Litigation training leaders, professional development teams, law firm partners who mentor associates, and law school faculty focused on practical skills.
Key Takeaways
DepoSim, the AI deposition simulator developed by AltaClaro in partnership with Verbit, has been named “Overall LegalTech Innovation of the Year” by LegalTech Breakthrough. The recognition highlights a shift in legal AI from simply speeding up work to helping lawyers build the real-time skills that win cases.
AT A GLANCE
- DepoSim earned one of the headline honors at the 7th annual LegalTech Breakthrough Awards, recognized for using AI to strengthen skills AI can't replace.
- AI agents play the witness, opposing counsel, and court reporter, giving attorneys realistic, repeatable deposition practice with rubric-based feedback after every session.
- More than 25 Am Law firms deployed DepoSim within six months of launch, and Vanderbilt Law School became the first law school to adopt it.
- The product roadmap extends to trial examinations, oral arguments, negotiations, mediations, and client interviews.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS
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DepoSim, the AI-powered deposition simulator developed by AltaClaro in partnership with Verbit, has been named “Overall LegalTech Innovation of the Year” at the 7th annual LegalTech Breakthrough Awards.
It’s a meaningful recognition in a busy year for legal technology. LegalTech Breakthrough, an independent market intelligence organization, reviews companies and products across the global legal market – from AI research and drafting tools to eDiscovery, compliance, and access-to-justice platforms. The “Overall” designation is one of the program’s headline honors, setting DepoSim apart from the category-level winners.
The award also stands out for what it recognizes. Much of the legal industry’s AI conversation centers on helping lawyers work faster. DepoSim was built to help them get better – giving attorneys a realistic, repeatable way to practice one of litigation’s most demanding skills.
You can read the full official award announcement here.
Why LegalTech Breakthrough named DepoSim the year's top innovation
In the announcement, LegalTech Breakthrough Managing Director Bryan Vaughn noted that much of the legal industry’s conversation about AI has focused on efficiency and productivity. He described DepoSim as taking a different approach, one that “uses AI to strengthen the legal skills AI can’t replace.”
Vaughn also pointed to a long-standing gap in how depositions are taught. Depositions depend on real-time judgment, such as adjusting when a witness becomes hostile or responding to aggressive opposing counsel. Traditional training has relied on annual live-actor programs, which are costly to run and difficult to repeat at scale.
AltaClaro Founder and CEO Abdi Shayesteh has made a similar point. Deposition skills tend to fade between opportunities to use them, and firms often struggle to give attorneys a consistent baseline of training across offices and practice groups.
How DepoSim uses AI agents to simulate a real deposition
DepoSim applies a deliberate-practice model, the same approach used to train athletes and pilots, to deposition training. It uses speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and large language model technology to recreate a live deposition, with AI agents acting as the witness, opposing counsel, and court reporter.
Scenarios draw on case files, witness backstories, and evaluation rubrics developed by practicing BigLaw litigators. Key elements include:
- Configurable participants: Witness and opposing counsel behavior can be adjusted, from cooperative to hostile and from silent to aggressive.
- Variable session lengths: Sessions range from a 20-minute drill to seven hours, the length of a full deposition.
- Rubric-based feedback: Each session ends with structured feedback on performance.
- Repeatable practice: Scenarios can be rerun to focus on questioning, pacing, exhibit flow, and objection handling.
The platform is designed for attorneys at every level and is intended to support, rather than replace, partner coaching and mentorship.
Verbit's legal speech technology powers DepoSim's realism
AltaClaro designed DepoSim’s pedagogy, learner experience, and deposition scenarios. Verbit developed the core technology, including secure transcription and the AI agents used in each simulation, as described in the original DepoSim launch announcement. The same speech technology underpins Verbit’s work in court transcription and reporting and its Legal Capture transcription platform.
Commenting on the award, Verbit CEO Yair Amsterdam said, “DepoSim shows what’s possible when voice technology is built around how lawyers actually work.” He added that Verbit shares the recognition with AltaClaro.
