Skip to main content Home Creators thomasmoreai legal-skills-open self-improving-legal
self-improving-legal Captures clause risks, compliance gaps, precedent shifts, contract deviations, regulatory changes, and litigation exposure to enable continuous legal operations improvement. Use when: (1) An unfavorable clause is accepted or slips through review, (2) A compliance deadline is missed or approaching, (3) A new regulation impacts the organization, (4) A contract remains unsigned past SLA, (5) An IP infringement notice is received, (6) New case law changes interpretation in a relevant jurisdiction, (7) A data subject access request reveals process gaps.
Jump to install Skills Marketplace Discover and explore AI skills built by the community.
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
Show prompt details A direct command skips the review prompt. Inspect the source before running it.
npx skills add https://github.com/ThomasMoreAI/legal-skills-open --skill self-improving-legalThe command stays on one line. Scroll horizontally to inspect it before copying.
Prefer a local copy? Download the files currently available to SkillsMP.
Download Zip Downloading... More from this repository fetching-arbitration-rules Use when retrieving arbitration institutional rules (ICC, LCIA, SCC, SIAC, HKIAC, VIAC, МКАС/МАК при ТПП України, UNCITRAL) — fetching current version, verifying redaction applicable to the date of arbitration agreement, constructing URLs for official rule texts
determining-pl-request-regime Use when choosing the Polish legal regime for letters, requests, applications, complaints, petitions, public-information requests, KPA filings, PPSA complaints, RODO access requests, registry extracts, court-file access, tax/ZUS/cudzoziemcy/USC procedures, or professional lawyer letters. Prevents mixing UDIP, KPA, PPSA, RODO, registry, special-procedure, and advocate/radca letter regimes.
applying-new-york-convention Use when preparing applications for recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Poland, applications for setting aside arbitral awards under KPC art. 1205–1211, or opposing such applications — mapping Article V of the 1958 New York Convention to art. 1214–1215 of the Polish KPC, identifying grounds for refusal, structuring public policy arguments
Related occupations SOC
Based on SOC occupation classification
name self-improving-legal title Self-Improving Legal Skill description Captures clause risks, compliance gaps, precedent shifts, contract deviations, regulatory changes, and litigation exposure to enable continuous legal operations improvement. Use when: (1) An unfavorable clause is accepted or slips through review, (2) A compliance deadline is missed or approaching, (3) A new regulation impacts the organization, (4) A contract remains unsigned past SLA, (5) An IP infringement notice is received, (6) New case law changes interpretation in a relevant jurisdiction, (7) A data subject access request reveals process gaps. author aAAaqwq author_url https://github.com/aAAaqwq/AGI-Super-Team/tree/master/skills/self-improving-legal license MIT version 0.1.0 execution_mode open jurisdiction general practice general language en
Self-Improving Legal Skill
Log legal learnings, compliance findings, contract issues, and regulatory changes to markdown files for continuous improvement. Captures clause risks, compliance gaps, precedent shifts, contract deviations, regulatory changes, and litigation exposure. Important learnings get promoted to clause libraries, compliance checklists, regulatory trackers, contract playbooks, or risk registers.
CRITICAL: Privilege & Confidentiality Protection
NEVER log privileged attorney-client communications, specific case strategy, confidential settlement terms, or litigation work product in any learning or issue entry. Always abstract findings to process-level lessons. Use generalized descriptions:
Protected Information Acceptable Abstraction Attorney-client advice on specific matter "Outside counsel recommended clause revision for indemnity cap" Settlement amount or terms "Settlement reached; update playbook to flag similar exposure earlier" Litigation strategy details "Discovery phase revealed need for better document retention process" Privileged legal memoranda "Internal review identified gap in force majeure clause coverage" Specific opposing party positions "Counterparty negotiation pattern: late-stage payment term changes" Confidential deal terms "Deal structure required non-standard IP assignment clause"
When in doubt, omit the specific detail and log only the process improvement lesson. Privilege waiver through careless documentation is irreversible.
