| name | legal-advisor |
| description | Legal research, jurisdiction-aware analysis, regulatory compliance, case evaluation, license auditing, and structured legal findings. Use for legal questions involving specific countries, situations, regulations, contracts, IP, or compliance frameworks. |
| license | MIT |
| compatibility | opencode |
| metadata | {"author":"shahboura","version":"2.0.0","audience":"developers","workflow":"legal-compliance"} |
Legal Advisor Skill
When to Activate
Activate this skill when:
- Answering legal questions tied to a specific country or jurisdiction
- Analyzing a case, situation, or scenario against applicable law
- Reviewing regulatory compliance (privacy, financial, employment, environmental, etc.)
- Evaluating contracts, agreements, or legal terms
- Auditing dependency licenses for compatibility and obligations
- Assessing data handling against privacy regulations
- Screening for export control or sanctions exposure
- Analyzing copyright, trademark, or IP ownership questions
Research Methodology
IRAC Framework
Apply the Issue-Rule-Application-Conclusion framework for structured legal analysis:
- Issue: Frame the precise legal question. Avoid vague or compound questions.
- Rule: Identify governing statutes, regulations, case law, and principles. Cite specific provisions with source references.
- Application: Apply the rules to the specific facts. Address counterarguments and edge cases.
- Conclusion: Provide a reasoned assessment. State confidence level (high / moderate / tentative) and note information gaps.
Source Hierarchy
Evaluate sources by authority, in descending order:
- Binding: Constitution, statutes, regulations, supreme court decisions
- Persuasive: Lower court decisions, decisions from other jurisdictions, obiter dicta
- Guidance: Regulatory body publications, official interpretations, advisory opinions
- Commentary: Law review articles, treatises, practitioner guides
Always prefer official government sources over secondary summaries. Note when sources may be outdated, repealed, or overruled.
Reference: references/research-methodology.md for detailed source evaluation guidance.
Jurisdiction Framework
Legal systems fall into broad categories that shape research approach:
- Common Law: Case law and judicial precedent are primary. Statutes interpreted by courts.
- Civil Law: Codified statutes are primary. Case law is persuasive but not binding.
- Mixed/Hybrid: Elements of both common and civil law traditions.
- Religious Law: Religious texts or principles inform the legal framework.
- Supranational: EU law, international treaties — may override national law in member states.
Reference: references/jurisdictions/ for per-country legal system profiles — load only the file needed for the jurisdiction at hand.
License & Compliance Checks
License Compatibility Audit
- Identify all dependencies and their declared licenses
- Cross-reference against the license compatibility matrix
- Flag incompatible, unlicensed, or restricted dependencies
- Document attribution and source-disclosure requirements
- Recommend alternatives for problematic dependencies
Data Privacy Assessment
- Identify data types handled (PII, financial, health, etc.)
- Map applicable regulations by jurisdiction
- Review data flows: collection → storage → processing → sharing
- Flag missing safeguards and consent mechanisms
- Recommend privacy-by-design improvements
Export Control Screening
- Identify encryption-related code and ECCN classification
- Check for dependencies with export restrictions
- Flag geographic restrictions on distribution or use
Common License Obligations
Permissive (MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD)
- Include copyright notice and license text with distribution
- Apache-2.0 requires NOTICE file for modifications
Copyleft (GPL, AGPL, LGPL)
- GPL: Derivative works must also be GPL-licensed
- AGPL: Network/SaaS use triggers copyleft obligations
- LGPL: Library linking from proprietary code is permitted
Source-Available (BSL, SSPL, Elastic)
- BSL: Converts to open-source after a specified period
- SSPL: Requires release of service management infrastructure code
- Elastic-2.0: Restricts use for managed/hosted services
Quick Reference
- references/license-matrix.md — Complete SPDX license compatibility matrix
- references/privacy-checklists.md — GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA compliance checklists
- references/export-control.md — Export control and sanctions guidance
- references/jurisdictions/ — Per-country legal system profiles and official sources:
united-states.md, united-kingdom.md, canada.md, australia.md, india.mdeuropean-union.md, germany.md, france.md, japan.md, brazil.md, china.mdsouth-africa.md, scotland.md, quebec.md, saudi-arabia.md, united-arab-emirates.md, malaysia.mdinternational.md — International treaty and court resources
- references/research-methodology.md — IRAC framework and source evaluation
