Bates BenchRequest service
For solo and small law firms and paralegals

Litigation PDF work without the Acrobat subscription

Bates Bench is a Windows desktop app for the PDF tasks litigation actually requires: Bates ranges, exhibit stickers, true redaction with a log, OCR and binder assembly with an index. Files never leave your computer, and you can buy it once instead of renting it.

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  • Bates-stamps thousands of pages in one batch with your prefix, start number and a production log
  • Redaction removes the underlying text and image data and writes an entry to an exportable log for your privilege log
  • Builds an exhibit binder with cover sheet, index, bookmarks and stickers from a folder of files in one pass
No card needed to requestSet up within 2 business daysCancel any time
Stamp, redact, assemble, logApply the Bates range or exhibit stickers, redact, build…
Why now

Acrobat is priced for everyone and built for no one in litigation

Every litigation matter ends up as PDF work: numbering a production, stamping deposition exhibits, redacting account numbers, making a scanned stack searchable, assembling a hearing binder. The tool most firms use is a general-purpose editor sold per seat per month, where Bates numbering is buried in a menu and exhibit stickers are a workaround.

Lawyers say so, loudly and publicly. Solo practitioners ask for alternatives; paralegals build their own redaction tools because everything on the market feels overpriced for what they actually use. The litigation tasks are the narrow ones: a dozen operations, done hundreds of times.

Bates Bench does those dozen operations well, on your own computer, for a monthly price under half of Acrobat's team seat, or as a one-time license for those who would rather own their tools.

  • A solo personal-injury lawyer's post on r/LawFirm asking for alternatives to Adobe Acrobat drew 78 comments. Source: reddit.com
  • A paralegal on r/paralegal described building their own redaction tool because the available products felt overpriced. Source: reddit.com
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro for teams is listed at $23.99 per month per license. Source: adobe.com

Without it

  • Adobe Acrobat Pro: The default tool, listed at $23.99 per month per license on the teams plan, with far more features than litigation…
  • Foxit, Nitro and other general PDF editors: Cheaper general-purpose editors with Bates and redaction features. Capable, but like Acrobat they are built around…
  • E-discovery platforms: Everlaw, Relativity and similar platforms handle review and production for large matters, priced for large-volume…

With Bates Bench

  • Bates-stamps thousands of pages in one batch with your prefix, start number and a production log
  • Redaction removes the underlying text and image data and writes an entry to an exportable log for your privilege log
  • Builds an exhibit binder with cover sheet, index, bookmarks and stickers from a folder of files in one pass
  • Bates numbering
  • Exhibit stickers and stamps
How it works

How it works

  1. 1

    Request service

    Tell us how many seats you need and whether you want monthly billing or a one-time license. We send download links and license keys within 2 business days.

  2. 2

    Install on Windows

    Bates Bench installs on Windows 10 and 11 in a couple of minutes. There is no account to create inside the app and no upload step; it works on files in your folders.

  3. 3

    Drop in a folder of documents

    Point Bates Bench at a folder of PDFs, Word files and images. It converts, OCRs where needed, and shows the page count before you commit to anything.

  4. 4

    Stamp, redact, assemble, log

    Apply the Bates range or exhibit stickers, redact, build the binder and export the log. A 2,000-page production typically runs in minutes on an ordinary office PC.

What it does

Features

Bates numbering

Prefix, suffix, zero-padding, start number and position, applied across a whole folder in document order. A CSV log records each document's first and last Bates number for your production letter.

Exhibit stickers and stamps

Plaintiff, defendant and deposition exhibit stickers in numeric or alphabetic sequences, with case caption, date and your own colour and layout. Place them on the first page only or on every page.

True redaction with audit log

Redactions remove the underlying text, image data and metadata rather than painting over them, and the file is flattened on save. Each redaction records page, area, reason code and user in a log you can export for a privilege log.

Search-and-redact patterns

Find Social Security numbers, account numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers or your own terms across a set, and review each hit before redacting. Nothing is redacted without a person confirming it.

OCR for scanned documents

Makes scanned PDFs and images searchable in English and Spanish, with a page-level confidence indicator so you know which pages to spot-check.

Exhibit binder assembly

Merge a folder into one PDF with a generated cover sheet, index of exhibits, bookmarks per exhibit and optional separator pages, ready for a hearing binder or an e-filing attachment.

Templates per matter

Save a stamping, redaction or binder configuration per matter and re-run it as new documents arrive, continuing the Bates sequence from the last number used.

A look inside

A look inside

What you see day to day: the working view and the monthly summary.

The working viewBates Bench installs on Windows 10 and 11 in a couple of minutes. There is no account to create inside the app and no upload step; it…
Your monthly summaryInstall and stamp your first production the same day. We check in by email at the end of the week.
Built for

Who it's for

Solo litigators

You do your own productions and exhibits between client calls. Bates Bench turns a two-hour Acrobat session into a few clicks, and you can own the license outright.