First-Use Initialisation
Before logging anything, ensure the .learnings/ directory and files exist in the project or workspace root. If any are missing, create them:
mkdir -p .learnings
[ -f .learnings/LEARNINGS.md ] || printf "# Legal Learnings\n\nClause risks, compliance gaps, precedent shifts, regulatory changes, and legal operations insights.\n\n**Categories**: clause_risk | compliance_gap | precedent_shift | contract_deviation | regulatory_change | litigation_exposure\n**Areas**: contracts | compliance | litigation | intellectual_property | privacy | regulatory | corporate_governance\n\n---\n" > .learnings/LEARNINGS.md
[ -f .learnings/LEGAL_ISSUES.md ] || printf "# Legal Issues Log\n\nContract disputes, compliance failures, regulatory impacts, and litigation matters.\n\n---\n" > .learnings/LEGAL_ISSUES.md
[ -f .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md ] || printf
"# Legal Operations Feature Requests\n\nLegal technology, automation, and process improvement requests.\n\n---\n"
Never overwrite existing files. This is a no-op if .learnings/ is already initialised.
Do not log privileged communications, specific case strategy, or confidential settlement terms. Abstract all entries to process-level lessons.
If you want automatic reminders, use the opt-in hook workflow described in Hook Integration .
Quick Reference Situation Action Unfavorable clause accepted in contract Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category clause_risk Compliance deadline missed or approaching Log to .learnings/LEGAL_ISSUES.md with category compliance_gap New regulation impacts the organization Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category regulatory_change Contract unsigned past SLA Log to .learnings/LEGAL_ISSUES.md with category contract_deviation IP infringement notice received Log to .learnings/LEGAL_ISSUES.md with category litigation_exposure New case law in relevant jurisdiction Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category precedent_shift Data subject access request reveals gaps Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category compliance_gap Vendor changed terms without flagging Log to .learnings/LEGAL_ISSUES.md with category contract_deviation Regulatory filing deadline within 30 days Log to .learnings/LEGAL_ISSUES.md with priority high Contract redline rejected 3+ times Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category clause_risk Similar to existing entry Link with **See Also**, consider priority bump Broadly applicable legal pattern Promote to clause library, compliance checklist, or playbook Proven compliance workflow Promote to AGENTS.md (OpenClaw workspace) Legal tool configuration Promote to TOOLS.md (OpenClaw workspace) Legal operations principles Promote to SOUL.md (OpenClaw workspace)
OpenClaw Setup (Recommended) OpenClaw is the primary platform for this skill. It uses workspace-based prompt injection with automatic skill loading.
Installation Via ClawdHub (recommended):
clawdhub install self-improving-legal
git clone https://github.com/jose-compu/self-improving-legal.git ~/.openclaw/skills/self-improving-legal
Workspace Structure OpenClaw injects these files into every session:
~/.openclaw/workspace/
├── AGENTS.md # Legal workflows, contract review delegation
├── SOUL.md # Legal principles, privilege protection, confidentiality
├── TOOLS.md # Legal tool capabilities, CLM configs, e-discovery
├── MEMORY.md # Long-term memory (main session only)
├── memory/ # Daily memory files
│ └── YYYY-MM-DD.md
└── .learnings/ # This skill's log files
├── LEARNINGS.md
├── LEGAL_ISSUES.md
└── FEATURE_REQUESTS.md
Create Learning Files mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace/.learnings
Then create the log files (or copy from assets/):
LEARNINGS.md — clause risks, compliance gaps, regulatory changes, precedent shiftsLEGAL_ISSUES.md — contract disputes, compliance failures, litigation mattersFEATURE_REQUESTS.md — legal technology and automation requests
Promotion Targets When legal learnings prove broadly applicable, promote them:
Learning Type Promote To Example Clause patterns Clause library "Always cap indemnity at 2x annual contract value" Compliance requirements Compliance checklist "CCPA deletion must cover backup systems within 90 days" Regulatory tracking Regulatory tracker "EU AI Act model documentation deadline Q1 2026" Contract negotiation patterns Contract playbook "Vendor payment term changes require VP approval" Risk patterns Risk register "Unlimited liability clauses in SaaS agreements" Legal operations workflows AGENTS.md"Route IP matters to patent counsel within 48 hours"
Optional: Enable Hook For automatic reminders at session start:
cp -r hooks/openclaw ~/.openclaw/hooks/self-improving-legal
openclaw hooks enable self-improving-legal
See references/openclaw-integration.md for complete details.
