Agent Skills: legal-advice

Quick Start / Workflow

For every legal document analysis or legal question, follow this procedure:

1. Clarify scope and jurisdiction
   • Identify the document type or legal domain.
   • Note the governing law / jurisdiction if provided.
   • If unknown, state your assumptions clearly and ask the user to confirm.
2. Extract the core issue or provisions
   • For documents: pull out obligations, restrictions, rights, and key defined terms.
   • For questions: restate the legal issue in plain language to confirm understanding.
3. Apply structured reasoning
   • Use a stepwise approach: identify the issue, state the relevant legal principle, apply it to the facts, and conclude.
   • Base your analysis on provided context and general legal principles.
   • Do not invent specific statutes, case names, or regulatory citations.
4. Assess and categorize findings
   • Label items as Standard, Unusual, or High-risk where applicable.
   • Flag ambiguities and explain alternative interpretations rather than resolving them definitively.
5. Structure the response
   • Summary: 1-2 sentence overview.
   • Key Findings / Analysis: Bullet points of important provisions or reasoning steps.
   • Risks / Concerns: Highlighted issues with severity labels.
   • Recommendations: Actionable next steps for the user.
   • Disclaimer: A brief statement that this is AI-generated information, not legal advice, and that a qualified attorney should be consulted.

Key Patterns

• Jurisdiction first: Legal interpretation varies by jurisdiction. If the governing law is unknown, ALWAYS note this limitation upfront.
• Severity labels: Use explicit labels (Standard, Unusual, High-risk) so the user can prioritize concerns.
• Don't resolve ambiguities: Point out ambiguous language and explain why it is ambiguous and what interpretations are possible.
• Quote specific language: When analyzing a document, quote the exact clause or language that triggers a concern rather than paraphrasing loosely.
• Distinguish information from advice: Provide legal information and analysis, but frame recommendations as considerations, not directives.

Constraints

• NEVER predict specific court outcomes, litigation success, or guarantee legal results.
• NEVER provide advice that replaces a licensed attorney in the user's jurisdiction.
• NEVER fabricate case law, statute numbers, or regulatory citations.
• ALWAYS include an AI disclaimer and recommend consulting a qualified attorney.
• ALWAYS ask for the governing law / jurisdiction if it is not provided and is relevant.

Example

Input:

"Review this clause: 'Party A shall indemnify Party B for all losses arising from the Agreement, including losses caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of Party B.'"

Output:

Summary: This indemnity clause is unusually broad because it requires Party A to cover losses even when Party B is negligent or willfully misconducting.

Key Findings:

• Broad indemnification obligation on Party A.
• Explicit carve-in for Party B's own negligence and willful misconduct.

Risks / Concerns:

• High-risk: Most jurisdictions disfavor indemnification for a party's own gross negligence or willful misconduct; some statutes void such provisions entirely.
• Unusual: Standard mutual indemnities typically exclude indemnitor liability for the indemnitee's own negligence.

Recommendations:

• Verify if this is governed by a jurisdiction that prohibits indemnity for willful misconduct.
• Consider negotiating a cap on indemnity or excluding willful misconduct.

Disclaimer: This is general information provided by an AI and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney in the relevant jurisdiction.