What this is
A one-time capture of a legal project's document standards -- caption format, formatting defaults, file naming, citation style, motion structure, and any user-supplied templates -- so every legal document Claude produces matches the user's court and firm standard automatically. Legal projects only; skip otherwise.
Packaged with this feature
- Motion Branding Spec — a full generic (de-identified) formatting standard for motions and pleadings: page setup, the caption box's exact table structure, small-caps usage, footer and page-number construction, signature block, notary layout, Certificate of Service, and pagination control — including real implementation gotchas worth knowing before building a filing from scratch (a table-border default that looks fine in some previewers but renders wrong in actual Microsoft Word; a page-number field bug specific to programmatic
.docxgeneration). - Generic Motion Template (.docx, downloadable) — built to that spec, de-identified, ready to fill in for a specific matter.
install legal-preferences
The sections below are the install payload — the directives Claude reads and runs when this feature is installed. Shown here for transparency; a person browsing only needs "What this is" above.
Assess first
- Confirm the project type is Legal. If not, skip this feature. - Check for an existing `admin\Legal_Preferences_Profile.md` and read/carry it forward. - Check `brand\templates\` for any user-supplied sample filings or templates -- these are highest priority and get matched exactly. - If the user provides an existing filing, extract the caption format and all formatting rather than asking field by field. - If there is no existing filing or template yet, note that the Motion Branding Spec and Generic Motion Template (linked above) are available as a starting point rather than starting from nothing.
Ask, only if needed
- Caption: "Do you have an existing filing I can pull your caption format from? If not, I can start from a generic motion template and spec instead -- want that?" If yes to the first: extract, reproduce, confirm, lock in. If no existing filing but yes to the generic starting point: proceed per Write below. If neither: collect alignment, case name format, small caps usage, docket placement, document title format, jurisdiction line field by field. - Formatting: confirm the preferences table below (body font, spacing, margins, page numbers, header/footer, signature block, exhibit labels). - Citation style: Bluebook / ALWD / Local rules / footnote preference. - Motion structure: standard sections and signature block format.
Write (payload written into admin\AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md)
Save `Legal_Preferences_Profile.md` to `admin\`. Save any user-supplied templates to `brand\templates\`. Then add this section to `admin\AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md`: ``` * LEGAL PREFERENCES PROFILE (Legal projects only) Profile file: admin\Legal_Preferences_Profile.md Caption template: [Inline or see file] Body font / spacing: [e.g., Times New Roman 12pt / Double] File naming: [PREFIX]_[CaseCode]_[Subject]_[YYYY-MM-DD]_v[X.X][_Draft].[ext] Citation style: [Bluebook / ALWD / Local] Template documents: [List in brand\templates\] When producing any legal document: load Legal_Preferences_Profile.md first. Apply all preferences without being asked. If a user-supplied template exists, match it exactly -- every time. ``` The `Legal_Preferences_Profile.md` file itself records the full detail: ``` A. Caption Format -- alignment, case name format, small caps, docket placement, document title format, jurisdiction line (or a reproduced caption from a supplied filing). B. Document Formatting | Preference | Chosen value | | Body font | Times New Roman 12 / Garamond 12 / Century 12 / | | | Arial 11 | | Line spacing | Double / 1.5 / Single | | Margins | 1" all / 1" TB + 1.25" sides / Court-specified | | Page numbers | Bottom center / Bottom right / Top right | | Header/footer | Case name + docket / Document title / None | | Signature block| Stacked left / Two-column / Centered | | Exhibit labels | Exhibit A,B,C / Exhibit 1,2,3 / Tab 1 | C. Legal File Naming: [PREFIX]_[CaseCode]_[Subject]_[YYYY-MM-DD]_v[X.X][_Draft].[ext] Legal prefixes: MTN MEM BRF ORD AFF DEC EXH LTR CMT ANS OPP RPL NOT STI PRO INT REQ ADM DEP SUP DKT RES STR D. Citation Style: Bluebook / ALWD / Local rules / footnote preference E. Motion Structure: standard sections, signature block format F. User-supplied templates (HIGHEST PRIORITY): read, extract all formatting, reproduce for confirmation, save to brand\templates\, apply to all documents of that type going forward without being asked. ``` **If no user-supplied filing or template exists** and the person wants to start from the generic foundation instead: copy both `legal-motion-brand-spec.md` and `generic-motion-template.docx` (from this feature database) into the project's own `brand\templates\` folder -- the same location user-supplied templates would live -- so the spec and template are available locally going forward without needing to re-fetch them. Note in `Legal_Preferences_Profile.md` that these are the generic starting point (not yet matched to a specific court's local rules or a specific case), and that the person should confirm court-specific formatting requirements before relying on it for an actual filing.
Confirm
Confirm: your legal preferences are captured and saved to admin\Legal_Preferences_Profile.md -- every legal document will match your caption, formatting, naming, and citation standards automatically. If the generic Motion Branding Spec and template were copied in as a starting point, confirm that too and note they're in brand\templates\. Want to install another, or is that everything for now?