Generic Setup (Other Agents) For Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, or other agents, create .learnings/ in the project or workspace root:
Create the files inline using the headers shown above. Avoid reading templates from the current repo or workspace unless you explicitly trust that path.
Add reference to agent files Add to AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, or .github/copilot-instructions.md:
Legal Self-Improvement Workflow When legal issues or findings occur:
Log to .learnings/LEGAL_ISSUES.md, LEARNINGS.md, or FEATURE_REQUESTS.md
NEVER log privileged communications, case strategy, or settlement terms Review and promote broadly applicable findings to:
Clause libraries — reusable clause language and fallback positions
Compliance checklists — regulatory requirement tracking
Contract playbooks — negotiation patterns and escalation guides
Risk registers — recurring risk categories and mitigation plans
Logging Format
Learning Entry [LRN-YYYYMMDD-XXX] Append to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md:
## [LRN-YYYYMMDD-XXX] category
**Logged** : ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority** : low | medium | high | critical
**Status** : pending
**Area** : contracts | compliance | litigation | intellectual_property | privacy | regulatory | corporate_ governance
### Summary
One-line description of the legal insight or finding
### Details
Full context: what clause, regulation, or precedent was involved, why it matters,
what the correct approach or fallback position is. NEVER include privileged
attorney-client communications or confidential settlement terms.
### Recommended Action
Specific clause revision, compliance step, filing, or process change
### Metadata
- Source: contract_review | regulatory_ update | case_law | audit | negotiation | litigation
- Jurisdiction: US-Federal | US-CA | EU | UK | other
- Related Files: path/to/contract.docx, path/to/policy.md
- Tags: tag1, tag2
- Regulation: GDPR | CCPA | SOX | HIPAA | EU-AI-Act (if applicable)
- See Also: LRN-20260110-001 (if related to existing entry)
- Pattern-Key: clause.indemnity_ cap | comply.ccpa_deletion (optional)
- Recurrence-Count: 1 (optional)
- First-Seen: 2026-01-15 (optional)
- Last-Seen: 2026-01-15 (optional)
---
Categories for learnings:
Category Use When clause_riskUnfavorable or missing clause identified in contract review compliance_gapRegulatory requirement not met or process gap discovered precedent_shiftNew case law changes interpretation of existing obligations contract_deviationContract terms deviate from standard playbook without approval regulatory_changeNew regulation or amendment requires operational adjustment litigation_exposurePattern or practice that increases litigation risk
Legal Issue Entry [LEG-YYYYMMDD-XXX] Append to .learnings/LEGAL_ISSUES.md:
## [LEG-YYYYMMDD-XXX] issue_type
**Logged** : ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority** : critical | high | medium | low
**Status** : pending
**Area** : contracts | compliance | litigation | intellectual_ property | privacy | regulatory | corporate_governance
**Severity** : critical | high | medium | low
### Summary
Brief description of the legal issue
### Issue Details
Context of the legal issue: what happened, what contract or regulation is involved,
what the exposure or risk is. Abstract to process-level lessons — do NOT include
privileged communications, specific case strategy, or confidential terms.
