--- name: client-letter description: > Routine client correspondence from templates — appointment confirmations, document requests, brief "we filed it" updates. Plain language, required elements, supervision routing. NOT substantive advice. Use when a student needs to send routine correspondence, an appointment confirmation, a document request letter, or a brief status note to a client. argument-hint: "[appointment | doc-request | update]" --- # /client-letter 1. Load `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-clinic/CLAUDE.md` → plain-language standards, supervision style, clinic contact info. 2. Use the templates and workflow below. 3. Match type to template. Plain-language check. 4. Output with AI-assisted label, supervision routing. Scope: routine only. Substantive advice → `/status client` or a conversation with the professor. ``` /legal-clinic:client-letter appointment ``` ``` /legal-clinic:client-letter doc-request ``` --- # Client Letter: Routine Correspondence ## Purpose Clinics send a lot of routine correspondence: "your appointment is Tuesday at 2pm," "please bring your lease," "we filed your answer." This skill handles those from templates so students aren't typing the same letter every week. **Scope: routine only.** Substantive advice, bad news, case strategy — those are `/status client` or a conversation, not a template letter. ## Load context `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-clinic/CLAUDE.md` → plain-language standards, supervision style, clinic contact info. ## Pedagogy check Read the supervisor guide for this practice area at `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-clinic/guides/.md`. Check the `pedagogy_posture` setting: - **`guide` (default):** Produce the structure and the checklist (required elements, plain-language targets, sign-off per student practice rule). Ask the student to draft each section. Give feedback on their draft (register, reading level, required elements, what they missed). Offer to fill a section only when the student has tried once. - **`assist`:** Produce the letter. Flag items for student review. The student edits and learns by reviewing. - **`teach`:** Don't produce the letter. Ask the student to draft it. Give feedback. Ask leading questions when they're stuck. Only show a model paragraph after two attempts, and only the section they're stuck on. Track what they got right and wrong so the supervisor can see progress. If no guide exists, use `guide`. If the guide exists but doesn't set a posture, use `guide`. Whatever the posture, the output always includes: "**Pedagogy mode: [assist/guide/teach]** — set by your supervisor's guide. This means I [description of what the student did vs what the skill did]." ## Sign-off and student-attorney disclosure Check your jurisdiction's student practice rule for required disclosure language in letters signed by a law student. Some jurisdictions require specific forms; most require that the student identify themselves as a law student / certified legal intern and identify the supervising attorney. The templates below use a generic form — conform the sign-off to your rule before sending. ## Letter types > **Review label goes OUTSIDE the letter.** The `[AI-ASSISTED DRAFT — requires review per plugin config supervision step]` tag is a note to the student, not part of the letter body. Place it above the rendered template (or in a header the student deletes before sending), never inside the fenced letter content. If it ends up in the client-facing copy, the skill has failed. ### Appointment confirmation *Review label for the student (not for the client — strip before sending):* `[AI-ASSISTED DRAFT — requires review per plugin config supervision step]` ```markdown Dear [Client], This confirms your appointment with [Clinic name]: **Date:** [date] **Time:** [time] **Where:** [address / room / or "by phone at [number]"] **With:** [student name] **Please bring:** [documents needed — from case notes or leave as prompt for student to fill] If you need to reschedule, call us at [clinic phone] at least 24 hours before. [Student name] Law Student, Certified Legal Intern Under the supervision of [Supervising Attorney] [Clinic name] | [phone] | [hours] ``` ### Document request *Review label for the student (not for the client — strip before sending):* `[AI-ASSISTED DRAFT — requires review per plugin config supervision step]` ```markdown Dear [Client], To move your case forward, we need the following documents from you: - [Document 1 — e.g., "Your lease agreement"] - [Document 2 — e.g., "The notice you received from your landlord"] - [Document 3] **How to get them to us:** [drop off at clinic / email to [address] / bring to next appointment] **Please send by:** [date — if there's a deadline, say why: "We need these by [date] so we can file your answer before the court deadline."] If you don't have some of these or aren't sure what we mean, call us at [clinic phone] and we can help. [Student name] Law Student, Certified Legal Intern Under the supervision of [Supervising Attorney] [Clinic name] | [phone] | [hours] ``` ### Brief status update For routine "we filed it" / "we're waiting" updates. (Fuller status updates → `/status client`.) *Review label for the student (not for the client — strip before sending):* `[AI-ASSISTED DRAFT — requires review per plugin config supervision step]` ```markdown Dear [Client], Quick update: [one-line what happened — "We filed your answer with the court on [date]" / "We sent the demand letter to your landlord on [date]"]. **What's next:** [one line — "We're waiting for their response" / "The court will schedule a hearing and let us know the date"]. You don't need to do anything right now. We'll let you know when we do. [Student name] Law Student, Certified Legal Intern Under the supervision of [Supervising Attorney] [Clinic name] | [phone] | [hours] ``` ## Before sending Sending a letter to a client is a consequential action. This plugin's gate is the supervision workflow described in `## Supervision style` in `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-clinic/CLAUDE.md`, reinforced by the Part 0 role check that confirms a licensed supervising attorney owns the clinic setup. That gate still holds: every letter clears review before it leaves the clinic. Before sending any of the letters above, confirm: 1. The draft has been reviewed per the supervision protocol in `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-clinic/CLAUDE.md` (queue / flag / lighter-touch). 2. All internal review labels (`[AI-ASSISTED DRAFT]`, any `[VERIFY]` or `[FACT NEEDED]` tags) have been removed from the client-facing copy. 3. The sign-off conforms to your jurisdiction's student practice rule for law-student-signed correspondence. **This is a student draft for supervising-attorney review, not a final letter.** Sending it has legal consequences for the client and may constitute legal advice or communication on the client's behalf. A licensed supervising attorney reviews, edits, and signs off before the letter leaves the clinic. Do not send without supervisor approval. ## Plain-language check Per `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-clinic/CLAUDE.md` standards. Short sentences. No jargon. Reading level target enforced. If a template above includes a legal term the client might not know, explain it the first time: "We filed your 'answer' — that's the document that tells the court your side of the story." ## Supervision routing Per `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-clinic/CLAUDE.md`. Routine correspondence may or may not be a flag trigger depending on the supervision style the professor chose. If lighter-touch: these go out after student review without a queue step. If formal queue: even routine letters queue. ## What this skill does NOT do - **Substantive advice.** If the letter would say "here's what I think about your case" or "here's what you should do," that's not routine — that's `/status client` or a conversation with the professor first. - **Bad news.** Case closing, adverse ruling, can't-help — those need thought, not a template. Flag for professor. - **Anything to opposing counsel or a court.** Different audience, different skill (`/draft` or `/status court`). --- Attribution added by YourAIKit. It is not part of the upstream file. - Source: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-for-legal/tree/main/legal-clinic/skills/client-letter - Credit: Anthropic, Claude for Legal (legal-clinic) - Upstream copy: anthropics/claude-for-legal at commit 4a6c651889c97cc9140580363c73e0eb17379c2b, legal-clinic/skills/client-letter/SKILL.md - Copyright: held by the upstream authors credited above - License: Apache-2.0. Full text: https://youraikit.com/licenses/anthropics-claude-for-legal-root/LICENSE - The full upstream license text (LICENSE) follows. License (LICENSE): ```text Apache License Version 2.0, January 2004 http://www.apache.org/licenses/ TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE, REPRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION 1. Definitions. "License" shall mean the terms and conditions for use, reproduction, and distribution as defined by Sections 1 through 9 of this document. "Licensor" shall mean the copyright owner or entity authorized by the copyright owner that is granting the License. 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