Plato vs Doctrine: legal research or personal-injury valuation?
Doctrine is the benchmark for legal research in France: it indexes case law, statutes and legal commentary so you can find a decision. Plato answers a different question: once the case law is found, how do you value the compensation and draft the documents? Plato draws on more than 84,000 quantified personal-injury decisions (with the amounts), calculates the Dintilhac heads and produces the schedule. The two are largely complementary: Doctrine to search the law, Plato to value and produce in personal injury and employment law.
The comparison at a glance
| Criterion | Doctrine | Plato |
|---|---|---|
| Main function | Legal research (case law, statutes, commentary) | Vertical valuation + drafting |
| Scope | All areas of law | Personal injury & employment law |
| Quantified case law (with amounts) | Search for decisions | 84,000+ quantified decisions, comparable by head |
| Personal-injury valuation (Dintilhac, head by head) | No | Yes, automated |
| Document output (schedule, legal documents) | No | Yes, in Word |
| Typical use | Find the right decision | Value and draft the case |
In detail
Two different needs
Searching for a decision and valuing compensation are two distinct tasks. Doctrine excels at the first, across all areas of law. Plato is built for the second, in personal injury and employment law.
Quantified case law
Plato does not just index decisions: it extracts the amounts awarded by head of damage, to compare a case with cases at a similar rating and age, the raw material of a well-argued valuation.
From research to output
Beyond research, Plato calculates the Dintilhac heads, generates the schedule and drafts the documents directly in Word, where a research platform stops at documentation. On a personal injury case, that represents two whole steps (valuation and drafting) that research alone does not cover, and every amount remains traceable back to its exhibit.
Complementarity
Many firms use a research platform for the law at large and Plato to value and produce on their personal injury and employment cases.
Frequently asked questions
Does Plato replace Doctrine?
No. Doctrine excels at legal research across all areas. Plato comes downstream, on valuation and document output in personal injury and employment law. The two tools complement each other.
What is the difference between researching and valuing case law?
Researching means finding the relevant decisions. Valuing means extracting the compensation amounts awarded by head and comparing them with a case (rating, age). Plato is built for this second use.
Does Doctrine value personal injury under Dintilhac?
Doctrine is a legal research platform. The automatic head-by-head valuation of personal injury under the Dintilhac classification, and the associated schedule, are the domain of a vertical tool such as Plato.