### Impact Assessment
- Affected contracts/matters
- Financial exposure estimate (range, not exact if confidential)
- Regulatory risk (enforcement action, fine range, reputational)
- Deadline or statute of limitations implications
### Recommended Action
- Immediate steps to mitigate
- Escalation path (in-house counsel, outside counsel, board)
- Long-term process improvement
### Timeline
- **Identified** : ISO-8601
- **Escalated** : ISO-8601 (if applicable)
- **Resolved** : ISO-8601 (if applicable)
### Metadata
- Trigger: contract_ redline | regulatory_filing | case_ law | audit_finding | infringement_ notice | dsar
- Jurisdiction: US-Federal | US-CA | EU | UK | other
- Counterparty: [generalized role, e.g., "SaaS vendor", "enterprise customer"]
- Related Files: path/to/document
- See Also: LEG-20260110-001 (if related)
---
Feature Request Entry [FEAT-YYYYMMDD-XXX] Append to .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md:
## [FEAT-YYYYMMDD-XXX] capability_name
**Logged** : ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority** : medium
**Status** : pending
**Area** : contracts | compliance | litigation | intellectual_ property | privacy | regulatory | corporate_governance
### Requested Capability
What legal operations tool, automation, or capability is needed
### Business Justification
Why it's needed — what risk it mitigates, what workflow it improves, what compliance
requirement it satisfies
### Complexity Estimate
simple | medium | complex
### Suggested Implementation
How this could be built: CLM integration, regulatory API, compliance dashboard, clause library
### Metadata
- Frequency: first_ time | recurring
- Related Features: existing_tool_ or_feature
- Compliance: GDPR | CCPA | SOX | HIPAA (if applicable)
---
ID Generation Format: TYPE-YYYYMMDD-XXX
TYPE: LRN (learning), LEG (legal issue), FEAT (feature request)
YYYYMMDD: Current date
XXX: Sequential number or random 3 chars (e.g., 001, A7B)
Examples: LRN-20260412-001, LEG-20260412-A3F, FEAT-20260412-002
Resolving Entries When an issue is resolved, update the entry:
Change **Status**: pending → **Status**: resolved
Add resolution block after Metadata:
### Resolution
- **Resolved** : 2026-01-16T09:00:00Z
- **Action Taken** : Brief description of resolution (abstracted, no privileged details)
- **Clause/Policy Updated** : Reference to updated clause library or compliance checklist
- **Verified By** : legal review | compliance audit | outside counsel
in_progress — Actively being negotiated, reviewed, or remediatedwont_fix — Risk accepted with documented justification and approverpromoted — Elevated to clause library, compliance checklist, or contract playbookpromoted_to_skill — Extracted as a reusable skill
Detection Triggers Automatically log when you encounter:
Contract Review Signals (→ learning or legal issue):
Contract redline rejected 3+ times on the same clause
Unlimited liability or uncapped indemnity accepted
Non-standard payment terms without VP approval
Auto-renewal clause without termination notice window
Assignment clause missing change-of-control protections
Most-favored-nation clause absent from strategic vendor agreement
Regulatory Signals (→ learning or legal issue):
New regulation published affecting the organization's industry
Regulatory filing deadline within 30 days
Amendment to existing regulation (GDPR, CCPA, SOX, HIPAA)
Enforcement action against peer company in same sector
Cross-border data transfer mechanism invalidated
Litigation Signals (→ legal issue):
IP infringement notice or cease-and-desist received
Data subject access request (DSAR) received
Subpoena or litigation hold notice
Non-compete or non-solicitation dispute
Breach of contract claim or demand letter
Compliance Signals (→ learning):
GDPR/CCPA audit finding
SOX control deficiency
Internal audit exception
Third-party vendor compliance gap
Data retention policy violation
Missing consent mechanism for data processing
Precedent Signals (→ learning):
Court ruling changes interpretation of standard clause
Regulatory guidance document issued
Industry association publishes new model terms
Arbitration award sets new benchmark in relevant area
Priority Guidelines Priority When to Use Legal Examples criticalActive litigation, regulatory enforcement, material breach Injunction filed, regulatory investigation opened, data breach notification deadline highCompliance deadline approaching, material contract risk, IP claim Filing due in 30 days, unlimited liability accepted, patent infringement notice mediumProcess improvement, clause optimization, template update Clause library gap, negotiation playbook outdated, compliance checklist incomplete lowDocumentation, minor template revision, informational Precedent noted for future reference, template formatting, policy language cleanup
Area Tags Use to filter learnings by legal domain:
Area Scope contractsContract drafting, review, negotiation, CLM, clause libraries complianceRegulatory compliance, audits, certifications, internal controls litigationDisputes, claims, discovery, settlement, litigation holds intellectual_propertyPatents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, licensing privacyData protection, GDPR, CCPA, DSAR, consent management regulatoryRegulatory filings, government relations, enforcement actions corporate_governanceBoard matters, corporate records, entity management, fiduciary duties
Promoting to Permanent Legal Standards When a learning is broadly applicable (not a one-off matter), promote it to permanent legal operations standards.
