Use Microsoft 365 Copilot to Summarize Legal Case Documents

Using Microsoft 365 Copilot to Analyze and Summarize Case Documents: A Practical Guide for Attorneys

Every matter generates a mountain of information—pleadings, motions, correspondence, deposition transcripts, and research. Microsoft 365 Copilot can help attorneys convert that volume into insight fast. This tutorial-style guide shows you how to prepare your workspace, run defensible, repeatable summarization workflows, and build a “Case Summary Pack” that turns scattered files into concise, cite-backable analysis.

Why Copilot for Case Document Analysis

Microsoft 365 Copilot surfaces insights from your firm’s content stored in SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Outlook—respecting the same permissions and security controls your firm already enforces. For legal teams, this means faster synthesis with source traceability, consistent structure across matters, and the ability to quickly repeat analyses as new documents arrive.

Legal Task	How Copilot Helps	Best App Context
Summarize pleadings or motions	Produce issue-based summaries with links to source files and sections	Word, Teams
Deposition analysis	Extract key admissions, impeachments, and themes; build Q&A tables	Word, OneNote
Email thread digestion	Summarize long threads; identify requests, deadlines, and next steps	Outlook
Case updates for partners or clients	Generate executive summaries with matter status, risks, and tasks	Word, Teams, Loop

Best Practice: Copilot follows your firm’s permissions and cannot access what a user cannot access. Keep matter content in the right Teams/SharePoint sites with least-privilege access, enable sensitivity labels, and apply retention/purge policies so Copilot’s “knowledge” remains current and secure.

Prepare Your Matter Workspace for Responsible AI

Copilot’s quality depends on what you give it. A small amount of structure dramatically improves accuracy and repeatability. Use the following setup for each matter.

1) Create a structured matter site

• Use a dedicated Microsoft Teams team with a connected SharePoint site for each matter.
• Enable standard channels (General, Discovery, Pleadings, Depositions, Research) and private channels if needed for privileged sub-teams.
• Store core documents in the associated SharePoint document libraries—not on local drives.

2) Add metadata that supports analysis

Define columns in SharePoint for document type, date, source, and parties. This helps Copilot interpret your content by category and timeframe.

Library/Folder	Purpose	Key Metadata	Examples
Pleadings	Filed documents and orders	Doc Type, Filing Date, Court, Judge	Complaint, Answer, MTD, MSJ, Order
Depositions	Transcripts, exhibits, errata	Deponent, Date, Witness Role, Topic Tags	“Doe Deposition 2025-03-10”
Correspondence	Letters, emails (exported), negotiation threads	Counterparty, Date Range, Privilege	Meet-and-confer letters
Research	Cases, statutes, memos	Jurisdiction, Key Issue, Citations	“XYZ v. ABC, 123 F.3d 456”

3) Apply governance

• Use Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels (e.g., Confidential – Client Matter) to enforce encryption and DLP.
• Configure retention policies for the matter lifecycle; enable audit logging and eDiscovery.
• Limit guest access to specific channels; store privileged content in restricted sites.

Ethical Duty: Copilot can accelerate drafting and analysis, but attorneys must independently verify accuracy and ensure compliance with professional obligations, confidentiality, and court rules.

End-to-End Workflow Overview (Diagram)

Stage	Action	Primary Tool	Output
1. Ingest	Upload and tag new filings, transcripts, exhibits	SharePoint/Teams	Organized, permissioned matter content
2. Query	Ask Copilot for targeted summaries and extractions	Word/Teams	Draft analysis with source links
3. Validate	Cross-check against cited sections; add corrections	Word/OneNote	Verified notes with tracked changes
4. Synthesize	Combine pleadings, depositions, correspondence into one brief	Word	Case Summary Pack
5. Finalize	Apply style guide, lock, and share with stakeholders	Word/SharePoint	Versioned summary with audit trail

Hands-on Tutorial: Build a Case Summary Pack

This tutorial shows how to turn a pile of case documents into a defensible “Case Summary Pack” using Copilot in Word, Teams, and OneNote.

Prerequisites

• Microsoft 365 Copilot enabled for your tenant and user account.
• A dedicated Teams/SharePoint matter site with documents organized and tagged as above.
• Firm style template for Word (headers, table styles, legal disclaimers).

Step 1 — Identify the document set

1. In Teams, open the matter’s channel (e.g., Pleadings or Depositions).
2. Select the documents to analyze: the complaint, answer, latest motion, and key deposition transcripts.
3. Ensure filenames and metadata are clear (e.g., “2025-03-10 Doe Deposition Transcript”).

Step 2 — Start a Copilot-guided summary in Word

1. Open a new Word document from your firm’s template (File > New > Your Firm Template).
2. Click the Copilot icon. In the prompt box, specify the scope and deliverable. Example:
   • “Create a 2-page issue-oriented case summary covering the complaint, answer, and the March 10 and March 22 depositions. Include: parties, claims/defenses, key facts, disputed issues, and strategic risks. Cite specific sections with links back to the documents.”
3. Attach or reference the selected files from SharePoint when prompted, or paste their links. Keep the set concise (4–10 documents) for a focused output.
4. Run Copilot. Review the generated outline and initial summary.

Step 3 — Deepen analysis with follow-up prompts

1. Use targeted prompts to refine:
   • “List the strongest factual admissions from the Doe deposition with page/line references and links.”
   • “Summarize the arguments in the Motion to Dismiss, separate by Rule 12(b) ground, with case citations found in the brief.”
   • “Identify inconsistencies between the complaint’s allegations and Doe’s testimony.”
2. Ask Copilot to produce tables for clarity:
   • “Create a table with columns: Issue | Evidence Cited | Source Link | Risk Level (Low/Med/High). Populate from the selected documents.”

