| name | demand-received |
| description | Triage an inbound demand letter — extract fields, cross-check the portfolio, assess merit, present response options with a recommendation, and hand off to matter-intake or demand-intake if escalation is warranted. Use when the user says "we got a demand letter", "triage this demand", or shares an incoming demand to evaluate. |
| argument-hint | [path-to-incoming] [--slug=custom-slug] |
/demand-received
- Read the incoming document from provided path.
- Load
~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/matters/_log.yaml for portfolio cross-check.
- Load
~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md → risk calibration, landscape, demand-letter practice.
- Follow the workflow and reference below.
- Extract fields; cross-check portfolio; assess merit; present options with recommendation.
- Write
~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/inbound/[slug]/triage.md. Copy or link incoming to ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/inbound/[slug]/incoming.[ext].
- Hand off per user choice:
- Create matter →
matter-intake pre-populated
- Respond with counter-demand →
demand-intake pre-populated
- Link to existing matter → update
related_matters in log
- Standalone → no further action
Demand Received
Purpose
Inbound demand letters are the bread and butter of an in-house litigation practice. A small fraction need escalation; most can be handled with a structured response or a holding letter. The failure mode is treating them all alike. This skill triages, cross-checks the portfolio, and produces options.
Load context
- The incoming document (user provides path or drops it in-session)
~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/matters/_log.yaml — scan for related matters (same counterparty, overlapping counterparties via entity relationships, or matter type + recent date)~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md → risk calibration (for merit assessment), landscape (is the sender a frequent adversary?), demand-letter practice (house tone and response defaults)
Workflow
Step 1: Read the demand
Extract from the incoming:
- Sender — entity, signer, counsel (if signed by outside firm)
- Recipient — which entity/person at our company
- Delivery — certified, email, courier (matters for deadline calculation)
- Date received vs. date signed
- Demand type — payment, breach/cure, C&D, preservation, settlement, other
- Specific asks — what they want, by when
- Facts alleged — their version of what happened
- Legal basis — statutes, contract provisions, theories they cite
- Threats — what they say they'll do if we don't comply
- Settlement-communication framing — research the settlement-communication protections applicable in the forum (FRE 408 in federal, the state equivalent otherwise). Note whether the demand is marked as a settlement communication, but remember: protection attaches from conduct and context, not merely from labeling. Capture both the label (if any) and a first-pass read of whether the substance is in fact a compromise discussion.
Step 2: Portfolio cross-check
Search _log.yaml for:
- Direct match — matter with same counterparty (their slug matches the sender)
- Type match — similar matter type with this counterparty in the past (closed matters count — they inform pattern)
- Subject overlap — matters where the subject might be the same dispute (e.g., same contract, same product, same project)
Present findings:
- If direct match + active: flag as almost certainly the same matter; recommend adding incoming to the existing matter, not opening a new one. Update
related_matters if it's a tangent.
- If direct match + closed: flag — counterparty is back. May be a new dispute (open new matter) or a resurrected one (reopen or amend). User decides.
- If type match: note as precedent/context; probably distinct matter but inform the response strategy.
- If no match: novel. Treat as fresh.
Step 3: Merit assessment
Not a legal opinion — a structured read:
- Facts — do the alleged facts align with what we know? Where's the disconnect?
- Legal basis — are the cited provisions/statutes actually applicable? (Flag cites for user verification — do not attempt to validate law autonomously.)
- Strength on their side — if they went to court tomorrow, what's their story?
- Strength on our side — what are our likely defenses?
- Damages demanded vs. likely — is the ask proportionate to what a court would award if they won?
- Leverage and pressure — are they credibly prepared to sue? Do they have capacity? Are they a repeat-litigant adversary per
~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md?
Output a triage rating: substantial merit / debatable / weak / frivolous. Be blunt. The user is triaging, not writing the brief.
Step 4: Response options
Present 3-4 options with tradeoffs:
Option A — substantive response
- When: their demand has merit or is at least debatable; a reasoned reply protects the record
- Tradeoff: commits us to a position in writing
- Next step:
/demand-intake with pre-populated fields for a counter-response letter
Option B — holding letter
- When: need time to investigate; don't want to concede anything or trigger their deadline math
- Tradeoff: doesn't resolve anything; buys 2-4 weeks
- Next step: short acknowledgment draft
Option C — settlement response
- When: early resolution is cheaper than litigation; willing to discuss without admitting
- Tradeoff: settlement-communication posture required — research the applicable rule (FRE 408 or state equivalent) and structure the response so the substance, not just the label, qualifies as a compromise discussion. Must be careful not to waive claims.
- Next step:
/demand-intake with type: settlement-response
Option D — ignore + preserve
- When: demand is frivolous or the deadline doesn't create legal prejudice
- Tradeoff: silence can be used against us in some contexts (e.g., account stated); legal hold still required
- Next step: issue legal hold via
/legal-hold --issue if not already; log the demand and move on
Recommend one. Be specific about why.
