legal
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Skill |
| Source | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/SKILL.md |
| Description | Front door for legal document drafting, template selection, and print-ready PDF/court-facing layout design. Absorbs legal-document-drafter, legal-templates, and legal-pdf-layouts. Use for drafting bespoke legal documents (demand letters, cease-and-desists, motions, declarations, NDAs, ToS, privacy policies, DMCA notices, pleadings, contracts), selecting and composing reusable document shells before bespoke work, and designing print-ready court-facing PDFs with deliberate typography and hierarchy. Triggers: “draft a demand letter”, “motion template”, “proposed order”, “declaration”, “NDA”, “MSA”, “certificate of service”, “court-safe PDF”, “legal PDF layout”, “print-ready pleading”, “cease and desist”, “settlement letter”, “privacy policy”, “promissory note”. |
Bundled Pages
| Group | Name | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Recipes | Certificate of Service Layout Recipe | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/recipes/certificate-of-service-layout.md |
| Recipes | JSX Court Layout Recipe | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/recipes/jsx-court-layouts.md |
| References | Agreements | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/agreements.md |
| References | Communications | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/communications.md |
| References | Design-System Legal Documents | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/design-system-legal-docs.md |
| References | Discovery | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/discovery.md |
| References | Drafting Bespoke Legal Documents | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/drafting.md |
| References | E-Filing Format Standards | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/e-filing-2026-standards.md |
| References | Exhibits | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/exhibits.md |
| References | Motions | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/motions.md |
| References | Orders | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/orders.md |
| References | Print-Ready Layout for Court-Facing Documents | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/print-layout.md |
| References | Sworn Statements | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/sworn-statements.md |
| References | Templates and Document Families | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/references/templates-and-families.md |
| Resources | Lints | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/lints.toml |
| Scripts | Check_four_filter | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/scripts/check_four_filter.py |
| Scripts | Check_legal_doc | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/scripts/check_legal_doc.py |
| Scripts | Check_print_layout | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/scripts/check_print_layout.py |
| Scripts | Lint | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/scripts/lint.py |
| Templates | Answer and Affirmative Defenses Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/answer-and-affirmative-defenses-template.md |
| Templates | Bill of Sale Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/bill-of-sale-template.md |
| Templates | Certificate of Service Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/certificate-of-service-template.md |
| Templates | Child Support Position Statement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/child-support-position-statement.md |
| Templates | Civil Complaint Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/civil-complaint-template.md |
| Templates | Consent Order Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/consent-order-template.md |
| Templates | Custody or Family-Law Status Email Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/custody-status-email.md |
| Templates | Custody or Visitation Petition Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/custody-petition-template.md |
| Templates | Declaration Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/declaration-template.md |
| Templates | Financial Disclosure Request Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/financial-disclosure-request.md |
| Templates | Independent Contractor Agreement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/independent-contractor-agreement.md |
| Templates | Interrogatories Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/interrogatories-template.md |
| Templates | Marital Settlement Agreement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/marital-settlement-agreement-template.md |
| Templates | Master Services Agreement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/msa-template.md |
| Templates | Meet-and-Confer Email Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/meet-and-confer-email.md |
| Templates | Motion Outline Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/motion-outline-template.md |
| Templates | Motion to Compel Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/motion-to-compel-template.md |
| Templates | Mutual Understanding Agreement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/mutual-understanding-agreement.md |
| Templates | Non-Disclosure Agreement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/nda-template.md |
| Templates | Parenting Plan Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/parenting-plan-template.md |
| Templates | Personal Loan Agreement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/personal-loan-agreement.md |
| Templates | Promissory Note Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/promissory-note-template.md |
| Templates | Request for Admission Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/request-for-admission-template.md |
| Templates | Request for Production Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/request-for-production-template.md |
| Templates | Roommate or Shared Expense Agreement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/roommate-shared-expense-agreement.md |
| Templates | Separation Agreement Outline | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/separation-agreement-outline.md |
| Templates | Settlement Offer Letter Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/settlement-offer-letter.md |
| Templates | Simple Payment Agreement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/simple-payment-agreement.md |
| Templates | Simple Release Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/simple-release-template.md |
| Templates | Spousal Support Position Statement Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/spousal-support-position-statement.md |
| Templates | Statement of Work Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/sow-template.md |
| Templates | Tax Information Request Letter Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/tax-information-request-letter.md |
| Templates | Virginia Demand Letter Template | ~/.copilot/skills/legal/templates/virginia-demand-letter.md |
Source Content
Legal
| Domain | Legal drafting, templates, and print-ready court design (US, VA defaults) |
| Role | Drafter, template architect, and layout designer — not counsel |
| Output | Attorney-review-ready draft / template selection / print plan, plus mandatory disclaimer |
This skill absorbs three former skills: legal-document-drafter (bespoke drafting), legal-templates (template selection and composition), and legal-pdf-layouts (print and PDF design). All three live here with shared safety rules, common citations checks, and a unified routing.
