West Coast Insurance Defense Firm
A senior paralegal at a prominent Los Angeles insurance defense firm transformed their trial preparation process by implementing SmartDepo's AI-powered deposition summary service.
91% Time Reduction
from 35 days of manual work to 3-4 days with SmartDepo
840 Hours Saved
on a single case, equivalent to 4+ months of full-time paralegal work
7K+ Pages Processed Per Day
vs. traditional 200 pages per paralegal per day
99.9%+ Accuracy Rate
across 400-600 depositions with zero major errors in live court use
Results With SmartDepo
A Los Angeles insurance defense firm used SmartDepo to reduce 35 days of paralegal work to just 3-4 days, processing 130+ depositions totaling over 21,000 pages for a complex train accident case. The firm achieved a 91% time reduction while maintaining perfect accuracy across 400+ depositions in live court use.
How One Los Angeles Law Firm Turned 35 Days of Work Into 4 Days With AI-Powered Deposition Summaries
Facing an unprecedented case with 130+ depositions totaling over 21,000 pages, the firm achieved what would have been impossible with traditional methods—completing comprehensive page-line summaries in days rather than weeks while maintaining their team's high accuracy standards.
The Challenge: An Impossible Timeline
The firm encountered a complex train accident case involving:
- 56 claimants plus 12-15 defendants
- 130+ depositions averaging 175 pages each
- 21,000+ total pages requiring summarization
- 3-week deadline for trial preparation
- 6-8 person paralegal team
Using traditional methods, this workload would have required 840 hours of paralegal time—equivalent to 35 days of non-stop work for their 6-8 person paralegal team. With other critical trial preparation tasks competing for resources, the timeline was simply impossible to meet manually.
"If you were to take 120 depositions times 175 pages average, divided by 25 pages per hour [traditional paralegal pace], it was like 40 days, not sleeping 24 hours a day to get that task done, which would be impossible with the team we had."
The firm needed a solution that could maintain their exacting standards while dramatically accelerating their timeline. That's when they discovered SmartDepo.
Proving Value Through Direct Comparison
Despite having 30 years of experience, the paralegal approached AI tools with healthy skepticism. Rather than mandate adoption, they decided to prove SmartDepo's value through direct comparison. They challenged one of the firm's most experienced paralegals—a 20-30 year veteran who preferred traditional methods—to a head-to-head test.
The test was straightforward: take a complex engineering expert deposition that had already been manually summarized and compare it against SmartDepo's AI-generated version. The results were remarkable. SmartDepo not only matched the quality and accuracy of the manual work but actually captured additional details the human reviewer had missed.
"When you compared in contrast, it was different terms used in regards to the phrasing, but I would say a hundred percent accurate in regards to content... She was amazed.
"After repeating the test with a second deposition and achieving similar results, the skeptical colleague became a convert. Together, they successfully brought the solution to the rest of the team and firm leadership.
The Transformation: From Impossible to Routine
Immediate Results on the Major Case
Armed with SmartDepo, the firm tackled their massive train accident case with confidence. What would have taken their entire paralegal team over a month was completed in just 3-4 days. The senior paralegal handled quality control for all 130 depositions single-handedly, working normal 8-9 hour days instead of the impossible round-the-clock schedule manual methods would have required.
"Thanks to Smart Depo, we were able to accomplish that task basically getting the turnaround, submitting turnaround within probably about three days or two days... It saved us a crazy amount of time. It saved us days."
Operational Impact Beyond the Crisis
The efficiency gains fundamentally changed how the firm approaches case management. Paralegals could now focus on higher-value trial preparation activities instead of spending days on routine summarization. The most dreaded task in the paralegal workflow became routine, transforming team morale and productivity.
"Smart Depo is the task that every paralegal was waiting for... Now Smart Depo is part of our team, and all we have to do is just look at it and do some quality checking."
Strategic Integration Across Workflows
The firm quickly discovered SmartDepo's value extended far beyond time savings. Their implementation evolved to support multiple strategic applications:
Trial Preparation Excellence: The lead trial attorney began basing his entire trial preparation on SmartDepo summaries, using them to craft opening statements, closing arguments, and examination strategies with confidence in their accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Multi-Session Deposition Management: For complex defendants requiring multiple deposition sessions, attorneys use SmartDepo summaries to prevent repetitive questioning and reference previously covered topics with precise page-line citations.
Expert Witness Preparation: The team leverages summaries to prepare experts with relevant testimony references, identify potential inconsistencies, and ensure expert opinions align with established facts from prior depositions.
"He bases his trial preparation on the actual page line summaries that we get from Smart Depo. He'll generate his opening statements, his closing statements, he'll address his direct questioning of certain witnesses based on deposition testimony."
Proven Reliability at Scale
Accuracy You Can Trust in Court
After processing 400-600 depositions through SmartDepo, the firm has encountered zero major errors in live use. This reliability has been tested in the most demanding circumstances—during depositions, trial preparation, and actual trial proceedings where accuracy is non-negotiable.
"Our experience of using the page line summaries from Smart Depot has only increased in our trust, especially since in use, whether it be while we're in deposition, while we're prepping for a deposition or in trial, we haven't been sidetracked by an inaccurate statement."
Measurable Business Impact
Cost Efficiency and Competitive Advantage
The implementation created significant value across multiple dimensions. The firm dramatically reduced billable hours spent on routine summarization while improving quality and comprehensiveness. Paralegals could handle larger caseloads without proportional staff increases, and the improved efficiency translated directly into better client service.
Most importantly, SmartDepo enhanced the firm's competitive position. They could now accept cases with aggressive timelines that would have been impossible to meet manually, giving them a significant advantage in a demanding market.
Client Value Creation
"The cost savings, the timeliness of being able to be on top of multiple deposition testimony that's been given. Also the fact that my team of attorneys or my legal team that I belong to can count on me to really understand not only the case, but the witnesses that are involved, the testimony that's been given and where I can easily find information on their behalf if needed."
How To Incorporate These Learnings Into Your Own Practice
The paralegal's advice for other legal professionals considering SmartDepo reflects the confidence that comes from proven results:
"Smart Depo is the service, the team member that you wish you met years ago. The way you can convince yourself and others in your field is ask them to submit a deposition that they've already page lined themself and then compare and contrast what they generated versus what they get from Smart Depo and to take into consideration of the time it took them to manually generate it versus the result they got from Smart Depo.
"For legal teams facing capacity challenges, quality demands, or competitive pressure, this Los Angeles firm's experience demonstrates that SmartDepo can transform impossible deadlines into routine efficiency while maintaining the accuracy standards that legal work demands.
Ready to see how SmartDepo can transform your practice? Start with a side-by-side comparison using a deposition you've already summarized and experience the difference for yourself.