The Atlas AnyLegal OSS — documentation bound to its code
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backend/anylegal_oss/workspace/skills/research/SKILL.md

The `research` skill: answer a legal question with web search and mandatory inline citations. Identify jurisdiction, search in the user's language first, hit authoritative government/institutional sources before commentary, `web_fetch` full pages rather than trusting snippets, cross-reference each statute/case to confirm it is current and not superseded, then synthesize with `[[N]](URL)` citations renumbered from [1] every response. Includes the output structure, the strict citation format, a path for turning research into a formatted document via run_code + python-docx (re-read to verify after), and anti-hallucination guidelines (never invent URLs, case names, or statute numbers). When the user needs cited legal information — statutes, regulations, case law, or market standards.

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Legal Research

When to Use

Use this skill when:

  • The user asks a legal question or wants to know about a law/regulation
  • The user says /research
  • The user asks about market standards, typical terms, or industry norms
  • The user needs jurisdiction-specific legal information
  • The user asks for regulatory guidance or compliance information

Process

  1. Identify jurisdiction — infer from the question, document context, or session context. If ambiguous, ask the user.
  2. Match language — search in the same language the user is writing in. If the user writes in Russian, use Russian-language search queries first (e.g., "ограничение ответственности SaaS договор"). Add English queries only as supplement if Russian results are insufficient.
  3. Search authoritative sources first — use web_search with the jurisdiction set, targeting official government and institutional domains for statutory text, regulations, and case law. Frame queries with specific section/article numbers when known.
  4. Read full pages with web_fetch — once you have URLs to authoritative sources, fetch them to get complete article/section text. Don't rely on search snippets for citations.
  5. Cross-reference — for any cited statute or case, run a follow-up search to verify the citation is correct, current, and not superseded.
  6. Supplement with secondary sources — use web_search for legal commentary, market standards, regulatory guidance, and practitioner analysis. Tag these as "commentary" rather than authority.
  7. Synthesize the findings into a clear answer with inline citations.
  8. Cite every factual claim using [[N]](URL) format. Start numbering from [1] in every new response or document — never continue numbering from earlier messages.

Output Format

Structure research responses as:

  • Answer: Direct, practical answer to the question with inline citations
  • Jurisdiction Context: Which jurisdiction this applies to and any cross-jurisdiction notes
  • Key Points: Bullet points of the most important findings, each cited
  • Practical Recommendations: What the user should do based on the research
  • Sources: Numbered list of all sources cited

Citation Format (MANDATORY)

Every factual claim MUST have an inline citation:

The Companies Act 2006 (UK) requires directors to act in accordance with the company's constitution [[1]](https://url-to-source).

End every research response with:

## Sources
1. [Title of source](URL)
2. [Title of source](URL)

Creating a Research Document

When the user asks to create a document (memo, note, report) from research:

  1. Write in the user's language — if the conversation is in Russian, the document must be in Russian. Match the language of the request, not the language of sources.
  2. Use run_code (default Python) with python-docx to create the document with proper formatting (headings, bold defined terms, tables). Write the complete document in a single script. For simple markdown notes, create_document is acceptable.
  3. After creation, ALWAYS read_document to verify: correct language, citation numbering starts at [1], all sections present, formatting intact. Fix any issues before reporting success.
  4. Citation numbering starts at [1] in every new document, regardless of what was cited in earlier chat messages.

Guidelines

  • Prefer official government and institutional sources over secondary commentary
  • If you cannot find a source for a claim, say "I could not verify this — please check independently"
  • Do NOT invent URLs, case names, statute numbers, or regulatory references
  • If web search returns no relevant results, say so — do not fabricate citations
  • Verify statutes are still in force before citing them — laws change, search results may be outdated
  • Consider multiple jurisdictions if the question is cross-border
  • Note when laws have been recently amended or are under review
  • Distinguish between binding law and non-binding guidance
  • Language: Search queries, document content, and response text should all match the user's language