Step 5: Deadline triage
- Their stated deadline — note it, but it doesn't bind us
- Our internal deadline — when we must decide (often: stated deadline minus 5 business days to draft + approve)
- Legal deadlines — statute of limitations, contractual cure periods, procedural requirements
Flag any legal deadlines that are tight. Calendar them.
No silent supplement. If the inbound demand cites rules, cases, or statutes that require verification, and a research query to the configured legal research tool (Westlaw, CourtListener, Trellis, Descrybe, or firm platform) returns few or no results for a given authority, report what was found and stop. Do NOT fill the gap from web search or model knowledge without asking. Say: "The search returned [N] results from [tool]. Coverage appears thin for [cite / doctrine]. Options: (1) broaden the search query, (2) try a different research tool, (3) search the web — results will be tagged [web search — verify] and should be checked against a primary source before relying, or (4) leave the [SME VERIFY] flag and stop here. Which would you like?" A lawyer decides whether to accept lower-confidence sources; the skill does not decide for them.
Source attribution. Tag every citation carried into the triage — including the sender's cited authorities, our response-option rationales, and any research pulled for merit assessment — with where it came from: [Westlaw], [CourtListener], [Trellis], [Descrybe], or the MCP tool name for citations retrieved from a legal research connector; [web search — verify] for web-search citations; [model knowledge — verify] for citations recalled from training data; [user provided] for citations supplied in the demand itself. Citations tagged verify carry higher fabrication risk and should be checked first. Never strip or collapse the tags.
Step 6: Write triage
Output: ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/inbound/[slug]/triage.md.
[WORK-PRODUCT HEADER — per plugin config ## Outputs — differs by role; see `## Who's using this`]
> **Privilege inheritance.** This triage is derived from the inbound demand and from the portfolio log, and it records our first-pass merit read and response posture. Those internal analyses are attorney-client and/or work-product material. Distributing this triage beyond the privilege circle — including forwarding it to the business lead without marking, sharing with the counterparty, or attaching to an insurance tender without scrubbing — can waive protection over both this document and the reasoning inside it. Store with privileged matter material, mark consistently with house privilege conventions, and make distribution decisions deliberately.
# Demand Received — Triage
> **READ FOR TRIAGE, NOT OPINION.** This document is an intake scan and an options analysis — not a legal merit opinion. The `Triage rating` below is a structured read to support the counsel's decision on how to route the demand. It is not a recommendation on the merits and does not substitute for case-specific legal analysis. Every cited statute, rule, or case is flagged for SME verification; every merit call is the counsel's, not this skill's.
**Slug:** [slug]
**Received:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Received by:** [entity / person]
**Incoming file:** [path]
---
## The demand
**Sender:** [entity, signer, counsel]
**Demand type:** [type]
**Specific asks:** [list]
**Their stated deadline:** [date]
**Settlement-communication framing:** [labeled / substantively / neither / ambiguous] — *protection turns on conduct and context, not the label; `[SME VERIFY]` against the forum's applicable rule*
## Facts alleged
[their version, in one paragraph]
## Legal basis cited
[citations — each inline-flagged with `[SME VERIFY: applicability / currency / jurisdiction]` — do not rely on any citation here without independent check]
## Threats / next steps they state
[list]
---
## Portfolio cross-check
**Direct match:** [slug if exists, or "none"]
**Type match / precedent:** [list or "none"]
[list or "none"]
[new matter / add to existing / link via related
Step 7: Hand off
Based on recommendation and user confirmation:
- Matter creation → hand off to
/matter-intake with: counterparty, type, source: demand-letter (inbound), initial theory framed defensively, pre-populated.
- Counter-response as outbound demand → hand off to
/demand-intake with: counterparty, context from triage, desired outcome as the response.
- Link to existing matter → update that matter's
related_matters in _log.yaml; append event to its history.md.
- Standalone → leave in
~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/inbound/; no portfolio change.
Close with the next-steps decision tree
End with the next-steps decision tree per CLAUDE.md ## Outputs. Customize the options to what this skill just produced — the five default branches (draft the X, escalate, get more facts, watch and wait, something else) are a starting point, not a lock-in. The tree is the output; the lawyer picks.
What this skill does not do
- Validate cited law. Flags cites for the user to run through a citator (verify it is good law) or check with outside counsel. Inventing legal analysis on inbound demands is malpractice exposure.
- Send a response. Drafts are drafted in
demand-draft; this skill stops at the triage decision.
- Decide merit definitively. The rating is a read for triage; a formal merit opinion lives with outside counsel or more thorough analysis.
- Make the matter-creation call. Surfaces the recommendation; user decides.
