Frequently asked questions

Sidebarlex runs on Windows 10 or Windows 11, and macOS 12 or later. You need at least 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and 100 GB of free disk space. DDR5 is the memory standard in most computers sold from 2023 onward.

Processor speed matters less than RAM type and amount. The system does not require a discrete graphics card. If you are unsure whether your machine qualifies, the hardware check page walks through it in under two minutes.

You do not need to purchase anything before trying the free version. Install it and you will know within 30 minutes whether your current machine is sufficient.

Sidebarlex protects attorney-client privilege by keeping all AI processing on your own computer. Your client data never touches a third-party server. The AI model runs locally in your office — no API call is made during normal use, no data processing agreement is required, and no third party has access to your documents.

This is structurally different from any cloud AI tool. When you upload a client file to ChatGPT, Copilot, or Harvey AI, it leaves your network. With a local setup, it does not.

For specific ethics opinion guidance in your jurisdiction, your state bar is the authority. The technical architecture here is the most defensible position currently available to a solo or small firm attorney. ABA Formal Opinion 477R addresses the cybersecurity obligations that apply to cloud-based data transmission — those obligations do not arise here because no data is transmitted.

The installer takes about 15 to 30 minutes to run on your computer. After that, the legal library loads in the background, which typically adds another 20 to 60 minutes. Most attorneys are fully running the same day they start the installation.

The initial download is several gigabytes, so a stable broadband connection helps. Your computer handles all AI processing locally after install, with no ongoing internet connection required.

Every installer includes the complete US federal and 50-state legal library. Sidebarlex is free and open source, so there is no separate "configured" step and no paid upgrade path at install time.

Sidebarlex supports any US practice area. Every installer ships with all 50 US state bar rules, federal procedural rules, and ethics opinions pre-loaded, so if you take on a client in a new state the relevant rules are already on your machine.

Practice areas the legal library covers include real estate, family law, criminal defense, personal injury, small business and contracts, immigration, and employment law. Niche or hybrid practices are supported with the same library.

If a rule or ethics opinion is missing for your jurisdiction, open a GitHub issue and it gets added. That is the whole point of shipping the product open source.

Sidebarlex is free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. Every installer includes the complete US federal and 50-state legal library. There is no paid tier at launch, no questionnaire, no invoice. You can audit the source code before installing.

A hosted jurisprudence database, daily-updated US case law searchable from inside the app, is on the roadmap as an optional subscription in a later release. That part needs servers and is not free to operate, so it will have a monthly fee. It will be entirely separate from the local product.

Your local Sidebarlex keeps working whether or not you ever subscribe. Your documents never leave your network either way.

For most attorneys, the system runs without any ongoing maintenance. There are no software subscriptions to renew, no license keys to manage, no cloud services that can expire or change their terms. The AI model and legal library are stored on your computer and continue working regardless of internet availability.

If a model update improves performance significantly, you will hear about it by email — updates are optional and you can choose when or whether to apply them. The product is designed to be self-sufficient after setup: a lawyer who never needs to contact support again after the first week is the intended outcome.

If something breaks or you have questions, email gets a response within one business day. There is no additional charge for post-setup support during the first year.

No. Sidebarlex only uses your computer's processing power when you actively send it a question. While you are drafting, reviewing documents in another application, or doing anything else on your computer, the AI is idle and uses no CPU or memory.

The 32 GB RAM minimum ensures the AI and your normal work applications — email, Word, your case management software — can run side by side without competing for resources.

Yes. Most legal documents — contracts, deposition transcripts, court filings, older case records — are scanned PDFs rather than text-native files. Sidebarlex is pre-configured to handle scanned documents out of the box.

You do not need to convert files or use any additional software. Upload a scanned PDF and ask a question about it the same way you would any other document.

No. Sidebarlex is free with no expiry date, no credit card required, no trial period, and no subscription.

Once it is installed on your computer it keeps working whether or not the project keeps shipping updates. A hosted jurisprudence database is on the roadmap as an optional subscription in a later release; it will be separate from the local product and is not required to use Sidebarlex.