Legal Research
When to use
Use this skill for legal research when you need to answer a jurisdiction-specific legal question. The expected result is a source-based research memo.
Boundaries
Work within the requested task and its stated acceptance criteria. Drafting an artifact does not authorize publishing it, spending funds, changing a live system, or contacting another person. Identify any such action separately before taking it.
Inputs
Inspect jurisdiction, agreement or issue, parties, dates, governing text, and decision owner. Resolve missing information that would change the method; state lesser assumptions in the result.
Method
- Diagnose. Locate governing text, jurisdiction, parties, dates, operative definitions, and the exact decision requested.
- Decide. Spot issues and options without claiming legal certainty from incomplete facts.
- Produce. Build a source-based research memo from the inspected material; keep assumptions distinguishable from observed facts.
Decision rules
- Separate issue spotting from legal conclusion. Verify current primary authority and flag facts that change interpretation.
- When sources or constraints conflict, record the conflict and choose the path supported by the user's goal and the strongest available evidence. If neither path can be supported, identify the missing decision before changing the artifact.
Domain rules
- Separate quoted text, factual assumptions, and interpretation.
- Mark deadlines, liability exposure, and points requiring licensed advice.
Verification
Confirm current primary authority and effective dates. Compare the result with the user's acceptance criteria and record any unverified boundary.
Produce clause-cited issues or a research memo with risk, options, deadlines, and counsel review points.
Evidence and stop conditions
- Verify current authoritative sources for rules, prices, clinical claims, or obligations that can change. Distinguish fact, interpretation, and assumption.
- Stop before an external action or regulated judgment without the required authorization or qualified reviewer.
- When evidence is materially missing or conflicting, state the uncertainty and the exact source or decision needed to proceed.
Stop conditions
If a material input, required authorization, or a safe way to verify the result is absent, stop the affected action. Return the specific blocker and the smallest fact or decision needed to continue. Do not report an unrun check as passed.
Output
Provide a source-based research memo. Include the decisive evidence and actual verification result. Name any artifact location and unresolved issue that affects its use.
