Alexi files countersuit against Fastcase and Clio over trade secrets data
Alexi files countersuit against Fastcase and Clio over trade secrets data
Seeks an unspecified number worth of damages
Canadian legal technology firm Alexi has launched a counter-offensive against Fastcase and its parent company, Clio, in Washington, D.C., federal court, accusing them of a ‘baseless’ trade secrets lawsuit.
Alexi alleged that the companies were trying to eliminate their competitor in artificial intelligence (AI)-backed research. It added that since acquiring Fastcase three years ago, Clio has made strategic efforts to destroy Alexi as an AI‑research rival.
The Canadian firm stated that Clio tried to dominate the market and breached a contract that gives future acquirers of Alexi the right to buy Fastcase's vast legal research library without restraints.
It furthered that clients had either canceled or not renewed their subscriptions after Fastcase sued Alexi in November last year. Many of them were hesitant about the lawsuit for which Alexi had to lay off two-thirds of its employees.
The counter-offensive lawsuit by Alexi stated, "Clio’s abusive tactics, from pressuring Alexi to give up its contractual rights, to filing baseless claims, to cutting off critical updates and sowing fear among customers and potential acquirers, reflect a deliberate plan to neutralize Alexi as a competitor.”
However, a spokesperson for Clio termed the allegations baseless and stressed that Fastcase ‘categorically denies’ Alexi's charges. He accused Alexi of shifting attention from its misuse of Fastcase's data and challenging it “for enforcing its contractual rights and protecting intellectual property built over many years."
The matter arose in 2021, after a licensing deal was signed between Alexi and Fastcase. This was before Fastcase merged with vLex in 2023. As part of the negotiations, Alexi was to retain access to Fastcase's online law library even if the former was acquired by another company.
But after Clio took over Fastcase (subsequent to buying vLex for $1 billion in 2025), Alexi alleged that Clio pressurized it into giving up the contractual right without any compensation.
In its counter-offensive, Alexi faulted Clio's acquisition of vLex. It added that Fastcase violated federal antitrust law, as it could “substantially lessen competition in the market for AI legal analysis services that rely on access to comprehensive primary-caselaw data."
On the other hand, in its lawsuit, Fastcase blamed Alexi for restricting publishing or distributing Fastcase’s database. It alleged that Alexi trained its generative AI models on Fastcase’s data, displaying Fastcase-sourced case law to consumers. Alexi also used Fastcase's trademarks in its interface, creating a false impression of affiliation.
However, denying the accusations, Alexi countered that Fastcase knew about and supported its AI service for years. It sought an unspecified number of damages from it and requested the federal court that Clio must "license the Fastcase database to rival AI legal analysis service providers on non-discriminatory terms."
