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Use Cases by Practice Area

How legal professionals use Thea across different practice areas

Overview

While Thea's core functionality works across all legal areas, different practice areas benefit in unique ways. Here's how legal professionals use Thea in various contexts.

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Common Timeline Needs

  • Case chronologies from complaint through trial
  • Discovery timelines
  • Procedural history
  • Factual chronologies for summary judgment
  • Settlement conference materials
  • Trial presentation aids

Example: Employment Discrimination Case

Scenario: Plaintiff alleges workplace discrimination over 2-year period

Documents:

  • Email correspondence (200+ emails)
  • Performance reviews
  • HR complaints and responses
  • Witness statements
  • Company policies

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload all documents to project
  2. Create timeline: "Employment Events"
  3. AI extracts: Performance reviews, complaints, management responses, policy changes
  4. Categories: HR Actions, Communications, Performance Issues, Policy Changes
  5. Export to PDF for mediation brief

Result: 15 minutes vs. 8 hours manually organizing 200+ emails and documents

Benefits:

  • Clear visualization of pattern of conduct
  • Easy to show temporal relationships
  • Professional presentation for mediator
  • Simple to update when new discovery arrives

Corporate & M&A

Common Timeline Needs

  • Transaction timelines
  • Due diligence chronologies
  • Corporate structure evolution
  • Board decision tracking
  • Regulatory approval timelines
  • Integration milestones

Example: Acquisition Due Diligence

Scenario: Reviewing target company history for acquisition

Documents:

  • Board minutes (5 years)
  • Material contracts
  • Litigation history
  • Regulatory filings
  • Financial statements
  • Press releases

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload due diligence documents
  2. Create multiple timelines:
    • Corporate governance events
    • Material contracts timeline
    • Litigation history
    • Financial milestones
  3. AI identifies key dates, parties, and events
  4. Export to Word for due diligence report

Result: Multiple professional timelines in 30 minutes vs. days of manual work

Benefits:

  • Quickly identify red flags
  • Track corporate decision-making patterns
  • Present findings to client/deal team
  • Easy to update as due diligence progresses

Regulatory & Compliance

Common Timeline Needs

  • Investigation timelines
  • Regulatory filing chronologies
  • Audit trails
  • Compliance event tracking
  • Violation and remediation timelines
  • Government inquiry response

Example: Internal Investigation

Scenario: Company investigating potential FCPA violations

Documents:

  • Email communications
  • Expense reports and receipts
  • Contract documents
  • Meeting notes
  • Travel records
  • Wire transfer records

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload investigation materials (confidentially)
  2. Create timeline: "Investigation Timeline"
  3. AI extracts: Payments, communications, travel, meetings
  4. Categories: Financial Events, Communications, Travel, Red Flags
  5. Filter to focus on suspicious period
  6. Export to PDF for management presentation

Result: Clear chronology of events in 20 minutes

Benefits:

  • Identify patterns of conduct
  • Track financial flows chronologically
  • Present findings to board/counsel
  • Maintain confidentiality (EU-hosted, encrypted)

Employment Law

Common Timeline Needs

  • Workplace incident timelines
  • Discrimination/harassment chronologies
  • Performance management timelines
  • Termination sequence of events
  • Retaliation timelines
  • Wage and hour violation tracking

Example: Wrongful Termination Defense

Scenario: Defendant employer facing wrongful termination claim

Documents:

  • Performance reviews (3 years)
  • Disciplinary notices
  • Email warnings
  • Attendance records
  • Policy acknowledgments
  • HR investigation notes

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload employee file documents
  2. Create timeline: "Employee Performance History"
  3. AI extracts: Reviews, warnings, absences, policy violations
  4. Categories: Performance, Attendance, Discipline, Achievements
  5. Add exhibits linking to supporting documents
  6. Export to PDF for arbitration presentation

Result: Clear documentation of legitimate business reasons for termination

Benefits:

  • Visual proof of performance issues over time
  • Counter narrative of sudden termination
  • Professional presentation for arbitrator
  • Easy to add newly discovered documents

Intellectual Property

Common Timeline Needs

  • Patent prosecution history
  • Priority date analysis
  • Trademark use timelines
  • Infringement chronologies
  • Licensing agreement timelines
  • Prior art timelines

Example: Patent Infringement Case

Scenario: Plaintiff alleging patent infringement

Documents:

  • Patent file history
  • Defendant's product releases
  • Technical documentation
  • Sales and marketing materials
  • Prior art references
  • Licensing discussions

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload patent and infringement documents
  2. Create timelines:
    • Patent prosecution timeline
    • Defendant product development timeline
    • Infringement timeline
  3. AI extracts key dates and events
  4. Markers for critical dates (priority date, patent issuance, first infringement)
  5. Export for expert report appendix

Result: Clear visualization of patent rights vs. infringement

Benefits:

  • Show temporal relationship between patent and infringement
  • Track willfulness evidence
  • Support expert opinions
  • Present to jury in understandable format

Real Estate & Construction

Common Timeline Needs

  • Project timelines
  • Contract milestone tracking
  • Change order chronologies
  • Defect discovery timelines
  • Delay and disruption analysis
  • Payment timelines

Example: Construction Defect Litigation

Scenario: Homeowner alleging construction defects

Documents:

  • Construction contracts
  • Change orders
  • Daily logs and progress reports
  • Inspection reports
  • Payment records
  • Notice of defects
  • Remediation attempts

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload project documents
  2. Create timelines:
    • Project construction timeline
    • Defect discovery timeline
    • Notice and remediation timeline
  3. AI extracts: Milestones, inspections, payments, notices
  4. Categories: Construction, Inspections, Defects, Remediation
  5. Ranges to show project phases
  6. Export to PDF for expert engineer report

