Legal Research Memo
Plan, synthesize, treatment-check, draft, and independently review an authority-grounded legal research memo.
Human guidance: playbooks/legal-research-memo.md · Plan: matter-plans/legal-research-memo.json
Every output is draft legal work product for review by a licensed attorney.
AgentCounsel does not provide legal advice and is not a substitute for a qualified lawyer.
A licensed legal professional must review and adopt every output before it is relied upon.
Dependency graph
Text alternative: dependency edges
- research-plan → approve-research-scope
- approve-research-scope → authority-synthesis
- authority-synthesis → negative-treatment-check
- negative-treatment-check → draft-research-memo
- draft-research-memo → source-validation
- draft-research-memo → citation-integrity-check
- draft-research-memo → assumption-audit
- source-validation → final-attorney-review
- citation-integrity-check → final-attorney-review
- assumption-audit → final-attorney-review
Nodes, gates, and handoffs
| Node | Skill or gate | Depends on | Condition | Produces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
research-plan | legal-research/research-plan | none | Always | research-roadmap |
approve-research-scope | Attorney gate: approve-research-scope | research-plan | Always | none |
authority-synthesis | legal-research/authority-synthesis | approve-research-scope | Always | authority-synthesis |
negative-treatment-check | legal-research/negative-treatment-check | authority-synthesis | Always | treatment-report |
draft-research-memo | legal-research/legal-research-memo | negative-treatment-check | Always | research-memo |
source-validation | legal-methodology/source-validation | draft-research-memo | Always | source-validation-report |
citation-integrity-check | legal-methodology/citation-integrity-check | draft-research-memo | Always | citation-integrity-report |
assumption-audit | legal-methodology/assumption-audit | draft-research-memo | Always | assumption-audit-report |
final-attorney-review | Attorney gate: final-attorney-review | source-validation, citation-integrity-check, assumption-audit | Always | none |
Artifacts
| Artifact | Type | Producer | Attorney review |
|---|---|---|---|
research-roadmap | document | research-plan | yes |
authority-synthesis | document | authority-synthesis | yes |
treatment-report | table | negative-treatment-check | yes |
research-memo | memo | draft-research-memo | yes |
source-validation-report | table | source-validation | yes |
citation-integrity-report | table | citation-integrity-check | yes |
assumption-audit-report | table | assumption-audit | yes |
Complexity limits
- Maximum graph depth: 7
- Maximum parallel width: 3
- Maximum ready nodes: 3
- Maximum ready-wave context: 28,000 estimated tokens
Use locally
python scripts/matter_plan_cli.py build legal-research-memo --inputs inputs.json --markdown{
"schema_version": "1.0",
"plan_id": "legal-research-memo",
"title": "Legal Research Memo",
"source_path": "playbooks/legal-research-memo.md",
"description": "Plan, synthesize, treatment-check, draft, and independently review an authority-grounded legal research memo.",
"tags": [
"legal-research",
"memo",
"citations"
],
"required_inputs": [
{
"id": "legal-question",
"type": "text",
"required": true,
"may_infer": false,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "known-facts",
"type": "object",
"required": true,
"may_infer": false,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "jurisdiction",
"type": "jurisdiction",
"required": true,
"may_infer": false,
"sensitive": false
},
{
"id": "existing-authorities",
"type": "document-set",
"required": true,
"may_infer": false,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "relevant-date",
"type": "date",
"required": true,
"may_infer": false,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "time-and-scope",
"type": "text",
"required": true,
"may_infer": false,
"sensitive": true
}
],
"nodes": [
{
"id": "research-plan",
"type": "skill",
"skill_id": "legal-research/research-plan",
"mode": "standard",
"depends_on": [],
"condition": {
"operator": "always"
},
"input_bindings": [
{
"target_input_id": "legal-question-or-task-to-be-researched",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "legal-question"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "known-facts",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "known-facts"
},
"required": true,
"transform": "json-text"
},
{
"target_input_id": "applicable-jurisdiction",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "jurisdiction"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "any-authority-already-provided",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "existing-authorities"
},
"required": true,
"transform": "join-text"
},
{
"target_input_id": "time-and-scope-constraints",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "time-and-scope"
},
"required": true
}
],
"produces": [
"research-roadmap"
]
},
{
"id": "approve-research-scope",
"type": "attorney-gate",
"depends_on": [
"research-plan"
],
"condition": {
"operator": "always"
},
"gate": {
"severity": "required",
"instruction": "Attorney confirms the question, jurisdiction, relevant date, and research scope before authority analysis.",
"required_artifacts": [
"research-roadmap"
]
},
"produces": []
},
{
"id": "authority-synthesis",
"type": "skill",
"skill_id": "legal-research/authority-synthesis",
"mode": "deep-review",
"depends_on": [
"approve-research-scope"
],
"condition": {
"operator": "always"
},
"input_bindings": [
{
"target_input_id": "question-presented-the-synthesis-answers",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "legal-question"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "set-of-authorities-cases-statutes-regulations-secondary-sources-to-be-synthesized",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "existing-authorities"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "applicable-jurisdiction",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "jurisdiction"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "relevant-date-for-the-analysis",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "relevant-date"
