Minnesota Board of Public Defense selects Vincent by Clio to strengthen constitutional defense across the state

The legal AI platform will help nearly 950 public defenders deliver faster, more effective legal representation to Minnesotans

Clio, the global leader in legal AI, today announced that the Minnesota Board of Public Defense has selected Vincent, Clio’s legal AI engineered for lawyers, for deployment across all ten of the state’s judicial districts. The rollout will equip public defenders and non-attorney staff statewide, marking a growing recognition that AI can help close the access-to-justice gap.

The Minnesota Board of Public Defense oversees one of the most robust public defense systems in the United States, representing indigent individuals in approximately 150,000 cases per year across all 87 Minnesota counties. Its attorneys and staff are charged with a constitutional obligation that demands both rigor and speed, yet the system has long operated under significant resource constraints, with staff consistently carrying large caseloads.

Utilizing Vincent, staff can analyze complaints and pleadings, review documents at scale, and turn case facts into stronger legal arguments. When public-defender caseloads exceed national staffing recommendations, these capabilities represent a much-needed operational shift.

“The Minnesota Board of Public Defense represents one of the country’s largest and most active public-defense systems, and their decision to select Vincent reflects what we hear consistently from organizations evaluating legal AI: the difference is in the legal foundation,” said Ronnie Gurion, President and COO at Clio. “Vincent is grounded in over one billion curated legal sources with built-in verification and citation, which means defenders can trust what it returns. When the stakes are someone’s liberty, that rigor is non-negotiable.”

With Vincent, Minnesota’s public defenders gain access to AI-powered legal research, document analysis, and case strategy tools grounded in over one billion curated legal sources. The office has focused its adoption on four key workflows: analyzing complaints and pleadings to identify weaknesses in charging documents early in the process, reviewing interviews, interrogations, and discovery materials at scale, conducting legal research grounded in verified case law and statutes, and assistance with building legal arguments tailored to each client’s defense. 

Early results from the pilot have been significant: 

• Reduction in attorney time on key research and review tasks 
• Witness interviews review reduced to under five minutes, down from hours of manual work 
• Approximately 1,000 documents analyzed at a time, reallocating thousands of hours back to direct client advocacy
• Active users up more than 300% within nine months of onboarding 

“Public defenders do some of the country’s most demanding legal work, handling complex cases at a volume and pace that few other practice areas require,” said Daniel Hoadley, Senior Director of Product Management at Clio. “Vincent was built to operate at that speed and scale without sacrificing the accuracy and rigor their clients depend on.” 

Clio’s mission has long been to transform the legal experience for all, and that includes ensuring that the legal professionals who serve the public interest have access to the best technology available. The adoption of Vincent by the Minnesota Board of Public Defense is a meaningful step in that direction. 

The deployment of Vincent is available statewide across all ten judicial districts. For more information, visit clio.com/enterprise. 

About the Minnesota Public Defenders Office 

The Minnesota Board of Public Defense is an independent Judicial Branch agency whose mission is to provide quality criminal defense services to indigent defendants through a responsible, effective, and efficient public defender system. Coordinated and funded by the Board of Public Defense, Minnesota public defenders and support staff represent accused individuals in each of the state’s 87 counties across ten judicial districts. The office employs nearly 950 staff, including full-time and part-time attorneys, and its defenders handle approximately 150,000 cases per year. The Board is governed by nine members appointed by the Governor and the Minnesota Supreme Court. Learn more at pubdef.state.mn.us.