Step 4 — Validate and annotate

1. For each Copilot citation or summary point, click the linked source to confirm accuracy and context.
2. Turn on Track Changes. Insert corrections and clarifications. Add attorney judgment where Copilot cannot infer nuance (e.g., jurisdictional quirks, judge preferences).
3. Add a “Verification Log” section at the end (table with columns: Item, Source, Verified by, Date).

Step 5 — Extract deposition highlights to OneNote

1. Open OneNote in the matter’s notebook.
2. Use Copilot to create a “Top 10 Admissions” page:
   • “From the Doe deposition transcript, extract the top 10 admissions most helpful to our defense, with page/line and linked excerpt.”
3. Tag each item with OneNote tags (e.g., “Follow Up,” “Exhibit Needed”).

Step 6 — Summarize status in Teams for the trial team

1. In the Teams “General” channel, ask Copilot:
   • “Summarize major developments since 30 days ago across Pleadings and Depositions libraries and propose next three tasks with owners.”
2. Convert the proposed tasks into Planner/To Do assignments, linked back to the documents.

Step 7 — Finalize the Case Summary Pack

1. Back in Word, add a cover page with matter info, version, and confidentiality label.
2. Insert your validated tables, issues list, admissions, and inconsistencies, ensuring every point cites a specific source.
3. Run your firm’s style/format macros. Save to the matter’s “Work Product” library.
4. Share a link in Teams with permissions scoped to the trial team. Avoid email attachments to keep a single source of truth.

Pro Tip: Keep your initial document set small, iterate quickly, then incrementally add more files. Copilot performs best when your scope is focused and your prompts specify deliverable length, structure, and audience.

Reusable Prompt Patterns for Legal Summaries

1) Issue-by-Issue Briefing

• Prompt: “From the complaint, answer, and [deposition name], produce a concise summary organized by the following issues: [Issue A], [Issue B], [Issue C]. For each, include facts, citations to specific sections, and risk level.”
• Use when: You need a court- or client-ready outline.

2) Admissions and Inconsistencies

• Prompt: “Identify admissions across [transcripts]. Cross-reference with allegations in the complaint. Create a two-column table: Admission (with page/line) | Conflicting Allegation (paragraph no.).”
• Use when: Preparing for motion practice or impeachment.

3) Motion Digest with Key Authorities

• Prompt: “Summarize the Motion to Dismiss. Break down by rule invoked, main arguments, counterarguments, and authorities cited. Provide a bulleted list of precedents with jurisdiction.”
• Use when: Scoping opposition strategy.

4) Partner-Level Brief

• Prompt: “Draft a one-page executive summary of matter status for a partner audience: posture, upcoming deadlines, strongest/weakest issues, and budget implications. Include links to underlying documents.”
• Use when: Briefing leadership or clients.

Validation, Ethics, and Accuracy Controls

Checklist before sharing any AI-assisted analysis

• Confirm every material assertion links to a specific, reviewed source.
• Red-team the output: ask Copilot to argue the other side’s strongest points and see if anything was missed.
• Use Word’s Compare to check your final summary against earlier drafts for drift.
• Apply sensitivity labels and restrict external sharing by policy when necessary.
• Disclose internal AI-assisted drafting per firm policy and client guidelines.

Handling citations

Copilot in Microsoft 365 typically cites your own M365 files with links, not formal legal citations. For court filings, replace internal file references with proper Bluebook citations during attorney review, and verify quotations against the authoritative source.

Optional Automation: Power Automate for Intake-to-Analysis

Streamline how new documents reach your analysis pipeline. This short tutorial routes new files to the right place, tags them, and posts a Teams alert with a ready-to-run Copilot prompt.

Build the flow

1. Open Power Automate and create a cloud flow: “When a file is created (SharePoint).” Choose your matter site and library (e.g., Depositions).
2. Add an action “Update file properties” to set metadata based on filename patterns (e.g., if name contains “Deposition,” set Doc Type = Deposition, extract deponent/date).
3. Add a “Post adaptive card in a chat or channel” to the matter’s Teams channel including:
   • File name and link
   • Auto-detected metadata
   • A suggested Copilot prompt such as: “Summarize this deposition and list the top 10 admissions with page/line.”
4. Optionally, add approval: if Doc Type = Pleading and Filing Date within last 7 days, alert the partner for review.
5. Save and test by uploading a new deposition transcript.

Result: Every new document arrives pre-tagged, instantly surfaced to the team with a one-click Copilot starting prompt, reducing lag between receipt and analysis.

Measure Impact and Iterate

Track outcomes to demonstrate ROI and continuously improve your prompts and structure.

KPI	How to Measure	Target
Time to first draft summary	Planner task timestamps; Word version history	Reduce by 40–60%
Attorney review time	Timesheet entries for validation/editing	Reduce by 25–35%
Missed issues in partner review	Checklist variance tracking	Near-zero
Reuse of prompt templates	Template library usage analytics	Adoption across 80% of matters
Governance compliance	Purview DLP and labeling reports	100% labeled work product

Conclusion and Next Steps

Copilot can transform legal document analysis from a manual, fragmented effort into a repeatable, well-governed workflow. By structuring your matter workspace, using targeted prompts, and enforcing rigorous validation, you can deliver faster, clearer insights with reliable source traceability. Start with one matter, measure results, and scale your templates and automations across the practice.

Want expert guidance on bringing Microsoft CoPilot into your firm’s legal workflows? Reach out to A.I. Solutions today for tailored support and training.