25+ Am Law firms adopted DepoSim in its first six months
Since its launch in February 2026, DepoSim has moved from early pilots to firmwide programs at some of the country’s largest firms. Within six months, more than 25 Am Law firms had deployed the platform – a clear signal that firms see on-demand, repeatable deposition practice as worth building into how they develop litigators.
Practitioners shaped the product from the start. Six major law firms helped design DepoSim, and their attorneys contributed more than 160 hours of feedback before release, so scenarios reflect how depositions actually unfold.
- Firmwide rollouts: Fisher Phillips and Ogletree Deakins both made DepoSim available across their firms in September 2026. Ogletree’s rollout followed a pilot in which attorneys at varying levels tested the platform.
- Law school adoption: Vanderbilt Law School became the first law school to adopt DepoSim, bringing it into its curriculum and opening access to students through the law library – extending deposition practice to lawyers before they ever reach a firm.
- Industry recognition: Before this award, AltaClaro and Verbit were named joint Legalweek 2026 finalists for Best Tech Training Program, and AltaClaro’s Benchmark360 earned LegalTech Breakthrough’s 2024 education award.
What's next: DepoSim expands beyond depositions
Depositions are only the starting point. The DepoSim roadmap extends to trial examinations, cross-examinations, oral arguments, negotiations, mediations, and client interviews – bringing the same practice-and-feedback model to the high-pressure, spoken moments that have always been hardest to rehearse.
See DepoSim in action. Whether you lead litigation training at a firm, oversee associate development, or teach advocacy at a law school, the best way to understand DepoSim is to run a session yourself. Explore DepoSim on AltaClaro’s site to learn how it can fit into your training program.
Curious about the technology behind it? The same speech technology that powers DepoSim supports Verbit’s work with courts, court reporting agencies, and law firms. Schedule a Verbit legal demo to see how AI transcription can support your team’s depositions, hearings, and proceedings.
FAQs on DepoSim: The award, how DepoSim works, and how to get access
What award did DepoSim win, and why does it matter?
DepoSim was named “Overall LegalTech Innovation of the Year” in the 2026 LegalTech Breakthrough Awards, one of the program’s headline honors. LegalTech Breakthrough highlighted DepoSim for applying AI to skill-building rather than speed alone, filling a gap left by deposition training that has historically been costly, infrequent, and hard to scale.
What is DepoSim, and how does a session work?
DepoSim is an AI-powered deposition simulator for lawyers. An attorney takes a deposition in real time while AI agents play the witness, opposing counsel, and court reporter. Firms can adjust how cooperative or combative those participants are and choose anything from a short skills drill to a full-length deposition. Each session ends with structured, rubric-based feedback, and scenarios can be repeated to work on specific skills like questioning, pacing, and handling objections.
Who developed DepoSim, and what does each partner contribute?
DepoSim is a collaboration between AltaClaro, a provider of simulation-based legal training, and Verbit, a global leader in verbal intelligence. AltaClaro designed the training methodology, learner experience, and deposition scenarios, drawing on input from practicing BigLaw litigators. Verbit built the core technology, including secure speech-to-text and the AI agents that make each simulation feel like a live deposition.
Who is DepoSim designed for?
DepoSim is built for litigation teams at every career stage – from junior associates preparing for their first deposition to senior attorneys refining specific techniques. Firms use it to give attorneys more consistent practice across offices and practice groups, and law schools are beginning to use it to prepare students for practice before they graduate.
Does DepoSim replace live training or mentorship?
No. DepoSim is designed to complement human coaching, not replace it. Attorneys can practice as often as they need between live sessions, and the structured feedback gives partners and training leaders a clearer picture of where each attorney needs support, making mentorship time more focused and productive.
How can a law firm or law school get access to DepoSim?
DepoSim is available to law firms and educational institutions through AltaClaro. To learn more or discuss bringing it into your training program, visit AltaClaro’s DepoSim product page.
