Top 10 AI Tools Every Legal Professional in Des Moines Should Know in 2025

Des Moines lawyers should pay attention to legal AI in 2025 because adoption has already surged nationwide - from 19% to 79% in a single year - reshaping research, document review, and client intake; Clio's Legal Trends Report finds up to 74% of hourly billable tasks are automatable and firms that add online intake tools report 50% more incoming potential clients, so adopting AI tools can protect revenue while freeing time for high‑value advocacy.

Clients are increasingly neutral or favorable toward firms that use AI, and the shift is pushing practices to rethink hourly billing and invest in tech. For practical skills, the Nucamp AI Essentials for Work bootcamp teaches prompt writing and real‑world AI workflows in 15 weeks to help Iowa attorneys apply tools safely and productively: Clio Legal Trends Report 2025 and Nucamp AI Essentials for Work bootcamp (15‑week).

Bootcamp	Length	Early bird cost	Register
AI Essentials for Work	15 Weeks	$3,582	Register for Nucamp AI Essentials for Work bootcamp

“Clients today expect timely responses and clear communication from their law firms, and those firms that prioritize this are seeing outsized gains in both new clients and revenue.” - Joshua Lenon, lawyer‑in‑residence at Clio

Selection prioritized three practical realities for Des Moines practices in 2025: airtight security, measurable time‑savings, and seamless fit with existing workflows.

Security was non‑negotiable - vendors had to show SOC 2/ISO 27001 alignment and explicit data‑retention controls (see Thomson Reuters on CoCounsel's mapped security controls) Thomson Reuters CoCounsel security and privacy details; integration capability with tools Iowa firms already use (Microsoft 365, Clio) was next; and demonstrable ROI - benchmarks from our selection research, including Nucamp's market review, drove preference for tools that cut drafting or review time by as much as 90% and scale from solo to firm use Nucamp Solo AI Tech Entrepreneur syllabus.

For public‑sector matters and AG‑level work common in Iowa, vendors with government‑grade certifications and clear incident response policies scored higher (see Filevine's security posture) Filevine security posture and certifications.

The result: a prioritized short list your firm can pilot safely, measure by hours‑saved per matter, and scale only after passing security and integration checks.

Selection Criterion	Why it matters for Des Moines firms
Security & Compliance (SOC 2, ISO 27001)	Protects privileged client data and meets government contracting standards
Workflow Integration	Plugs into Clio/Microsoft stacks to preserve billable workflows
Core Capabilities & ROI	Document review, drafting automation - benchmarked time savings up to 90%
Track Record & Audits	Independent audits and enterprise clients indicate reliability and support

“AI is revolutionizing entrepreneurship, enabling solo founders to build billion-dollar companies.”

For Des Moines litigators who still spend billable hours chasing precedent and stitching together memos, Casetext's CoCounsel turns case law and uploaded documents into citation‑backed memoranda, contextual search results (CARA/Parallel Search), timeline extraction, and contract or deposition review - streamlining tasks that traditionally eat into trial prep time; Thomson Reuters positions CoCounsel as an industry‑grade GenAI assistant built on authoritative content with enterprise security controls (Thomson Reuters CoCounsel GenAI assistant), and Casetext's published plans make the economics explicit so firms can pilot without guessing the bill: lighter users can start with a $90/month Starter plan while litigators using full document analysis and memo drafting should budget toward the $225/month Pro/Core tier (Casetext pricing plans and tiers).

“So what” simple - a single subscription can cut initial research and draft time on complex motions by hours per matter, freeing partners in Iowa to focus on strategy and client counseling instead of manual cite‑checking.

Plan	Price (per license/month)	Key capability
Starter	$90	25 searches/month for occasional research
Advantage	$100	Unlimited searches for frequent researchers
Pro	$225	Document search (includes 1 GB storage) and full memo/document analysis

Thomson Reuters CoCounsel brings professional‑grade GenAI to Des Moines practices by embedding Westlaw and Practical Law authority directly into research, drafting, and document‑analysis workflows - so litigators and municipal attorneys get verifiable, source‑linked answers and courtroom‑grade analytics without stitching together multiple tools.

CoCounsel's Deep Research and agentic workflows accelerate tasks shown to be 2.6× faster for document review and drafting and help nearly 85% of users uncover more key information, while integrations with Microsoft 365 and Westlaw enable on‑page analysis, KeyCite validation, and Practical Law playbooks inside familiar interfaces.