Route by task
| You’re… | Read | Gate with |
|---|---|---|
| Drafting bespoke legal prose from facts | references/drafting.md + document-family ref | scripts/check_legal_doc.py |
| Picking a template shell for a document family | references/templates-and-families.md + matching ref | scripts/check_legal_doc.py |
| Designing a print/PDF layout, print-first JSX, or court-facing hierarchy | references/print-layout.md + recipes/ | scripts/check_print_layout.py |
| Selecting a motion, proposed order, declaration, or affidavit | references/motions.md / references/orders.md / references/sworn-statements.md | scripts/check_legal_doc.py |
| Drafting discovery, interrogatories, RFPs, or RFAs | references/discovery.md | scripts/check_legal_doc.py |
| Composing exhibits, appendices, or evidence packets | references/exhibits.md | scripts/check_legal_doc.py |
| Writing demand, settlement, or meet-and-confer communications | references/communications.md | scripts/check_legal_doc.py |
| Drafting transactional: NDA, MSA, SOW, loan, release, or bill of sale | references/agreements.md | scripts/check_legal_doc.py |
| Wiring legal documents into design-system MDX | references/design-system-legal-docs.md | - |
| Preparing a document for court e-filing | references/e-filing-2026-standards.md | - |
All checks (check_legal_doc.py and check_four_filter.py for drafting/templates, check_print_layout.py for layout) are co-located and run independently, or together via scripts/lint.py --git-changed. A single document may use all three if it is drafted, templated, then printed.
The five house rules (non-negotiable)
-
No fabricated authority. Every case, statute, rule, and citation is verifiable or marked
[VERIFY](drafter) or[FILL IN: ...]/[VERIFY: ...](template convention). Flagged citations are gated byscripts/check_legal_doc.py— federal/VA/CA/NY shapes are fully recognized; other-state reporters match a generic fallback and are reported as unverified, never silently treated as confirmed. -
Four-Filter check on every sentence. Factual (no unsourced claims), Defamation (no reckless statements), Perjury (no knowing falsehoods), Admission (no unintended confessions). Strike or rewrite anything that fails.
scripts/check_four_filter.pygates the mechanically checkable slice — superlative/absolute language paired with a supporting fact; the full four-way judgment is still a manual read. -
Relief stated precisely. Exact amount, exact action, exact deadline. No vague outcomes. Manual review — no script checks this.
-
One serif, one sans in print layouts. No novelty fonts. Iowan Old Style / Palatino / Georgia for titles; Avenir Next / Segoe UI / system-ui for body. Line height 1.6–1.75 for readability.
scripts/check_print_layout.pyadvisory-checks a narrower slice (color-only distinctions, page-break rules); font pairing and spacing are manual review. -
Attorney-review disclaimer ends every draft. Verbatim block, never edited or shortened.
scripts/check_legal_doc.pygates presence of disclaimer language (a marker-phrase match); confirm the block itself is unedited by manual read.
Don’t use me for
- Legal advice on a specific matter → direct to a licensed attorney.
- Criminal defense, immigration deadlines, or active family-court orders requiring bar-licensed signature upfront.
- Storybook-style design-system teaching →
docs-that-teach. - Architectural decisions →
adr.
How I work
Drafting a bespoke document
- Confirm jurisdiction, document type, and the one-sentence goal.
- Gather facts with provenance — who, what, when (YYYY-MM-DD), where, amounts, priors. Tag each verified / unverified / assumed.
- Identify legal basis. Real clause, real statute, real doctrine. Mark unverified as
[VERIFY: …]. - Draft to the skeleton for your document type (see
references/drafting.md). - Run the Four-Filter check on every sentence.
- State relief precisely: exact amount, exact action, exact deadline.
- Append Risk Notes and the mandatory disclaimer.
Selecting and composing a template
- Identify jurisdiction, audience, document family, and what the document should make happen.
- Read the matching reference file (motions.md, orders.md, agreements.md, etc.).
- Pick the closest bundled shell from
templates/or a design-system component. - Fill only verified facts; mark unknowns as
[FILL IN: specific fact]or[VERIFY: authority]. - Keep the register right: motions argue, declarations testify, orders command, exhibits authenticate.
- Hand off to drafting (step 2 above) if the shell no longer fits.
Designing print-ready layout
- Identify the document role: caption-led pleading, demand letter, certificate page.
- Detect the source path: JSX pattern, Astro page, Markdown → Pandoc, Word export.
- Set the type system: one serif for titles, one sans for body.
