Short Answer

Trial prep without technology is a grind - consuming weeks of manual review, timelines, and cross-checks. Matey AI automates discovery review, builds timelines, surfaces contradictions, and delivers case-cited insights in seconds. The result: faster, smarter preparation that gives attorneys more time to focus on strategy and advocacy.

Key Takeaways

• Traditional trial prep demands weeks of manual review and organization.
• Attorneys spend 60–70% of prep time on non-strategic tasks like sorting and cross-referencing.
• Matey AI automates timelines, summaries, contradictions, and citations.
• Defense teams cut prep time by up to 70%.
• The real benefit: stronger, faster trial strategies anchored in facts.

Why is traditional trial prep so demanding?

For most defense teams, prep begins with raw discovery:

• Thousands of police reports, witness statements, and call logs
• Hours of body cam footage, phone dumps, and AV evidence

Building a case from this mess requires:

• Manual review → Reading every page and transcript to find what matters.
• Timeline construction → Piecing together events across contradictory reports.
• Cross-referencing → Matching evidence to witness statements and spotting inconsistencies.

The result? Attorneys spend most of their prep time buried in documents instead of crafting strategy - while the risk of missing key details grows with every late-night review.

How does Matey AI act like a co-counsel?

Matey AI is designed to handle the heavy lift so attorneys can think strategically.

• Automatic Timeline Generation → Matey processes PDFs, AV evidence, and transcripts to build a chronological timeline of events, complete with key people, places, and citations.
• Ask AI Anything → Instead of searching manually, attorneys ask plain questions like “What ties Witness A to the scene?” or “Which statements contradict the officer’s report?” Matey delivers cited answers instantly.
• Cross-Examination Prep → Contradictions and patterns in testimony are highlighted, and potential questions are generated to expose weaknesses in the prosecution’s case.
• Real-Time Agility → Even during trial, attorneys can query Matey in seconds, walk back into court, and adjust their strategy on the fly.

What’s the impact for defense teams?

Defense teams using Matey report:

• Dozens of hours saved per case.
• Timelines built in under an hour instead of days.
• Increased accuracy, with fewer missed details.
• Higher confidence heading into trial.

One paralegal described Matey as “a second brain that never forgets a single detail.” Attorneys say it doesn’t just speed things up - it sharpens their edge in the courtroom.

Why does speed matter so much?

Criminal defense attorneys can’t buy more time. Court calendars are rigid, deadlines are unforgiving, and clients can’t afford delays.

Faster prep isn’t about convenience - it’s about:

• Arriving in court better prepared.
• Building stronger, fact-grounded arguments.
• Gaining time back for strategy, advocacy, and client communication.

Looking Ahead

Trial prep doesn’t have to feel like an endurance race. With Matey AI, criminal defense teams:

• Cut prep time by up to 70%.
• Reduce stress and error risk.
• Focus energy on what wins cases: strategy and advocacy.

The real question isn’t whether you can afford AI in trial prep - it’s whether you can afford to keep doing things the old way.

FAQs

Why does traditional trial prep take so long? Because attorneys must manually review thousands of pages, build timelines by hand, and cross-check evidence against statements—tasks that consume weeks.

How does Matey build timelines? Matey ingests all discovery materials (documents, transcripts, AV files) and automatically organizes events chronologically with citations.

Can Matey be used during trial? Yes. Attorneys can run queries in real time—like “What did this witness say about the time of the incident?” - and return to court with fresh insights.

Does AI replace attorneys or paralegals? No. Matey handles repetitive tasks, freeing legal professionals to focus on higher-value strategy, judgment, and advocacy.

How much time can Matey save? Teams report cutting prep time by dozens of hours per case, often reducing weeks of work into days.