I built BluebookGen because I saw a problem that shouldn't exist in 2026.
While watching law students work in the library, I noticed an agonizing pattern: they would pull up a case on Westlaw or Lexis, look at the screen, and then manually re-type the case name, volume, and reporter into their brief. Then they’d pause, check their Bluebook to see if "Board" should be abbreviated to "Bd.", backspace, and type it again.
It was slow, error-prone, and honestly, a waste of brilliant minds.
Why I Built This
I'm an independent developer with a passion for automation. I realized that the repetitive nature of Rule 10 citations—Structure, Abbreviation, Punctuation—is something computers are perfectly designed to solve.
I didn't want to build another bloated, paid subscription service. I wanted to build a fast, sharp utility that does one thing perfectly: turns raw case info into a clean citation.
Privacy by Design
Legal research is sensitive. I designed this tool with a strict privacy-first architecture:
- No Database: We don't store your citations or the cases you look up.
- Ephemeral Processing: When you use the OCR feature, your screenshot is processed in temporary memory and immediately discarded. It never touches a persistent disk.
- Client-Side First: Wherever possible, logic runs right in your browser.
The Technology
Under the hood, BluebookGen combines two powerful technologies:
- Optical Character Recognition (OCR): To "read" screenshots and extract text.
- Algorithmic Formatting: Custom logic that maps full words to their Table T6 and T10 abbreviations automatically.
Contact
This is an indie project, and I'm always looking to improve it. If you spot a bug, have a feature request, or just want to say hi, please reach out directly: