An AI note taker for bankruptcy consultations that ends in a Best Case file
Short answer
A general AI note taker gives a bankruptcy attorney a transcript and a summary, and someone still has to type the facts into the petition software. Casewell records the intake consultation in the browser, or takes an uploaded phone, Zoom or Teams recording, transcribes English and Spanish with speakers labeled, and turns what the client stated into proposed petition fields. Staff review them, and Casewell exports a Best Case .BCB file.
Most of what a consumer bankruptcy petition needs is said out loud before it is ever written down. The client describes the second car, the medical bills, the loan from a cousin and the job that ended in March, and the attorney takes notes that a paralegal later rebuilds into schedules. An AI note taker can capture that conversation. Whether it saves the firm any time depends on what it produces at the end.
What should an AI note taker do for a bankruptcy firm?
Produce the data the petition needs, not just a record of the meeting. A transcript of a forty-minute consultation is a long document someone has to read again. A summary is shorter but loses the exact figures and names that the schedules depend on. For a bankruptcy practice, the useful output is the creditors, balances, income, expenses, property and household facts the client actually stated, placed where the petition software expects them, with the uncertain ones marked.
| Tool | What you get at the end | What still has to be typed | Bankruptcy-specific |
|---|---|---|---|
| General AI meeting note taker | A transcript, a summary and action items | Every petition field, from the transcript | No |
| Dictation software | Text where the cursor is, as you speak | Nothing more than you dictate, but you dictate every field yourself | No |
| Human legal transcription service | An accurate transcript, usually after a turnaround period | Every petition field, from the transcript | No |
| Casewell | Proposed petition fields from what the client stated, reviewed by staff, exported as a Best Case .BCB file | Anything the conversation did not cover, and the attorney’s own judgment calls | Yes. Built for consumer bankruptcy intake into Best Case |
How does Casewell record a bankruptcy consultation?
- Record or upload. Start a recording in the browser during the meeting, in person or with the client on speakerphone. Or upload a recording made elsewhere, such as a phone voice memo or a Zoom or Teams file, of up to 90 minutes and 1 GB.
- Audio is saved as you go. While recording, Casewell saves the audio every ten seconds and uploads it in the background, so a closed tab or a dropped connection does not lose the meeting. A recording left behind by a crashed tab is recovered on the next visit.
- Transcription with speakers. The audio is transcribed in English and Spanish, including a meeting that switches between them, with each speaker’s turns labeled so the attorney’s questions are kept apart from the client’s answers.
- The facts are read out of the transcript. Casewell records what the client stated or confirmed, never a question the client did not answer, and treats a correction later in the meeting as replacing what was said earlier. Anything the meeting did not cover is left blank rather than guessed.
- Staff review, then export. Staff check the proposed fields and defaults before the file is prepared, and Casewell writes a Best Case .BCB client file that is read back and checked before download.
Is it ethical for a lawyer to use an AI note taker in client meetings?
It can be, with the client’s knowledge and a vendor that protects confidentiality. The ABA’s Formal Opinion 512 on generative AI, issued in July 2024, ties a lawyer’s use of these tools to the existing duties of competence, confidentiality and communication with the client. State bars have published their own guidance, and several bar associations have written specifically about AI note takers in client meetings.
- Tell the client and get consent on the recording. Federal law allows one-party consent, but a number of states require every party to agree to a recording. Asking at the start of the meeting covers both.
- Know where the audio goes. In Casewell, recorded meetings are transcribed by AssemblyAI in the United States under a signed business associate agreement with training opted out, and each transcript is deleted from AssemblyAI once Casewell has it.
- Know how long it is kept. Casewell deletes recorded meetings, uploaded scans and generated files older than seven days in a daily sweep. The details are on the security page.
- Review before relying. The output is a draft for staff and attorney review, never a filed document.
What happens if the transcription fails?
The meeting is not lost. In browsers with live speech recognition, such as Chrome and Edge, Casewell also keeps the browser’s own live transcript while recording, and if the transcription service fails for any reason, the firm continues with that live transcript instead. In browsers without live speech recognition, such as Safari and Firefox, a failed transcription is retried. An uploaded recording has no live transcript, so if transcription fails it is retried and then reported as failed rather than silently dropped.
Can it handle a consultation in Spanish?
Yes. Transcription covers English and Spanish, and the extraction step reads Spanish or mixed-language conversation into the English fields the petition needs, translating descriptions while keeping names exactly as given and writing amounts in US form. A firm that meets most clients in Spanish can also dictate notes in Spanish. More on that in bankruptcy intake in Spanish.
What are the limits?
- A conversation covers less than a full questionnaire. Expect gaps where the meeting moved on, and fill them from documents or a follow-up call.
- Casewell writes Best Case files only. A firm filing in Jubilee or NextChapter gets nothing it can import.
- It is built and verified on Chapter 7 cases. On a Chapter 13 case the plan and means test are still entered in Best Case by hand.
- Uploads are limited to 90 minutes, 1 GB and five recordings per person per day. Recording in the browser needs microphone permission.
- It is not a meeting bot. It does not join calls, schedule meetings or write summaries for the file.
When the client has also filled in a paper packet, upload that too. Casewell reads completed intake packets, handwritten or typed, several times independently and shows staff any field the reads disagreed on. See how Casewell works and bankruptcy intake automation for Best Case.
What is the best AI note taker for bankruptcy attorneys?
It depends on the output you need. General note takers produce transcripts and summaries. If the goal is petition data in Best Case without retyping, Casewell records or accepts the consultation recording and produces proposed petition fields that staff review and export as a .BCB file.
Can I upload a Zoom or Teams recording of a client meeting?
Yes. Casewell accepts uploaded recordings such as phone voice memos and Zoom or Teams files of up to 90 minutes and 1 GB, up to five per person per day.
Does Casewell transcribe Spanish?
Yes. Recorded meetings are transcribed in English and Spanish, including meetings that switch between the two, and the facts are read into the English fields a petition needs.
Who transcribes the audio, and is it kept?
AssemblyAI transcribes recorded meetings in the United States under a signed business associate agreement with training opted out. Casewell deletes each transcript from AssemblyAI once received and deletes recordings older than seven days in a daily sweep.
Do I need the client’s consent to record?
Ask for it every time. Federal law allows one-party consent, but a number of states require all parties to consent, and the ABA’s Formal Opinion 512 frames AI tool use around confidentiality and communication with the client.
How much does it cost?
Casewell is free during the current beta, with up to 10 intake packets a day per firm.
This page is general information for law-firm staff, not legal advice for any particular case.