Building a modern litigation firm

Opus 2 case study: Dunn Isaacson Rhee

Dunn Isaacson Rhee (DIR) is an elite litigation boutique focused on high-stakes trials, investigations, and crisis management. From day one, the firm set out to challenge traditional Big Law assumptions—proving that clients don’t need a massive quantity of lawyers on their legal teams, but rather focused experts supported by the right technology.

DIR was built to operate at the highest level in an increasingly complex and fast-moving legal landscape. That vision demanded not just exceptional attorneys, but a modern, streamlined litigation platform capable of scaling with their ambitions.

The challenge

DIR’s founders came from large firms with wide breadths of practice areas and a multitude of legal tech solutions. That model ran counter to DIR’s philosophy of doing the most complex, high-stakes litigation work with smaller, elite teams—without sacrificing speed or results.

As DIR partner Kyle Smith put it, “If you have access to every piece of tech but don’t utilize any of them, much less all of them, then you have nothing. We knew we needed a case strategy solution that the entire trial team could buy into, not a collection of siloed one-off tools.”

To make this philosophy a reality, the firm needed to:

• Establish trial-ready infrastructure immediately as a newly formed firm
• Manage the logistics of supporting high-profile cases with leaner teams
• Create a unified ecosystem of legal technology, avoiding data silos

Mirroring the structure of the firm itself, DIR needed a focused set of tools capable of delivering outsized value.

The solution

Purpose-built for complex litigation and investigations, Opus 2 was well-aligned with the firm’s area of focus. Opus 2 supports the entire case strategy and preparation workflow in a single, unified platform—making it a true one-stop solution for modern litigation firms, rather than a patchwork of point solutions that solve isolated problems. 

With the firm’s first trial on the horizon, DIR moved quickly. They engaged Opus 2 almost immediately upon opening the firm, ensuring they had enterprise-grade case preparation tools in place, without unnecessary overhead from multiple disconnected tools.   

For DIR, Opus 2 wasn’t just software. It was foundational infrastructure that enabled their boutique firm to compete and win against the largest firms in the market.  

The results

The impact of Opus 2 was apparent from the outset. The platform delivered quick value to the DIR team, centralizing work, enabling seamless collaboration, and enhancing workflows including: 

Cross-transcript analysis
Because case transcripts are centralized in a single workspace, DIR was able to reduce the time and effort required for what can be a manual, fragmented process.

Deposition designations
The firm leverages Opus 2 for deposition designations, streamlining their trial preparation while improving accuracy and collaboration. 

Deposition clips
The firm has also been able to drastically reduce the time and effort required to create deposition clips. With Opus 2, they review synced deposition videos and create clips with just a few clicks. 

Ongoing partnership

As cases progress, DIR continues to uncover new ways Opus 2 supports their work across the case lifecycle—reinforcing the platform’s value beyond any single use case. Their confidence in Opus 2 led them to expand their deployment across teams and adopt Opus 2 AI where appropriate to further enhance and accelerate their work. The firm highlighted two key reasons that Opus 2’s approach to AI appealed to their team:  

• Trust and security: A true closed-loop AI system operating within a secure, vetted database 
• Workflow alignment: AI embedded directly where the work happens, eliminating the risk of uploading sensitive data to disconnected tools 

By keeping data, analysis, and AI in one place, Opus 2 ensures information is both secure and usable—enhancing outcomes rather than introducing risk.

Beyond the technology, DIR also points to the strength of its partnership with Opus 2. From initial implementation and subsequent expansion, Opus 2 has acted as a strategic partner. 

For litigation firms that want to stay competitive, operate leaner, and move faster without sacrificing sophistication, finding the right technology partner is key. Together with Opus 2, Dunn Isaacson Rhee is focused, efficient, and built for what’s next.