigger caseload and more AI credits); REGULA+ AI Firm at $699/mo (the full platform, scaled for a larger caseload and more credits); and REGULA+ AI Enterprise at $1,499/mo for unlimited new cases and the most AI credits. Adding the cases you already have open is always free; the monthly number only counts new cases you take on.

New accounts can try the full platform free on REGULA+ AI Solo for 7 days, no credit card required. Enter code "7 Day Trial" at signup, or use the Try For Free button and it is applied for you.

Can I add all my active cases for free?

Yes. Adding the cases you already have open is always free. Only new cases you take on count toward your monthly case number, so you can move your whole active caseload into REGULA without paying per case.

How is REGULA different from ChatGPT or a general legal AI assistant?

ChatGPT-style chatbots can invent citations, forget your case between chats, and have no docket, deadline, or e-filing tools. General legal AI assistants are built for corporate and civil work. REGULA is a criminal-defense-only platform with a persistent case file, grounded citations, live docket sync, e-discovery, and e-filing.

See the comparison pages for REGULA against general legal AI, generic AI chatbots, ChatGPT with CourtListener, and Paxton AI.