Legal playbook

Legal Playbook

Create a standardized legal playbook for "$ARGUMENTS". Define decision trees, approval thresholds, pre-approved templates, escalation criteria, and timeline expectations for recurring legal scenarios.

Note: AI-generated legal content does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney.

Prerequisites

Check that .metapowers/legal/$ARGUMENTS/00-assess.md exists. If it does not exist, stop and tell the user:

"Run an Assess skill first (e.g. /legal:risk-assessment $ARGUMENTS) to generate the prerequisite assessment artifact."

If the user passes --skip-checks, bypass this check and log the skip to .metapowers/legal/$ARGUMENTS/skip-log.md with a timestamp and the reason "Prerequisite check skipped for legal-playbook".

Process

1. Read inputs:

   • Read .metapowers/legal/$ARGUMENTS/00-assess.md for risk context, jurisdiction, and organizational profile
   • Review any existing legal artifacts in .metapowers/legal/$ARGUMENTS/

2. Identify recurring legal scenarios:

   • Contract negotiation — standard terms, acceptable deviations, deal-breakers
   • Data breach response — detection, containment, notification, remediation
   • Employee termination — voluntary, involuntary, for cause, layoff procedures
   • IP dispute — infringement claims, cease-and-desist responses, defensive actions
   • Vendor onboarding — due diligence, contract requirements, risk assessment
   • M&A due diligence — legal review scope, red flags, documentation requirements
   • Regulatory inquiry — response protocols, document preservation, communication rules
   • Tailor scenarios to the specific needs of "$ARGUMENTS"

3. Create decision tree for each scenario:

   • Define the triggering event (what initiates the scenario)
   • Map decision points with if/then logic (if X, then Y)
   • Identify the possible outcomes at each branch
   • Include time constraints at each decision point
   • Document the rationale for each recommended path

4. Define approval thresholds:

   • Pre-approved actions — what can proceed without legal review (e.g., standard NDA execution, routine contract renewals under a value threshold)
   • Legal review required — what needs internal legal sign-off (e.g., non-standard terms, contracts above value threshold, new vendor categories)
   • Outside counsel required — what needs external legal involvement (e.g., litigation, complex regulatory matters, high-value transactions)
   • Set clear monetary and risk-based thresholds for each level

5. List pre-approved templates and fallback positions:

   • For each scenario, identify available templates (NDAs, standard contracts, response letters)
   • Define preferred terms and acceptable fallback positions for negotiations
   • Document which template modifications are acceptable without additional review
   • Maintain version control references for all templates

6. Set escalation criteria:

   • Define when to involve internal legal counsel
   • Define when to involve outside counsel
   • Define when to notify executive leadership
   • Include specific triggers: monetary thresholds, reputational risk, regulatory exposure, litigation threats
   • Set maximum response times for each escalation level

7. Include timeline expectations:

   • Standard turnaround times for each scenario type
   • Expedited process for urgent matters
   • SLA definitions for legal team response
   • External dependencies and typical third-party timelines

8. Organize playbook by audience:

   • Sales team — contract negotiation, NDA procedures, deal approval workflows
   • Engineering — open-source compliance, IP considerations, security incident response
   • HR — employment law procedures, termination protocols, discrimination/harassment response
   • Procurement — vendor assessment, contract review, supplier risk management
   • Each audience section should be self-contained with relevant scenarios only

9. Write the artifact to .metapowers/legal/$ARGUMENTS/04-govern.md with frontmatter:

   ---
   description: Legal playbook for $ARGUMENTS
   ---
   

   Include sections:

   • Scenario Index — overview of all covered scenarios with quick-reference links
   • Decision Trees — visual decision flow per scenario
   • Approval Matrix — thresholds and required approvals by scenario and value
   • Templates and Fallback Positions — available templates with modification guidelines
   • Escalation Guide — when and how to escalate by scenario type
   • Timeline Expectations — standard and expedited turnaround times
   • Audience-Specific Guides — tailored playbook sections per team

Output

The legal playbook written to .metapowers/legal/$ARGUMENTS/04-govern.md. Present a summary to the user highlighting:

• Number of scenarios covered and their categorization
• Key approval thresholds and escalation triggers
• Available pre-approved templates
• Audience-specific guide overview