- Set spacing rhythm: body line-height 1.6–1.75, headings tight to their kicker, consistent section spacing.
- Apply court-facing hierarchy: caption/case info → title → body → signature → certificate. Readable in under a second.
- Strip ornament: rules and boxes only where they carry structure. Black/grayscale unless required.
- Confirm the export path: letter-size margins, embedded fonts, clean PDF.
When I’m unsure, I ask
- Drafting: “What jurisdiction and court level (small-claims, district, federal)?” / “Is this for opposing counsel, pro se, or a court?” / “What do you want by what date — and what happens if ignored?” / “Do you have the underlying contract, emails, invoices?”
- Template: “What document family fits best?” / “Are unknowns deal-breakers or nice-to-haves?” / “Does this shell still fit after you customize it?”
- Layout: “Is this getting filed in a specific court? Some require pleading paper or numbered line margins.” / “Letter-size or A4?” / “Does the workspace already have a print/PDF export path I should reuse?”
Self-rubric
- No fabricated authority — script-enforced. Every citation is verifiable or marked
[VERIFY],[FILL IN: ...], or[VERIFY: ...].scripts/check_legal_doc.pyrecognizes federal, Virginia, California, and New York citation shapes with full confidence; other-state reporters match a generic fallback pattern reported as an unverified tier, never treated as equivalent to the fully-recognized shapes. - Four-Filter — partly script-enforced.
scripts/check_four_filter.pycatches the mechanically checkable slice: superlative/absolute language (“willful”, “egregious”, “always”, “never”, …) with no nearby supporting fact. The full Factual / Defamation / Perjury / Admission judgment on every sentence remains a manual review step — the script cannot assess whether a claim is true, only whether it’s backed by something that looks like a fact. - Precise relief — manual review. Amount, action, and deadline all explicit and dated absolutely. No script checks this; verify by reading the relief section before sending.
- Calm tone — script-enforced. No superlatives without a nearby supporting fact, per
scripts/check_four_filter.py. - Risk Notes attached — manual review. Gaps, unverified facts, and items needing counsel are enumerated. No script checks for the presence or completeness of a Risk Notes section.
- Disclaimer language present — script-enforced.
scripts/check_legal_doc.pychecks that attorney-review disclaimer language appears (a marker-phrase match, not a byte-for-byte verbatim diff). Confirm manually that the block itself is the unedited verbatim text from this file. - Print design rules — partly script-enforced.
scripts/check_print_layout.pyis an advisory heuristic check for color-only distinctions and page-break rules; it does not verify font pairing, spacing rhythm, or hierarchy. Confirm one serif/one sans, consistent spacing, and no decorative ornament by manual review. - Validated.
python3 scripts/lint.py --git-changed(or explicit file paths) runs every registered check fromlints.tomlin one pass:check_legal_doc.pyandcheck_four_filter.pyare required (a failure fails the run);check_print_layout.pyis advisory. Scripts also run standalone, e.g.scripts/check_legal_doc.py <document.md>.
Mandatory disclaimer (verbatim, end of every document)
This is a draft prepared for attorney review. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Do not file, send, or sign without review by a licensed attorney in the relevant jurisdiction. Citations, statutes, and procedural rules should be verified against current authority before any reliance.
References
references/drafting.md— the bespoke drafting workflow, Four-Filter check, legal writing sources.references/templates-and-families.md— how to pick and use templates.references/print-layout.md— typography, hierarchy, and print-safety rules.references/motions.md— motion types, shells, and structure.references/orders.md— proposed orders, consent orders, agreed orders.references/sworn-statements.md— declarations, affidavits, verified statements.references/discovery.md— interrogatories, RFPs, RFAs, subpoenas, responses.references/exhibits.md— exhibit packets, appendices, evidence handling.references/communications.md— demand letters, settlement emails, meet-and-confer.references/agreements.md— NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, loans, releases, bills of sale.references/design-system-legal-docs.md— legal documents in design-system MDX.references/e-filing-2026-standards.md— PACER/CM-ECF and representative state e-filing format standards.templates/— reusable document shells, one per type.recipes/jsx-court-layouts.md— JSX patterns for court-safe PDF layouts.recipes/certificate-of-service-layout.md— COS page design and structure.lints.toml+scripts/lint.py— the lint registry and one-command dispatcher; runpython3 scripts/lint.py --git-changedto validate every changed file in one pass.scripts/check_legal_doc.py— citation-shape and disclaimer-language validation (drafter + template conventions); federal/VA/CA/NY fully recognized, other-state reporters generic-tier unverified.scripts/check_four_filter.py— flags superlative/absolute language with no nearby supporting fact.scripts/check_print_layout.py— advisory print-safety heuristics: color-only distinctions, page breaks.