Result: Clear progression from construction through defect discovery

Benefits:

  • Show relationship between construction and defects
  • Track notice and opportunity to cure
  • Document remediation attempts
  • Support damages calculations

Insurance & Claims

Common Timeline Needs

  • Claims chronologies
  • Coverage period analysis
  • Notice timelines
  • Investigation chronologies
  • Settlement negotiations
  • Litigation timelines

Example: Coverage Dispute

Scenario: Insurer defending coverage denial

Documents:

  • Policy documents
  • Claim submissions
  • Correspondence
  • Investigation reports
  • Denial letter
  • Legal proceedings

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload claims file
  2. Create timeline: "Claim History"
  3. AI extracts: Incident, notice, investigation, requests, responses
  4. Categories: Policy Events, Claim Events, Communications, Investigations
  5. Markers for key deadlines (notice deadline, policy period)
  6. Export to Word for coverage opinion

Result: Clear documentation of notice timing and investigation

Benefits:

  • Show compliance with policy requirements
  • Document investigation timeline
  • Prove timely denial
  • Support coverage position

Securities & Financial Services

Common Timeline Needs

  • Transaction timelines
  • Trading activity chronologies
  • Disclosure timelines
  • Investigation timelines
  • Regulatory filing chronologies
  • Board decision timelines

Example: Securities Fraud Investigation

Scenario: Investigating potential insider trading

Documents:

  • Trading records
  • Email communications
  • Board minutes
  • Press releases
  • SEC filings
  • News articles

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload investigation materials
  2. Create timeline: "Trading and Information Timeline"
  3. AI extracts: Trades, meetings, disclosures, announcements
  4. Categories: Trading Activity, Inside Information, Public Disclosures
  5. Markers for blackout periods and material events
  6. Export confidentially for internal review

Result: Visual analysis of trading relative to material information

Benefits:

  • Identify suspicious trading patterns
  • Correlate trades with information access
  • Present to regulators or defense team
  • Maintain strict confidentiality

Family Law

Common Timeline Needs

  • Relationship timelines
  • Custody and visitation chronologies
  • Financial event tracking
  • Domestic incident timelines
  • Property acquisition timelines
  • Child welfare event tracking

Example: Custody Modification

Scenario: Parent seeking custody modification

Documents:

  • Custody orders
  • Visitation logs
  • School and medical records
  • Police reports
  • Communications between parents
  • Witness statements

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload case documents
  2. Create timeline: "Custody History"
  3. AI extracts: Custody exchanges, incidents, school events, medical issues
  4. Categories: Custody, Welfare Concerns, School, Health, Incidents
  5. Export to PDF for court filing

Result: Documented pattern supporting custody change

Benefits:

  • Show pattern of behavior over time
  • Document child welfare concerns
  • Present clear narrative to judge
  • Protect sensitive information (encrypted, EU-hosted)

White Collar Criminal Defense

Common Timeline Needs

  • Investigation chronologies
  • Transaction timelines
  • Communication timelines
  • Witness interview timelines
  • Cooperation timelines
  • Sentencing factor chronologies

Example: FCPA Investigation

Scenario: Defending company in FCPA investigation

Documents:

  • Financial transactions
  • Email communications
  • Contract documents
  • Travel records
  • Meeting notes
  • Government requests

Thea Workflow:

  1. Upload (encrypted, privileged) investigation materials
  2. Create timeline: "Relevant Events"
  3. AI extracts key events, transactions, communications
  4. Categories: Payments, Communications, Travel, Due Diligence, Cooperation
  5. Confidential review with defense team
  6. Selective export for presentations to DOJ

Result: Comprehensive chronology for defense strategy

Benefits:

  • Identify exculpatory patterns
  • Track cooperation efforts
  • Prepare for government meetings
  • Maximum confidentiality (attorney-client privilege protected)

Cross-Practice Benefits

Internal Investigations

  • Track investigative timeline
  • Document interview chronology
  • Show cooperation and remediation

Regulatory Compliance

  • Audit trail creation
  • Compliance event tracking
  • Policy implementation timelines

Client Communication

  • Executive summaries with visual timelines
  • Board presentations
  • Client update materials

Matter Management

  • Track case milestones
  • Monitor deadlines and key dates
  • Visualize matter progress

Getting Started with Your Use Case

Every practice area benefits from Thea's core capabilities:

✅ Automatic event extraction ✅ Professional visualizations ✅ Privacy and confidentiality ✅ Easy updates and revisions ✅ Multiple export formats ✅ Legal-specific features

Ready to try Thea for your practice area?

Get started →

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Thea vs. Manual Tools

How Thea compares to traditional timeline creation methods

Getting Started

Learn how to set up your account and create your first timeline

On this page

OverviewLitigation & Dispute ResolutionCommon Timeline NeedsExample: Employment Discrimination CaseCorporate & M&ACommon Timeline NeedsExample: Acquisition Due DiligenceRegulatory & ComplianceCommon Timeline NeedsExample: Internal InvestigationEmployment LawCommon Timeline NeedsExample: Wrongful Termination DefenseIntellectual PropertyCommon Timeline NeedsExample: Patent Infringement CaseReal Estate & ConstructionCommon Timeline NeedsExample: Construction Defect LitigationInsurance & ClaimsCommon Timeline NeedsExample: Coverage DisputeSecurities & Financial ServicesCommon Timeline NeedsExample: Securities Fraud InvestigationFamily LawCommon Timeline NeedsExample: Custody ModificationWhite Collar Criminal DefenseCommon Timeline NeedsExample: FCPA InvestigationCross-Practice BenefitsInternal InvestigationsRegulatory ComplianceClient CommunicationMatter ManagementGetting Started with Your Use CaseLearn More