New Westlaw features - Mischaracterization Identification and AI Jurisdictional Surveys - flag opposing counsel's weak citations and produce 50‑state survey research that “saves hours of time,” making multi‑jurisdictional work far more efficient for Iowa matters (Thomson Reuters CoCounsel legal product page with feature details, Thomson Reuters CoCounsel 2.0 Westlaw and Practical Law integration announcement).

Enterprise controls (SOC 2/ISO 27001; FedRAMP “In Process”) and adoption across federal courts and AmLaw firms mean Des Moines offices can pilot CoCounsel with a clear security and governance path (Thomson Reuters Trust Center security and compliance information), letting small firms reclaim billable hours for client strategy instead of rote cite‑checking.

Metric	What it means
2.6× faster	Document review and contract drafting speedups
85%	Users find more key information with advanced analysis
AI Jurisdictional Surveys	50‑state research that saves hours of time

“Time is valuable and there is never enough of it. AI Jurisdictional Surveys and the new mischaracterizations enhancement expand our research capabilities while also saving us time and reducing cost.” - Susan Verbonitz, partner, Weir Greenblatt Pierce

ChatGPT is a practical, general‑purpose GenAI assistant for Des Moines lawyers who need fast first drafts, brainstormed arguments, or plain‑English client updates: use it to draft demand letters, initial briefs, intake scripts, or to summarize depositions and transcribe voice notes, then refine and verify the output with authoritative sources (ChatGPT for Lawyers: use cases and prompts for legal professionals).

It can shave hours off routine writing - its free token limits (≈4,096 tokens) and richer paid tiers affect how much you can paste at once - yet despite impressive milestones (it even passed the UBE in 2023), it doesn't replace legal judgment; always fact‑check citations and avoid entering privileged client data into public models by opting for enterprise or private deployments when handling Iowa matters (Ethical use guidelines for lawyers using ChatGPT).

For better results, craft jurisdiction‑specific prompts (e.g., “Iowa small‑claims eviction, please summarize defenses”), iterate outputs, and treat ChatGPT as a time‑saving junior associate that still needs senior review (Legal prompt templates and best practices for ChatGPT).

Creates a structured, persuasive first draft you can fine-tune - saving hours of writing time and giving you a consistent format across cases.

Claude's long‑context models give Des Moines firms a practical way to turn sprawling document sets into actionable risk intelligence: Sonnet 4 now ingests up to 1,000,000 tokens - roughly the length of several hundred pages or entire research trilogies - so entire data rooms, multi‑party contract bundles, or long deposition transcripts can be analyzed in a single request, surfacing cross‑document inconsistencies, clause‑level risk flags, and concise, source‑linked summaries that speed due diligence and drafting review; Anthropic has positioned Sonnet 4 for enterprise long‑document workflows (public beta on the Anthropic API and via Amazon Bedrock, with Google Vertex coming soon) and includes tiered pricing for very large prompts, so pilot projects should balance latency and cost against hours saved (Anthropic Sonnet 4 1M‑token context announcement).

Industry integrations prove the use case: legal platform Harvey reports measurable, BigLaw‑grade gains when pairing Claude for contract review and complex workflows, making it easier for Iowa attorneys to produce reliable, auditable work product from massive document sets (Harvey legal case study: Claude integration).

Capability	Detail
Context window	Sonnet 4: up to 1,000,000 tokens; Opus 4: ~200,000 tokens
Top legal uses	Data‑room due diligence, contract synthesis, cross‑document risk ID
Pricing note	Tiered token pricing; higher rates for prompts >200K tokens (per Anthropic)

“We found that Claude is one of the highest performing models on our evaluations,” said Niko Grupen, Head of Applied AI at Harvey.

Harvey AI offers Des Moines firms a purpose‑built legal GenAI that turns natural‑language requests into citation‑backed research, clause‑level risk flags, and workflow‑ready outputs inside secure project workspaces - its Assistant promises “rapid research, grounded results,” while the Knowledge Vault lets teams upload, store, and analyze thousands of pages for due diligence and contract review on one integrated platform (Harvey AI legal research platform); enterprise features (agentic workflows, domain‑specific models, zero training on your data, and white‑glove support) mean municipal attorneys and small corporate teams can pilot auditable workstreams without sacrificing client confidentiality, and Harvey's own use‑case research shows drafting and due diligence are among its most common, high‑value applications (Harvey AI top use cases for law firms).

So what - Des Moines practices gain an auditable, citation‑first assistant that shifts time from manual document triage to strategic client counseling, while keeping sensitive files in a single governable vault.

