What it means to rename case files automatically
To rename case files automatically is to let AI read the content of a legal matter's documents and generate a filename from what it finds, in bulk, across a whole matter or a whole inbox. The "case" in case file is the legal case or matter, not the upper or lower case of letters. The "rename" is renaming the file on disk, not changing the case-sensitive rules of your file system.
This matters because the filename is the first thing a paralegal, attorney, or clerk sees when they open a folder. A file named Document(6).pdf tells you nothing. A file named 2025-072_complaint_kwame-theron-v-amara-asante_2025-05-09.pdf tells you the matter, the document type, the parties, and the date before you open it. That is the entire job: turn opaque scanner names and vague manual names into filenames that read like a docket index, automatically, for every case file in the matter.
The naming layer runs before your matter management software, not against it. Your matter management system tracks deadlines and holds the matter record. Renamer.ai makes sure the files you drop into that system are already named by matter and type, so nothing gets filed under a name no one will ever search for. Case-file naming is the findability layer under the legal document management hub, it makes sure every pleading and discovery file lands already named by matter and type.
The fields renamer.ai reads to name your case files
To build a filename that actually describes the document you are filing, renamer.ai reads the content of each case file you import and extracts these fields:
- Matter number - the internal reference your firm uses to group every document in the case (for example, 2025-072)
- Document type - whether the file is a complaint, motion, brief, pleading, discovery request, discovery response, subpoena, court order, correspondence, or settlement
- Client or party names - the named parties on your side of the matter, pulled from captions and signatures
- Opposing party - the other side, pulled from the caption or the "v." line, so the filename shows the dispute at a glance
- Case number - the court-assigned number, distinct from your internal matter number, read from the caption block
- Filing date - the date the document was filed or served, read from the filing stamp, notice of service, or certificate of service
- Execution date - the date a document was signed or executed, read from signature blocks, useful for agreements and settlements
- Court - the court or tribunal the matter is in, read from the caption, so multi-jurisdiction firms can sort by venue
- Judge - the assigned judge or magistrate, read from the caption or notice pages, useful in jurisdictions with complex assignments
- Document subtype - the specific variant, such as motion for summary judgment versus motion to compel, read from the title line
- Document status - whether the file is a draft, filed, signed, or executed, read from watermarks, headers, and signature pages
That is eleven fields, and not every document you handle carries every one. A scanned pleading has a caption, a filing date, and parties. A correspondence letter has a date, a sender, and a recipient but no case number. Renamer.ai reads what is in the document and names the file from the fields that are actually there, so your filename reflects the real content instead of forcing every file into the same shape.
How to rename case files automatically
The process is three steps, and the same steps apply whether you are renaming a single matter's files or a batch of scanned discovery that came in from a process server.
Step 1 - Drop or import your case files
Pull the case files you want renamed into renamer.ai. You can import a whole matter folder, a batch from your scanner, or a set of files forwarded as email attachments. Mixed formats are fine: scanned PDFs, digital PDFs, JPGs of stamped pleadings, and Word briefs can all go in the same batch. There is no need to sort by document type first, because the next step reads the content of each file to figure out what it is.
Step 2 - AI reads each file's content with OCR
For every file in your batch, renamer.ai runs OCR to read the text, then content analysis to find the matter number, document type, parties, dates, and court. Scanned pleadings with no text layer get read the same way as digital PDFs, because the OCR reconstructs the text from the image first. The AI then builds a filename from the fields it found, using the naming template you set for the matter. You see the proposed name next to the original, so you know exactly what changed and why.
Step 3 - Review and apply the new matter-file names
Look over the proposed names in the side-by-side review. You can accept the whole batch, edit a single name before applying, or set a different template for one matter and re-run just those files. When you apply, the files are renamed on disk with their new matter-file names, ready to drop into your matter management system or shared drive already organized by matter, type, and date. Nothing is stored, your files leave with new names and nothing else.
Before and after
The table below shows what the naming layer does to real case-file names. The "before" column is the kind of name a scanner or a hurried paralegal produces. The "after" column is what renamer.ai writes from the content it read.
| Before | After |
|---|
| scan_20250509.pdf | 2025-072_complaint_kwame-theron-v-amara-asante_2025-05-09.pdf |
| Document(6).pdf | 2025-088_petition_probate_frida-lindgren_2025-05-14.pdf |
| IMG_20250520_082200.jpg | 2025-103_discovery_request_yaw-osei_2025-05-20.jpg |
| pleading_final_v2.pdf | 2025-072_motion_summary-judgment_theron-asante_2025-05-27.pdf |
| correspondence.pdf | 2025-088_correspondence_ingrid-halvorsen_2025-06-03.pdf |
The first row is a complaint in the Theron-Asante dispute, matter 2025-072, filed on May 9. The scanner called it scan_20250509.pdf, which is indistinguishable from every other scan that came in that day. The named version tells you the matter, the document type, both parties, and the date before you open it. The third row is a photograph of a discovery request, matter 2025-103, that arrived as a phone photo with a camera-roll filename. The OCR read the caption off the image and named it as a discovery request for Yaw Osei, dated May 20.
Copy-ready naming templates for case files
Two templates cover most case files you handle. Set one as the default for a matter, and renamer.ai applies it to every file in that matter.
Template 1 - Matter, type, client, date
{matter#}_{doctype}_{client}_{date}.pdf. Example: 2025-072_complaint_kwame-theron_2025-05-09.pdf
This is the workhorse for single-party filings where your client is the named party. It puts the matter first, so every file in a matter sorts together, then the document type, then the client, then the date. Use it for complaints, petitions, and motions where your client is the moving party.
Template 2 - Matter, type, opposing party, date
{matter#}_{doctype}_{opposing-party}_{date}.pdf. Example: 2025-072_motion_summary-judgment_theron-asante_2025-05-27.pdf
This one is built for disputes, where the opposing party is the detail that disambiguates one matter's filings from another's. It puts the matter first, then the document type, then the opposing party, then the date. Use it for litigation matters where you handle multiple disputes and need the other side's name in the filename to tell matters apart at a glance.
For matters that span multiple courts, add the court as a prefix: {court}_{matter#}_{doctype}_{date}.pdf, for example DC-2025-072_motion_summary-judgment_2025-05-27.pdf. For correspondence that has no case number, drop the matter field and lead with the date and sender: {date}_{doctype}_{sender}.pdf.