How Law Firms Use Highlighty for Contract Review and Discovery

A long agreement or discovery PDF may contain several names, dates, and defined terms you need to locate. Searching for one term at a time can make it hard to keep the full list in view.

Highlighty provides a way to locate those terms together. Its document search and English OCR run on your device, without uploading the PDF for processing.

On webpages, Highlighty can open its find bar from the browser's Ctrl+F or Cmd+F shortcut. PDF Search provides a separate workspace for documents.

The problem with Ctrl+F for legal work

A one-term search can be awkward when a reading task calls for several names or clauses:

• An agreement can use several names and defined terms. Searching each separately makes it harder to compare where they appear.
• A scanned, image-only PDF has no selectable text for ordinary text search until OCR recognizes it.
• A search result still needs to be read in context; a matching word alone does not tell you what a clause means.

Highlighty helps locate chosen terms so you can inspect the source text.

What Highlighty actually does

Add the terms you need and Highlighty highlights their matches in different colors. The free plan supports up to five active queries per list; larger lists and PDF Search are PRO features. Then use the navigation tools to inspect what it found:

• Multi-keyword search. Highlighty marks matches for the terms you choose in distinct colors on supported pages.
• PDF Search. PRO applies the multi-term workflow to selectable-text PDFs in a dedicated viewer.
• On-device OCR. PDF Search attempts to recognize image-only English PDF pages locally. Results depend on scan quality, so verify them against the image.
• The X-Ray context panel. See snippets around matches and move to relevant sections without repeatedly starting a new search.
• Scrollbar markers to jump between hits, PRO RegExp for pattern matching, and Excel import for query lists. The free plan can import within its five-query limit; larger active lists require PRO.

Document processing stays on your device

Confidentiality requirements matter when choosing a document tool. Check Highlighty's local processing approach against your firm's own policies and obligations.

Document search and OCR run on your device; the PDF is not uploaded to Highlighty for processing. Account and subscription functions still communicate with Highlighty services. Local processing does not by itself determine your professional obligations or a document's privilege status.

Highlighty is a text-finding aid. It does not interpret clauses or replace legal review.

Five ways small firms put it to work

1. Contract and lease review. Search for chosen party names and defined terms together, then read each match in context.
2. Discovery scanning. Look for a prepared list of names and dates in a searchable PDF. For image-only English pages, use the on-device OCR and verify the recognized text against the scan.
3. Case-law and brief research. Highlight the authorities and legal standards you are tracking in a long web page or PDF.
4. Due diligence. Reuse a list such as change of control, indemnity, assignment, and termination across documents while checking the surrounding language.
5. Scanned records. Run English OCR on an image-only PDF to make recognized text searchable; scan quality affects the result.

Why it works for a small firm specifically

A single reader can try Highlighty in the browser before discussing seats for a larger team. PDF Search is a PRO feature, and team terms should be confirmed in writing. Test it on a representative document to see whether the workflow is useful for your practice.

Try it on your own documents

Open a representative document, try a short list of terms, and check each result against the source. Document search and OCR process the file on your device.

For a document with no client information, download the fictional sample agreement or its image-only version. Add one to PDF Search during a PRO trial or subscription and look for assignment, consent, and change of control. The image-only version tests English OCR.

For a short walkthrough, see the legal team workflow. If several colleagues want seats, ask for the current team terms at hey@highlighty.app.