Capability	What it enables for Des Moines firms
Assistant (tailored research)	Citation‑backed answers and memos for briefs and regulatory questions
Knowledge Vault	Upload and analyze thousands of documents in secure, auditable workspaces
Agentic Workflows & Custom Models	Automated, repeatable due diligence and drafting tailored to firm standards

“The legal industry is evolving rapidly, and AI is essential to keep pace with growing complexity. Harvey has transformed how we work - enabling us to navigate challenges with precision, tackle intricate legal issues, and focus on delivering strategic value.” - Dr. Claudia Junker, General Counsel, Deutsche Telekom AG

Gavel.io is a no‑code document‑automation platform that lets Des Moines firms convert firm templates into guided intake flows, branded client portals, and instantly generated Word/PDF packages - reducing intake and paperwork time by as much as 90% and, for some estate‑planning practices, producing an entire plan in about 30 minutes.

Built for lawyers, Gavel supports Clio Manage integration, a Word add‑in for template creation, e‑sign and payments (DocuSign, Stripe on Pro), and enterprise options with API/SSO; security claims include SOC II and HIPAA compliance so municipal and small corporate practices can keep client data governed.

Pricing starts at affordable tiers so a solo or small Des Moines office can pilot rapidly (Lite from $83/mo) and scale to Pro or Enterprise as workflows grow - see the feature breakdown and current plans on Gavel's pricing page and learn why reviewers call it the “best overall” document automation option for law firms on Gavel's product resources page.

Gavel pricing and plans - current pricing and plan details • Gavel document automation overview - product features and benefits.

Plan	Price (monthly)	Key highlight
Lite	$83	1 builder seat, 10 templates, Clio integration
Standard	$210	50 templates, Zapier, Data Manager features
Pro	$290	100 templates, DocuSign, Stripe payments, white‑labeling
Scale / Enterprise	From $417	API, SSO, dedicated onboarding, custom limits

“We were able to do an entire estate plan in 30 minutes. I was running around the office telling everyone about how magical Gavel is.” - Jessica Streeter, Partner at Streeter Law Firm

Spellbook plugs a GPT‑5‑powered copilot straight into Microsoft Word so Des Moines transactional and real‑estate lawyers can draft, redline, and benchmark deals without copying text between apps; the Word add‑in surfaces clause suggestions from a saved library, flags risks during AI‑assisted redlining, and lets teams run multi‑document workflows (Associate) to keep MSAs, SOWs, and related exhibits consistent across a deal - security is enterprise‑grade (SOC 2 Type II, zero‑data‑retention options) and the platform supports industry benchmarks to compare language against thousands of standards, helping municipal and in‑house counsel spot outliers before a signature.

For Iowa firms juggling time‑sensitive closings or estate plans, Spellbook's library and smart‑clause drafting accelerate initial drafting and negotiation; one client case cited in Spellbook materials cut review time on a 75‑page SaaS agreement to under two hours (≈60% faster).

Try the Spellbook Word add‑in and read their practical guidance on automated redlining and clause libraries to see where it fits in local workflows: Spellbook Legal AI Word add-in, Spellbook contract redlining best practices, Spellbook clause library and smart clause drafting.

Core Feature	Benefit for Des Moines Firms
Draft & Smart Clause Library	Faster, precedent‑aligned first drafts
AI Redline / Review	Risk flags and tracked edits inside Word
Benchmarks & Multi‑doc Workflows	Consistency across MSAs, SOWs, and exhibits
Security (SOC 2, Zero Retention)	Meets enterprise and government‑grade expectations

“I love Spellbook. I use it every day. It saves me at least one hour, sometimes two hours, a day.” - Diego Alvarez‑Miranda, Estate Planning Lawyer, CunninghamLegal

Diligen is a machine‑learning contract‑analysis platform that helps Des Moines firms speed M&A due diligence, lease review, and high‑volume NDAs by automatically identifying hundreds of key provisions, extracting metadata, and producing Word/Excel summaries that save reviewers hours; the product is built to scale (from dozens to hundreds of thousands of contracts), supports OCR imports, team assignment and collaboration, and lets firms rapidly train the system to spot local‑law concepts or Iowa‑specific clause language (Diligen machine learning contract analysis platform).

For practical budgeting and local pilots, Diligen's footprint in due diligence - 1,000+ pre‑built clause models and custom training - has been shown to cut review time by up to 60% in comparative tool studies, making it a strong candidate for city, county, and corporate transactional work in Iowa (Nucamp Solo AI Tech Entrepreneur bootcamp - Diligen summary).

