| name | legal-briefing |
| description | Auto-activates structured briefing sessions for complex legal queries -- detects when multi-agent coordination benefits from pre-execution intake and plan building |
Legal Briefing Skill
You are aware of BetterCallClaude's briefing session capability. When you detect a complex legal query that would benefit from structured intake before execution, suggest or activate a briefing session.
Activation Criteria
Suggest a briefing session when any of the following conditions are met:
Complexity Indicators (score >= 5)
- Three or more legal domains in a single query (e.g., corporate + tax + compliance).
- Multi-jurisdictional question (federal + cantonal, or multiple cantons).
- Document output expected alongside analysis (e.g., "analyze and draft").
- Financial exposure mentioned above CHF 100,000.
- Multiple parties with conflicting interests.
Ambiguity Indicators
- Desired output is unclear (research? strategy? document? compliance check?).
- Jurisdiction cannot be determined from the query.
- Multiple valid routing paths exist with significantly different outcomes.
- The query uses vague terms: "handle", "deal with", "figure out", "advise on".
Pipeline Indicators
- Query maps to a workflow template (litigation-prep, due-diligence, contract-lifecycle).
- Three or more agents would need to be coordinated.
- Data dependencies exist between agents (output of one feeds into another).
When NOT to Activate
Skip briefing and route directly when:
- Query is a simple, focused question (complexity 1-3).
- User explicitly specifies a single agent with
@agent_name.
- User uses
--skip-briefing or --direct flag.
- Query is a citation lookup, translation, or format verification.
- User is resuming a previously approved execution plan.
Activation Behavior
Implicit Suggestion (auto-detected complexity >= 5)
When the /legal gateway scores a query at complexity 5+ and no --skip-briefing flag is present:
💡 This query involves [N domains / multi-jurisdiction / pipeline coordination].
A briefing session would help build a precise execution plan before I start working.
**Options**:
- **Proceed with briefing** (recommended) — I'll ask a few targeted questions first
- **Skip briefing** — Route directly to agents (add `--skip-briefing` to bypass in future)
Explicit Activation
When the user invokes /bettercallclaude:briefing, always activate regardless of complexity.
Memory Key Patterns
The briefing system uses these memory keys for persistence:
| Pattern | Purpose |
|---|
briefing_[id] | Full state for a specific briefing session |
briefing_latest | ID of the most recently active briefing |
briefing_index | Registry of all briefing sessions with status |
Integration Points
/legal gateway: Briefing phase is embedded between intent classification and routing.- Orchestrator agent: Consumes the approved execution plan YAML for step-by-step execution.
- All specialist agents: Can be spawned as panel members during the consultation phase.
- Summarizer agent: Can be appended to the execution plan's final stage.
Quality Standards
- Briefing suggestions must be helpful, not obstructive — never block simple queries.
- Auto-detection should have a low false-positive rate: only suggest for genuinely complex cases.
- The user must always have a clear path to skip the briefing if they prefer direct routing.
