Eighteen months after achieving full data coverage of key U.S. case law, the legal research startup Midpage has achieved another significant milestone. The company now offers comprehensive coverage of federal and state statutes, regulations, constitutions, and agency guidance documents. This expansion means Midpage now provides a singular, extensive dataset of both case and codified law, invaluable for both legal practitioners and tech companies that license Midpage’s data.
The dataset now encompasses more than four million statutes and regulations, adding to the over fourteen million published and unpublished opinions it already includes. Midpage has circumvented traditional data vendors by directly collecting information from primary sources. Company founder Otto Zastrow asserts that this approach ensures higher data quality and comprehensive coverage, especially compared to both LexisNexis and Westlaw, as well as open data initiatives like CourtListener.
A unique feature of Midpage’s dataset is versioning, which stores historical versions of statutes and regulations. This allows researchers to ascertain the exact language of a legal text as it stood on any given date, a critical component for litigators. Zastrow also highlighted the frequency of updates; statutes and regulations are re-scanned weekly, and case law is updated several times per day.
Midpage’s latest release also incorporated the on-demand retrieval of PACER dockets and filings from federal courts. This integration streamlines workflow by allowing users to obtain court documents directly through Midpage’s platform and its integrations in AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
The company is also addressing challenges posed by certain states that restrict access to their official codes, often published exclusively through LexisNexis. For states such as Georgia, Midpage is reconstructing the legal codes from underlying session laws and acts.
Subscribers to Midpage’s Pro plan receive PACER usage credits, and higher-level subscribers can negotiate for more substantial credit levels. Usage statistics indicate that Midpage’s integration with Claude is proving increasingly popular, suggesting law professionals are integrating these solutions into their day-to-day operations.
Looking ahead, Midpage aims to introduce hyperlinking between legal documents and provide coverage for proposed bills at the state level. Combined with newly announced customers like BriefCatch and GC AI, the company’s data services are gaining traction among large organizations.
For more details, visit their data quality page and coverage page.