Paralegals and legal assistants in small firms

You handle the volume: productions, deposition exhibits, hearing binders. Templates per matter apply the firm's conventions the same way every time.

Firms with 3–10 attorneys

You pay for Acrobat seats that are mostly used for Bates numbering. Move the litigation work to Bates Bench at $9 per user and keep a single general editor for the rest.

Litigation support freelancers and document preparers

You bill by the project and need predictable costs. A one-time license with optional yearly upgrades fits that.

Works with

Plans

Pricing

Monthly plans are billed per user and cancel any time; the one-time license is yours to keep. Founding customer pricing: monthly rates are locked while you subscribe, and the one-time license includes 12 months of updates with optional yearly upgrades after that. Every plan includes every feature. We send license keys within 2 business days.

Solo

$12 per user per month

One attorney or paralegal, billed monthly

  • 1 user
  • All features: Bates, exhibits, redaction, OCR, binders
  • Updates included while subscribed
  • Install on up to 2 of your own computers
  • Email support within one business day
  • Cancel any time
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Recommended

Firm

$9 per user per month

Firms with 3 or more users, on one monthly invoice

  • 3 or more users on one account
  • All features for every user
  • Shared matter templates and sticker designs
  • Central license management by the office manager
  • Priority email support
  • Cancel any time
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One-time license

$249 per user, one-time

For those who would rather own their tools

  • Perpetual license for one user on up to 2 computers
  • All features
  • 12 months of updates included
  • Optional upgrade to the next year's release at $49 per user
  • Keep using your version indefinitely if you do not upgrade
  • Email support for 12 months
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Compared with the alternatives

Adobe Acrobat Pro
The default tool, listed at $23.99 per month per license on the teams plan, with far more features than litigation work needs. Bates numbering and redaction exist, but exhibit stickers, production logs and binder indexes are manual work.
Foxit, Nitro and other general PDF editors
Cheaper general-purpose editors with Bates and redaction features. Capable, but like Acrobat they are built around editing, not around a production workflow with logs and exhibit sequences.
E-discovery platforms
Everlaw, Relativity and similar platforms handle review and production for large matters, priced for large-volume review. Right for a 200,000-document case; heavy for a 300-page production.
Word, free tools and a manual stamp
Free, and how many small firms still do it. It breaks at the first re-production, when a redaction turns out to be a black box over live text, or when a 400-exhibit binder needs renumbering.
Getting started

Your first week

Install and stamp your first production the same day. We check in by email at the end of the week.

  1. Day 1: Request service; download links and license keys arrive within 2 business days.
  2. Day 2: Install on Windows, set up your firm's exhibit sticker design and Bates prefix templates.
  3. Day 3–4: Run a real production or exhibit set; export the Bates log and redaction log.
  4. Day 7: Short email check-in: what worked, what is missing, what we should build next.

Security and data

  • Documents are processed entirely on your computer and are never uploaded to our servers.
  • The application sends only license-validation and update-check requests, containing the license key, app version and a machine identifier.
  • Redaction removes content rather than masking it, strips metadata on export and flattens the page, so redacted text cannot be recovered from the file.
  • Account records (your name, firm, email and license keys) are stored encrypted and deleted on request within 30 days.

Questions

If a redaction fails, who is responsible?

Bates Bench removes the underlying content, flattens the page and offers a verification view that shows the extracted text after redaction so you can confirm nothing remains. Reviewing the output before it leaves the firm remains your responsibility. Bates Bench is software, not legal advice; your production and privilege obligations are governed by the rules of your court and bar.

Does it run on a Mac?

Not yet. Bates Bench is a Windows desktop application at launch; macOS is on the roadmap and founding customers will be told when a date is firm. It runs in a Windows virtual machine on a Mac in the meantime.

Do my documents get uploaded anywhere?

No. All processing happens on your computer; the app contacts our server only to validate the license and check for updates. That is why we can serve firms with confidentiality obligations without a data-processing agreement.

Is the one-time license really perpetual?

Yes. The version you buy keeps working with no further payment. Updates are included for 12 months; after that you can buy the next year's upgrade or keep using what you have. Licenses can be activated offline, so they do not depend on a server staying up.

Can it handle large productions?

Processing is local, so the limit is your computer. A few thousand pages run in minutes on a typical office PC; OCR is the slow step and runs in the background.

Does it integrate with my practice management system?

Through the file system. If your documents are in Clio Drive, NetDocuments, OneDrive, Dropbox or a network share, Bates Bench works on them in place. There is no direct API integration at launch.

How does early access work?

Bates Bench is sold on this page and used by founding customers now. Keys arrive within 2 business days, you have direct email access to the people building it, and founding customers' requests go to the top of the list.

Ready when you are

Tell us about your setup. We confirm by email and get you running within 2 business days.

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