action-items-from-client-alert

Files (13)

• SKILL.md
• dated-deadlines.md · acceptance/fixtures/
• informational-alert.md · acceptance/fixtures/
• phased-deadlines.md · acceptance/fixtures/
• dated-deadlines.golden.json · acceptance/snapshots/
• informational-alert.golden.json · acceptance/snapshots/
• phased-deadlines.golden.json · acceptance/snapshots/
• example_clear_alert.md · examples/
• example_multi_jurisdiction.md · examples/
• example_vague_alert.md · examples/
• deadline_calibration.md · reference/
• extraction_patterns.md · reference/
• test-plan.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Action Items from Client Alert

Extract time-sensitive action items, deadlines, and obligations from a client alert, regulatory bulletin, law firm memo, or similar legal update. Produce a deadline-organized checklist that an in-house lawyer can act on without re-reading the source document.

The skill is operational, not analytical. Action items are stated at the level of granularity the alert supports — typically high-level ("comply with new disclosure requirement by [date]"), not implementation-level ("update privacy policy section 4.2 by [date]"). The user knows their organization better than the skill does; the skill provides the trigger and deadline, not the implementation.

## When this skill applies

Apply when the user provides a legal-update document and asks for action items, deadlines, or obligations to be extracted. Typical inputs:

- **Law firm client alerts** ("Client Alert: New SEC Cybersecurity Disclosure Rules Take Effect").
- **Regulatory bulletins** (FTC enforcement priorities; SEC staff guidance; agency Q&A documents).
- **Law firm memos** on regulatory developments or new statutes.
- **Industry association updates** distilling regulatory changes for members.
- **Internal compliance bulletins** if structured similarly to external alerts.

Do not apply when:

- **The document is the underlying regulation, statute, or rule itself.** Regulations are dense and structured for legal interpretation, not for action-item extraction. Recommend the user start with a client alert summarizing the regulation, or escalate to legal counsel for direct regulatory analysis.
- **The document is a court opinion or judicial decision.** Different shape; would warrant a case-summary skill (deferred enhancement candidate).
- **The document is a private communication or strategy memo.** Different shape; the skill is calibrated for published / shared alerts.
- **The user wants an analysis of the legal change rather than action items.** Action-item extraction is operational. If the user wants to understand the substantive legal change, recommend reading the alert directly or engaging counsel.
- **The document is too vague to extract specific actions.** Some alerts describe regulatory developments without imposing or describing specific requirements. The skill notes this and produces a "no specific action items extractable" output rather than fabricating actions.

## Inputs

The skill requires the document. Optional inputs filter and prioritize the extraction:

- **`organization_context`** affects applicability. An alert about EU AI Act obligations is highly relevant to an EU-based AI vendor and largely irrelevant to a US-only consumer-goods retailer. The skill uses the organization context to flag items as applicable, conditionally applicable, or not applicable.
- **`relevant_business_areas`** filters extraction. If the user is focused on data privacy and the alert covers privacy plus employment, the privacy items get full extraction and employment items are noted briefly with a reference to re-run for that focus.
- **`applicable_jurisdictions`** affects which items are surfaced. An alert covering federal plus multiple states' laws produces different relevance for users in different states.
- **`alert_date`** affects deadline assessment. Some alerts arrive after some deadlines have passed; the skill should flag past-deadline items separately from forward-looking ones.

When optional inputs are not provided, the skill extracts all items from the alert and flags applicability uncertainty.

## Workflow

The workflow has four steps.

### Step 1: Document orientation

Before extraction:

- Confirm the document is a client alert or similar update. If it's something else (the regulation itself, a court opinion, internal correspondence), stop and route the user.
- Identify the alert's date. If not stated, ask the user (the `alert_date` input) before proceeding — deadline assessment depends on the alert date.
- Identify the alert's subject matter (regulatory regime, agency, statute, jurisdiction).
- Identify the alert's structure: is it organized by topic, by deadline, by stakeholder? Different structures affect extraction approach.
- Note any references to the underlying regulation, prior alerts, or related materials.

### Step 2: Item extraction

Walk through the document and extract every item that meets one of these criteria:

1. **Mandatory action item:** something the user (or organizations like the user) is required to do, with a deadline. Source: the alert describes a new requirement, a compliance deadline, an effective date, a filing date, or a similar legal obligation.
2. **Recommended action item:** something the alert recommends as best practice without it being legally required. Source: the alert uses language like "should consider," "best practice," "we recommend," "prudent companies will."
3. **Informational item:** context that affects the user's understanding of the regulatory landscape but doesn't require specific action. Source: the alert describes background, agency posture, enforcement trends, or related developments without imposing requirements.
4. **Conditional action item:** action required only under specific circumstances (e.g., "if you process EU residents' data, you must..."). The skill flags the condition and the action.

For each item, capture:
- **What:** the action or obligation, stated in plain language.
- **By when:** the deadline or effective date, with explicit date if available.
- **Who within the organization:** typical functional owner if the alert suggests one (Legal, Compliance, IT, HR, etc.); otherwise marked "Owner: TBD."
- **Why / source:** the underlying legal basis (statute, regulation, agency guidance), with citation to the alert's section.
- **Conditions / applicability:** whether the item applies to all organizations or only specific ones.

### Step 3: Apply filters and applicability flags

For each extracted item, assess applicability based on optional inputs:

- **Applicable** — the item applies to the user's organization based on `organization_context`, `relevant_business_areas`, and `applicable_jurisdictions`.
- **Conditionally applicable** — the item applies if a specific condition is met (the user has EU users; processes children's data; engages in cross-border data transfers).
- **Not applicable** — the item does not apply to the user based on the inputs provided.
- **Applicability uncertain** — the user's optional inputs are not specific enough to assess; the skill notes the item and flags applicability for user review.

If `organization_context` is not provided, all items are flagged "applicability uncertain" and the user must assess applicability themselves.

### Step 4: Organize by deadline and produce checklist

Sort items by deadline, with separate sections for:

- **Past-deadline items** — deadlines that have already passed at the time of the review. May still warrant action (compliance lookback; remediation; ongoing obligations).
- **Imminent items** — deadlines within 30 days of the review.
- **Near-term items** — deadlines 30 days to 6 months out.
- **Future items** — deadlines beyond 6 months.
- **Ongoing obligations** — items without specific deadlines that represent continuing requirements.
- **Recommended (no deadline)** — best-practice items the alert recommends without specific deadline.
- **Informational only** — items that don't require action.

## Output

Produce the report in markdown with this structure:

```markdown
# Action Items from Client Alert: [Alert title or subject]

**Source document:** [alert title and date]
**Alert date:** [date]
**Organization context:** [user-provided, or "not specified"]
**Relevant business areas:** [user-provided, or "all"]
**Applicable jurisdictions:** [user-provided, or "not specified"]

## Context summary

[2-4 sentences. What is the alert about? What regulatory development triggered it? Why does it matter? This is to orient the user without requiring them to read the alert; the action items are below.]

## Mandatory action items

### Past-deadline items
[If any. Each with: what, deadline (passed), source citation, applicability, recommended remediation.]

### Imminent (within 30 days)
[Each with: what, deadline (specific date), owner, source citation, applicability.]

### Near-term (30 days to 6 months)
[Each with: what, deadline, owner, source citation, applicability.]

### Future (beyond 6 months)
[Each with: what, deadline, owner, source citation, applicability.]

From LegalQuants/lq-ai, Apache-2.0.

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