},
"required": true
}
],
"produces": [
"authority-synthesis"
]
},
{
"id": "negative-treatment-check",
"type": "skill",
"skill_id": "legal-research/negative-treatment-check",
"mode": "deep-review",
"depends_on": [
"authority-synthesis"
],
"condition": {
"operator": "always"
},
"input_bindings": [
{
"target_input_id": "draft-memo-or-citation-list-whose-authorities-need-treatment-verification",
"source": {
"kind": "artifact",
"id": "authority-synthesis"
},
"required": true,
"transform": "as-document-set"
},
{
"target_input_id": "for-each-authority-the-full-citation-as-it-appears-in-the-source",
"source": {
"kind": "constant",
"value": "[Attorney to confirm citations from the authority synthesis]"
},
"required": true
}
],
"produces": [
"treatment-report"
]
},
{
"id": "draft-research-memo",
"type": "skill",
"skill_id": "legal-research/legal-research-memo",
"mode": "deep-review",
"depends_on": [
"negative-treatment-check"
],
"condition": {
"operator": "always"
},
"input_bindings": [
{
"target_input_id": "specific-legal-question-presented",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "legal-question"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "known-facts",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "known-facts"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "applicable-jurisdiction",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "jurisdiction"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "any-authority-already-provided",
"source": {
"kind": "artifact",
"id": "treatment-report"
},
"required": true,
"transform": "artifact-ref"
},
{
"target_input_id": "authority-already-provided",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "existing-authorities"
},
"required": true
}
],
"produces": [
"research-memo"
]
},
{
"id": "source-validation",
"type": "skill",
"skill_id": "legal-methodology/source-validation",
"mode": "deep-review",
"depends_on": [
"draft-research-memo"
],
"condition": {
"operator": "always"
},
"input_bindings": [
{
"target_input_id": "draft-legal-work-product-to-check",
"source": {
"kind": "artifact",
"id": "research-memo"
},
"required": true,
"transform": "artifact-ref"
},
{
"target_input_id": "cited-sources-authorities-and-underlying-record",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "existing-authorities"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "claims-quotations-and-dates-to-validate",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "relevant-date"
},
"required": true
}
],
"produces": [
"source-validation-report"
]
},
{
"id": "citation-integrity-check",
"type": "skill",
"skill_id": "legal-methodology/citation-integrity-check",
"mode": "deep-review",
"depends_on": [
"draft-research-memo"
],
"condition": {
"operator": "always"
},
"input_bindings": [
{
"target_input_id": "draft-containing-citations-or-authority-backed-propositions",
"source": {
"kind": "artifact",
"id": "research-memo"
},
"required": true,
"transform": "artifact-ref"
},
{
"target_input_id": "cited-authorities-or-source-materials-available-for-review",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "existing-authorities"
},
"required": true
},
{
"target_input_id": "jurisdiction-court-agency-or-governing-law-context-if-known",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "jurisdiction"
},
"required": true
}
],
"produces": [
"citation-integrity-report"
]
},
{
"id": "assumption-audit",
"type": "skill",
"skill_id": "legal-methodology/assumption-audit",
"mode": "deep-review",
"depends_on": [
"draft-research-memo"
],
"condition": {
"operator": "always"
},
"input_bindings": [
{
"target_input_id": "draft-legal-output-to-audit",
"source": {
"kind": "artifact",
"id": "research-memo"
},
"required": true,
"transform": "artifact-ref"
},
{
"target_input_id": "user-provided-facts-source-documents-and-instructions-available-for-comparison",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "known-facts"
},
"required": true,
"transform": "json-text"
},
{
"target_input_id": "intended-use-audience-jurisdiction-and-client-role-if-known",
"source": {
"kind": "matter-input",
"id": "jurisdiction"
},
"required": true
}
],
"produces": [
"assumption-audit-report"
]
},
{
"id": "final-attorney-review",
"type": "attorney-gate",
"depends_on": [
"source-validation",
"citation-integrity-check",
"assumption-audit"
],
"condition": {
"operator": "always"
},
"gate": {
"severity": "required",
"instruction": "Attorney independently verifies every authority, resolves every assumption and placeholder, and approves the memo before reliance.",
"required_artifacts": [
"research-memo",
"treatment-report",
"source-validation-report",
"citation-integrity-report",
"assumption-audit-report"
]
},
"produces": []
}
],
"artifacts": [
{
"id": "research-roadmap",
"type": "document",
"produced_by": "research-plan",
"attorney_review_required": true,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "authority-synthesis",
"type": "document",
"produced_by": "authority-synthesis",
"attorney_review_required": true,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "treatment-report",
"type": "table",
"produced_by": "negative-treatment-check",
"attorney_review_required": true,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "research-memo",
"type": "memo",
"produced_by": "draft-research-memo",
"attorney_review_required": true,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "source-validation-report",
"type": "table",
"produced_by": "source-validation",
"attorney_review_required": true,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "citation-integrity-report",
"type": "table",
"produced_by": "citation-integrity-check",
"attorney_review_required": true,
"sensitive": true
},
{
"id": "assumption-audit-report",
"type": "table",
"produced_by": "assumption-audit",
"attorney_review_required": true,
"sensitive": true
}
],
"final_outputs": [
"research-memo",
"treatment-report",
"source-validation-report",
"citation-integrity-report",
"assumption-audit-report"
],
"budget": {
"max_graph_depth": 7,
"max_parallel_width": 3,
"max_ready_nodes": 3,
"max_total_estimated_tokens": 28000
}
}