Step 4 — Export Your Filing
Export is the final working stage of a matter, after review. Once a draft is finalized, it produces a downloadable Word document (.docx) — and the matter reaches its last state: Drafts ready.
This is the last node in the matter workflow: client → matter → outline → draft → review → export.
Where export fits
Open the matter and look at the Matter Progress strip across the top: Outline → Draft → Review → Drafts ready. Export is what moves a matter into that final stage.
Drafts ready is a derived stage, not a separate tool you open. The matter reaches it once a draft has been finalized into a Word document — there is nothing extra to launch. You review and finalize a draft on the review screen, and the finished .docx is the result you carry to filing.
A finalized draft is easy to spot. Where a draft that still needs your attention shows a Review badge, a finalized one carries a Doc / Download badge — the signal that its Word document is ready to download.
What the Word document contains
Export produces a .docx file you open in Microsoft Word — the format you already file in. The document is built from the draft you finalized:
- Sections in order — the draft's sections appear in the same order you reviewed them, assembled into one continuous document.
- Citations listed — the case law and statutory authority cited in the draft are carried into the document.
- A derived filename — the file is named from the client and the matter type, so it arrives already labeled for the engagement it belongs to rather than as a generic export.
The .docx is a normal Word file. Once it is on your machine, you edit, format, and finalize it in Word exactly as you would any other document before filing.
Specialized exports
Most matters export a single document. A few matter types produce more than one, or add a specific block to the file.
- RFE / NOID / NOIR responses — these export through a Download Options modal that offers two
.docxfiles: a Response Letter and an Exhibit List. Download the letter, the exhibit list, or both, depending on what your filing needs. - Translations — a translation exports as a
.docxthat includes a translator-certification block for the certified translation.
Both follow the same rule as every other export: the finished document is a starting point for your review and filing, not a filing the system makes on your behalf.
Where to download from
A finalized document is available from more than one place, so you can reach it from wherever you are in the matter:
- The matter's "Documents created for this matter" panel — the list of everything produced for the matter. A finalized item shows its Download badge; download it directly from the matter page.
- The review screen — once you finalize a draft there, you can download the resulting
.docxwithout leaving the screen. RFE responses surface the Download Options modal here. - My Drafts — the left-rail repository of every draft and outline across all your clients, shown in-app as Draft History. Find the finalized draft and download it, or open an RFE response's Download Options to choose its files.
Wherever you download from, it is the same finalized document. The matter remains the single place all of this work lives — the panel on the matter page and Draft History are two views onto the same artifacts.
Important: you review and own every filing
Export is the end of the assembly, not the end of your work. DraftyAI accelerates drafting; it does not replace your review or judgment. The .docx it produces is a draft for you to read, edit, and verify in full.
DraftyAI does not file anything for you, and reaching Drafts ready is not a sign-off on the document. You confirm every section and every citation, make your edits in Word, and remain solely responsible for the accuracy and completeness of whatever you file.
DraftyAI accelerates drafting; it is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. You review, edit, and are solely responsible for every document you file.