May or ShallMay or Shall and LiquidText
LiquidText is a well regarded app for reading and annotating PDFs, and many lawyers use it. May or Shall approaches the same reading from a different end: what you highlight becomes the foundation for drafting.
What each is built around
LiquidText is built around a canvas next to the document, on which you pull out excerpts, write notes and connect ideas, and it is at its best with a stylus on an iPad.
May or Shall is built around the line you highlight. Each line keeps its page and paragraph, can be tagged under a legal heading and linked to a line in another document, and then becomes the input from which ChatGPT drafts. Human judgment first, AI drafting follows.
When LiquidText may suit you better
If you read mostly on an iPad with a pencil, write by hand on documents, or want a freeform canvas to arrange your thoughts visually, LiquidText is likely the better fit.
When May or Shall may suit you better
If much of your reading is on websites as well as PDFs, if you want a list of dates and legal tags built as you read, or if you want AI to draft from the passages you chose rather than from the whole document, May or Shall is built for that.
| May or Shall | LiquidText | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | The highlighted line, with its page and paragraph | A canvas of excerpts and notes beside the document |
| Web pages | Yes, through the Chrome extension | Mainly PDFs and documents |
| Legal tags and list of dates | Fact, Issue, Admission, Date; list of dates exported to Word | General purpose notes |
| AI drafting | ChatGPT drafts only from your highlighted lines | Check LiquidText's current features |
| Where it runs | Chrome, the web, Windows and Mac, and inside ChatGPT | iPad, Mac and Windows |
Questions
Is May or Shall a replacement for LiquidText?
It can be, if your reading is mostly for legal drafting and much of it is on the web. If you rely on handwriting on an iPad, LiquidText may remain the better tool.
Can I use May or Shall on PDFs?
Yes. PDFs opened in Chrome can be highlighted with the extension, and the desktop app saves from other apps on Windows and Mac.
What does May or Shall do that a PDF annotator does not?
It turns your highlights into structured legal work: tagged lines, links across documents, a list of dates, and drafts from ChatGPT that rest only on the lines you chose.
Try May or Shall Download for Windows, Mac or Chrome
About May or Shall · For lawyers · For law students · Legal note taking · May or Shall and LiquidText