When to Promote
Clause risk recurs across multiple contract negotiations
Compliance gap applies to the entire regulatory program
Precedent shift affects standard contract positions
Contract negotiation pattern should be institutionalized
Regulatory change requires ongoing monitoring
Promotion Targets Target What Belongs There Clause library Standard clauses, fallback positions, red/yellow/green markups Compliance checklist Regulatory requirements, audit preparation, filing deadlines Regulatory tracker New regulations, amendments, enforcement trends Contract playbook Negotiation positions, escalation triggers, approval thresholds Risk register Recurring risk categories, exposure estimates, mitigation plans CLAUDE.mdLegal operations conventions for AI agents AGENTS.mdLegal workflows, matter routing, delegation patterns
How to Promote
Distill the learning into a concise clause, checklist item, or playbook entryAdd to appropriate target (clause library, compliance checklist, playbook)Update original entry:
Change **Status**: pending → **Status**: promoted
Add **Promoted**: clause_library (or compliance_checklist, contract_playbook, risk_register)
Promotion Examples Learning → Clause library entry:
Unlimited liability in SaaS renewal (3 instances in quarter) → Standard clause: "Cap at 12 months fees, fallback 2x annual value, VP Legal approval for exceptions."
Learning → Compliance checklist item:
CCPA deletion not covering backups → Checklist: "Primary DB 30 days, backups 90 days, confirmation within 45-day window, quarterly audit."
Recurring Pattern Detection If logging something similar to an existing entry:
Search first : grep -r "keyword" .learnings/Link entries : Add **See Also**: LEG-20260110-001 in MetadataBump priority if issue keeps recurringConsider systemic fix : Recurring legal issues often indicate:
Missing clause library entry (→ add standard clause with fallback)
Missing compliance control (→ add to compliance checklist)
Outdated contract playbook (→ update negotiation positions)
Training gap (→ schedule legal operations training)
Periodic Review Review .learnings/ at natural breakpoints:
When to Review
Before major contract negotiations
Before compliance audit deadlines
After regulatory changes affecting the organization
After litigation matters are resolved
Quarterly during active legal operations
Before board meetings or governance reviews
Quick Status Check grep -h "Status\*\*: pending" .learnings/*.md | wc -l
grep -B5 "Priority\*\*: critical\|Priority\*\*: high" .learnings/*.md | grep "^## \["
grep -l "Area\*\*: contracts" .learnings/*.md
grep -h "Regulation:" .learnings/*.md | sort -u
Review Actions
Resolve closed legal matters and promote recurring clause risks
Update compliance checklists for new regulations
Link related entries and archive resolved litigation matters
Hook Integration Enable automatic reminders through agent hooks. This is opt-in .
Quick Setup (Claude Code / Codex) Create .claude/settings.json in your project:
{
"hooks" : {
"UserPromptSubmit" : [ {
"matcher" : "" ,
"hooks" : [ {
"type" : "command" ,
"command" : "./skills/self-improving-legal/scripts/activator.sh"
} ]
} ]
}
}
This injects a legal-focused learning evaluation reminder after each prompt (~80-120 tokens overhead).
Advanced Setup (With Legal Issue Detection) {
"hooks" : {
"UserPromptSubmit" : [ {
"matcher" : "" ,
"hooks" : [ {
"type" : "command" ,
"command" : "./skills/self-improving-legal/scripts/activator.sh"
} ]
} ] ,
"PostToolUse" : [ {
"matcher" : "Bash" ,
"hooks" : [ {
"type" : "command" ,
"command" : "./skills/self-improving-legal/scripts/error-detector.sh"
} ]
} ]
}
}
Enable PostToolUse only if you want the hook to inspect command output for legal-relevant patterns such as breach, violation, non-compliance, litigation, and regulatory keywords.
Available Hook Scripts Script Hook Type Purpose scripts/activator.shUserPromptSubmit Reminds to evaluate legal findings after tasks scripts/error-detector.shPostToolUse (Bash) Triggers on legal-relevant patterns in output
See references/hooks-setup.md for detailed configuration and troubleshooting.