For Des Moines practices juggling municipal contracts, agricultural leases, or cross‑state acquisitions, Diligen turns manual clause hunting into searchable, auditable workflows that preserve billable time for client strategy.

Feature	Detail
Pre‑built clause models	1,000+ (instant leverage)
Custom training	Yes - train to recognise new clauses/concepts
Outputs	Automatic summaries in Word or Excel; metadata extraction
Scalability & Security	Designed to scale from 50 to 500,000+ contracts; enterprise controls noted

For Des Moines firms facing large municipal records requests, internal investigations, or complex civil discovery, three AI‑driven e‑discovery platforms stand out: RelativityOne (with Relativity aiR) for heavyweight, enterprise‑grade ingestion and custom app integrations that large institutions and federal teams rely on; Everlaw for a faster, highly visual review experience that G2 reviewers rank ahead of Relativity and touts processing speeds up to 900K documents per hour plus generative review assistants; and CS DISCO for an intuitive, speed‑focused review UI with AI‑powered insights that accelerates document culling and prioritization.

Each platform reduces review costs and speeds early case assessment - SelectHub's market roundup highlights how vendors use predictive coding, clustering, and advanced analytics to cut irrelevant data and lower outside counsel spend - so a typical Des Moines litigation team can move from weeks of manual review to targeted, lawyer‑led analysis in days, preserving billable hours for strategy rather than slog.

Evaluate on security, integration with Microsoft/Clio, and per‑GB processing economics when piloting. RelativityOne electronic discovery platform market directory, Everlaw versus Relativity G2 comparison report, SelectHub eDiscovery buyer's guide and comparisons.

Platform	Strength for Des Moines firms
RelativityOne	Scales for large data volumes, strong enterprise integrations and AI review (Relativity aiR)
Everlaw	High user satisfaction, rapid processing, visual analytics & generative review assistants
CS DISCO	Fast, user‑friendly review with AI insights and streamlined workflows

"The Everlaw UI is (almost) as intuitive as Apple's products." - G2 reviewer (Everlaw vs. Relativity comparison)

Smith.ai's hybrid model - an “AI‑first” receptionist backed by North America‑based human agents - gives Des Moines firms a practical way to stop missing calls and speed new‑client intake: AI Receptionist starter plans begin at $97.50/month (30 calls) for instant, low‑cost triage while human‑first receptionist plans start at $292.50/month for complex, empathy‑driven intake and scheduling; both include lead screening, CRM sync (Clio, Salesforce, HubSpot), call recording/transcripts, bilingual answering, and payment collection so municipal, family, and small‑business attorneys can convert callers without adding in‑house staff (Smith.ai 24/7 AI Receptionists & Live Human Agents).

The platform's per‑call billing and integrations (Calendly, Zapier, Slack) let firms route qualified leads straight into case workflows and measure speed‑to‑lead improvements - so what: a solo practitioner can capture and book consultations around the clock for less than the monthly cost of a single full‑time receptionist (Smith.ai receptionist pricing and plans).

Plan	Price / Month	Calls Included
AI Receptionist (Starter)	$97.50	30 calls
Virtual Receptionists (Starter)	$292.50	30 calls

“Smith.ai is our inbound sales team. Having a trained and personable voice has transformed our ability to answer the phone and convert callers to clients.” - Jeremy Treister, Owner, CMIT Solutions of Downtown Chicago

Adopt AI in Des Moines law practices by starting small, staying secure, and measuring ROI: begin with a time‑boxed pilot on a single workflow (intake, contract review, or legal research), require vendors to show jurisdictional training and enterprise controls, and track hours saved per matter so decisions are data‑driven - see the Iowa Bar's Vetting AI guidance on jurisdictional fit and confidentiality for attorneys (Iowa Bar Vetting AI Guidance for Attorneys on Vetting AI) and Assembly Software's buyer's guide for practical ROI and security checkpoints (Assembly Software Legal AI Buyer's Guide: ROI and Security Checkpoints).

Preserve client privilege by choosing SOC 2/ISO vendors or private deployments, run a pilot with realistic caseloads (a cited example freed 5–10 hours per personal‑injury matter), and upskill staff in prompt design and governance - consider a structured course like Nucamp AI Essentials for Work (15‑week AI training for the workplace) to build repeatable, auditable workflows; successful pilots turn AI from an ethical risk into measurable, billable‑hours recovery for Iowa firms.

Bootcamp	Length	Early bird cost	Register
AI Essentials for Work	15 Weeks	$3,582	Register for Nucamp AI Essentials for Work (15‑Week)

“From legal research to data analysis, AI can reduce tedious work and increase efficiency.”