Court clutter on trial: Olathe legal tech startup puts boxes of evidence one touch away

A Kansas-built innovation is reshaping courtroom outcomes with its one-touch trial prep platform that already has helped attorneys secure billions in verdicts with ease, said Jay Rutler.

“I have a reputation for solving complicated problems,” added Rutler, founder and CEO of Litigen, and founder of ICON, a casino chip manufacturer. “A friend of mine, a successful plaintiff’s attorney, was frustrated with his tech. He expected every document and video to be at his fingertips, but the software he had was slow and clunky.”

That frustration became the founder’s inspiration. In 2017, he sketched out a platform that could instantly index, barcode, and display evidence during depositions and trials.

“Six weeks later, we had a prototype,” Rutler said. “He and his team absolutely loved it.”

Olathe, Kansas-based Litigen makes every piece of evidence instantly accessible. Lawyers upload documents, photos, transcripts, and videos, which are automatically indexed and tagged with barcodes. In court, they can scan a barcode or search a keyword, and the exact file appears on screen right away.

“It’s like having every binder and box of evidence in one place, without the clutter,” Rutler said. “If a witness mentions a document, you can pull it up in seconds.”

The system works in both high-tech courtrooms and smaller setups, replacing stacks of paper with a single binder and scanner.

Shaping perception in the courtroom

Margo Herwig, who joined the team in June as marketing director, recalls walking past a New York courthouse and seeing an attorney dragging a cart of boxes, papers spilling everywhere.

“Then I meet Jay, and he’s showing me how Litigen lets a lawyer walk in with a small binder and a scanner,” she said. “The perception is immediate, one looks unprepared, the other looks completely in control.”

Such perception shifts can also influence juries, Rutler added.

“In that courtroom, if you had to choose who the Fortune 50 company was, you’d pick our side, because of how smoothly it operated,” he said.

But the mission is about more than appearances. It’s also about helping lawyers stay organized and work more efficiently.

“Everybody wants things faster, better, and less expensive,” said Herwig. “Litigen empowers lawyers to work smarter. Instead of staying up all night cramming before trial, they’ve been preparing since day one, and that changes everything.”

Winning billion-dollar verdicts

The first big test came in a wrongful death lawsuit against Ford Motor Company, Rutler explained. Attorneys using Litigen seamlessly pulled up documents and video. The opposing counsel noticed.

“About a third of the way through depositions, the other side said, ‘Hey, wait a second. We need access to this, because this isn’t fair,’” he recalled. “They were holding up paper to the camera while our guy was effortlessly bringing up content on the fly.”

That case ended with a $76 million verdict, validating Rutler’s vision. Since then, Litigen has been used in national trials, including the 2023 class action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors.

“That resulted in a $1.76 billion verdict,” Rutler said. “It showed the value of mastering the evidence and communicating it clearly to the jury.”

Scaling with Microsoft

To scale globally, Litigen turned to Microsoft. The platform now runs on Azure’s secure cloud infrastructure, giving it government-level security and unlimited growth potential.

“When Microsoft gets excited about working with you, and then says they’re going to feature you on their website, it’s incredible,” said Herwig. “Jay dreamed up this company, and now it’s going to be available for the world to see.”

The Microsoft partnership also paves the way for AI integrations.

“There’s a lot of hype around AI, but we’re applying it in a structured way,” Rutler explained. “With our system, you don’t just get a black-box answer. You see exactly what the AI referenced. In law, the stakes are too high to just trust it blindly.”

Looking ahead, the team plans to hire sales staff and launch a new website. Litigen is also exploring ways to expand its technology. Potential tools for arbitration, mediation, and even law school training are on the horizon.

“It feels like we’re on the cusp,” Rutler said. “Our users are enthusiastic, from plaintiffs lawyers to divorce attorneys, and our goal is to make this accessible for any case and any client. We want to bring these capabilities to the entire legal space.”