Automatic Skill Extraction When a legal learning is valuable enough to become a reusable skill, extract it.
Skill Extraction Criteria Criterion Description Recurring Same clause risk or compliance gap in 2+ contract types or regulatory areas Verified Status is resolved with confirmed process improvement Non-obvious Required legal analysis or cross-jurisdictional research Broadly applicable Not matter-specific; useful across contract types or regulatory programs User-flagged User says "save this as a legal skill" or similar
Extraction Workflow
Identify candidate : Learning meets extraction criteriaRun helper (or create manually):
./skills/self-improving-legal/scripts/extract-skill.sh skill-name --dry-run
./skills/self-improving-legal/scripts/extract-skill.sh skill-name
Customize SKILL.md : Fill in template with legal-specific contentUpdate learning : Set status to promoted_to_skill, add Skill-PathVerify : Ensure NO privileged communications, case strategy, or confidential terms leaked into the skill
Extraction Detection Triggers
"This clause keeps causing problems"
"Save this compliance process as a skill"
"We see this regulatory issue every quarter"
"Add this to our contract playbook"
Multiple See Also links (recurring clause risk pattern)
High priority + resolved status
Category: compliance_gap with reusable remediation process
Regulatory change with broad organizational impact
Multi-Agent Support Agent Activation Detection Claude Code Hooks (UserPromptSubmit, PostToolUse) Automatic via hook scripts Codex CLI Hooks (same pattern) Automatic via hook scripts GitHub Copilot Manual (.github/copilot-instructions.md) Manual review OpenClaw Workspace injection + inter-agent messaging Via session tools
Regardless of agent, apply legal self-improvement when you:
Review a contract — identify clause risks, deviations, missing protectionsEncounter a compliance gap — regulatory requirement not met, audit findingTrack a regulatory change — new law, amendment, or enforcement actionHandle litigation matters — claims, disputes, discovery, holdsProcess IP issues — infringement notices, licensing gaps, trade secret exposureManage privacy requests — DSARs, consent gaps, cross-border transfer issues
Legal-Specific Best Practices
Protect privilege — never log attorney-client communications or work productAbstract to process — capture the lesson, not the confidential detailsTrack deadlines — regulatory filings, statutes of limitations, response windowsVersion clause libraries — track which clause version was used in which agreementAudit compliance quarterly — systematic review of regulatory obligationsMaintain jurisdiction tags — legal obligations vary by jurisdictionLink related matters — contract issues may relate to compliance or litigationEscalate promptly — critical items require immediate counsel notificationDocument approval chains — record who approved exceptions to standard termsReview before negotiations — check .learnings/ for past issues with similar clauses or counterparties
Gitignore Options Keep learnings local (recommended for legal):
Legal findings may contain sensitive context even when abstracted. Default to local-only.
Track in repo only if all entries are confirmed free of privileged information and confidential terms.
Hybrid (track templates, ignore entries): add .learnings/*.md and !.learnings/.gitkeep to .gitignore.
Stackability Contract (Standalone + Multi-Skill) This skill is standalone-compatible and stackable with other self-improving skills.
Namespaced Logging (recommended for 2+ skills)
Namespace for this skill: .learnings/legal/
Keep current standalone behavior if you prefer flat files.
Optional shared index for all skills: .learnings/INDEX.md
Required Metadata Every new entry must include:
Hook Arbitration (when 2+ skills are enabled)
Use one dispatcher hook as the single entrypoint.
Dispatcher responsibilities: route by matcher, dedupe repeated events, and rate-limit reminders.
Suggested defaults: dedupe key = event + matcher + file + 5m_window; max 1 reminder per skill every 5 minutes.
Narrow Matcher Scope (legal) Only trigger this skill automatically for legal signals such as:
contract clause|liability|indemnity|compliance obligationjurisdiction|regulatory update|legal risk|counsel escalationexplicit legal intent in user prompt
Cross-Skill Precedence When guidance conflicts, apply:
securityengineeringcodingaiuser-explicit domain skill
meta as tie-breaker
Ownership Rules
This skill writes only to .learnings/legal/ in stackable mode.
It may read other skill folders for cross-linking, but should not rewrite their entries.
