Smokeball news and product updates

Archie, Smokeball's matter assistant, now highlights placeholders in its drafts and prompts the user to fill in any missing information. Drafts also keep their formatting when moved into Word and email, including table borders, column widths and multi section layouts, and letters use the firm's own Word template.

Buyer relevance. Unfilled placeholders and missing facts now sit in front of the reviewing lawyer instead of slipping into client correspondence, and template aware output cuts the rework before an Archie draft can leave the firm.

Smokeball Desktop App Version 10.1, released to beta testers, reworks matter permissions and adds a Manage access control to the Smokeball Web App, where a matter can be set to Open (all firm users) or Restricted (only staff with roles on the matter plus selected users). A new option, Restrict users created after today, keeps staff who join the firm later out of the matter by default, and settings sync between the desktop and web apps.

Buyer relevance. Per matter restriction is how a small firm builds an ethical wall, and the new user default closes the gap where a lateral hire inherits access to a conflicted matter. Smokeball's AI help page states Archie only works on matters a user can access, so these settings also limit what the AI assistant can read.