---
name: policy-diff
description: Diff a specific regulatory change against the indexed policy library. Use when a reg has changed and you need to know which policies it touches and what the gap is, when the user says "diff this reg against our policies", "which policy does this affect", or "gap analysis", or when reg-feed-watcher hands off a material item.
argument-hint: "[reg name, or paste reg text/summary]"
---

# /policy-diff

1. Load `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/regulatory-legal/CLAUDE.md` → policy library index.
2. Use the workflow below.
3. Extract requirements from the reg. Match to indexed policies.
4. Output: per-requirement gap analysis, which policy needs updating.

---

## Matter context

**Matter context.** Check `## Matter workspaces` in the practice-level CLAUDE.md. If `Enabled` is `✗` (the default for in-house users), skip the rest of this paragraph — skills use practice-level context and the matter machinery is invisible. If enabled and there is no active matter, ask: "Which matter is this for? Run `/regulatory-legal:matter-workspace switch <slug>` or say `practice-level`." Load the active matter's `matter.md` for matter-specific context and overrides. Write outputs to the matter folder at `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/regulatory-legal/matters/<matter-slug>/`. Never read another matter's files unless `Cross-matter context` is `on`.

---

## Purpose

A reg changed. You have policies. This skill finds which policies the change touches and what the gap is between "what the reg now requires" and "what the policy says."

## Load context

`~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/regulatory-legal/CLAUDE.md` → policy library index (policies, locations, owners).

## Scope integrity

If the user asks you to exclude a policy section, requirement, or category from the diff:

1. Do it — the user owns the scope.
2. But flag it, loudly and permanently: "⚠️ SCOPE LIMITATION: Section [X] excluded at user request. This diff does not reflect the full policy. Gaps in the excluded area are NOT identified." Above the header, carried to every downstream artifact.
3. Hand the flag to `gap-surfacer`: "This diff was scope-limited. Do not represent it as a complete compliance picture." Include the scope-limitation banner verbatim on any gap tracker entry derived from this diff.
4. Note what the exclusion means: "Excluding vendor management means the diff will show 'no policy addresses vendor management' — which is worse than showing the gap."

A compliance artifact built on an undisclosed scope exclusion looks like concealment in discovery. The flag is the difference between "we scoped the review" and "we hid the problem."

## Workflow

### Step 0: Verify rule status before you diff

Before diffing a rule against policy, confirm the rule is actually in force. Red flags that the rule may not be in force:

- The applicability/compliance date has passed by more than 30 days but you have no confirmation it wasn't delayed
- The rule is more than 12 months old
- The rule is a politically contentious final rule (major rulemakings are frequently challenged)

When you see a red flag, check (via research MCP, web search if enabled, or the Federal Register docket) for: delays, stays, injunctions, rescission proposals, vacatur, or amendments. If you can check and the rule is confirmed in force, proceed. If you cannot verify (no tools connected), emit this banner ABOVE the header, before any content:

> `⚠️ RULE STATUS UNVERIFIED — I could not confirm this rule is currently in force. Final rules are frequently stayed, enjoined, delayed, or rescinded after publication. Do not treat any compliance date below as binding until you confirm the rule's status at the Federal Register docket or with outside counsel.`

Tag every due date in the output: `[due date per published rule — status unverified]`.

Rule-status uncertainty travels downstream. When handing off a gap to `gap-surfacer`, mark the item `status_verified: false` so it never gets routed to an Overdue bucket on the strength of a published date alone.

### Step 1: Extract the new requirements

**No silent supplement.** If the regulatory change text is partial or ambiguous and the fuller rule isn't available from the indexed source, stop and ask. Do NOT fill the gap from web search or model knowledge without asking. Say: "I have [what you have]. To extract requirements accurately I'd need [what's missing]. Options: (1) paste the full text, (2) point me at the primary source, (3) search the web for the rule — results will be tagged `[web search — verify]` and should be checked against the issuing authority before relying, or (4) stop here. Which would you like?" A lawyer decides whether to accept lower-confidence sources; Claude does not decide for them.

**Source attribution.** Tag every citation — the regulatory citation, any cross-references, any policy excerpts — with where it came from: `[<regulator or research tool>]` for items retrieved from a primary source, policy library, or MCP; `[web search — verify]` for items pulled from web search; `[model knowledge — verify]` for items recalled from the model's training data; `[user provided]` for items pasted in by the user. Items tagged `verify` carry higher fabrication risk and should be checked first. Never strip or collapse the tags in the output.

Read the regulatory change. List each discrete new or changed requirement:

| # | Requirement | Effective | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [what it requires] | [date] | [section] |

Be specific. "Enhanced disclosure requirements" is not a requirement. "Must disclose X in Y format at Z point in the flow" is.

### Step 2: Map to policies

For each requirement, which indexed policy is closest?

- Direct hit: policy explicitly covers this topic
- Indirect: policy covers a related topic, this is a new sub-issue
- No match: no policy addresses this — gap is "policy doesn't exist"

### Step 3: Diff

For each direct or indirect hit, read the policy and compare:

```markdown
### Requirement [N]: [name]

**New rule requires:** [requirement]

**Our policy ([name], last updated [date]) says:**
> "[relevant excerpt]"

**Gap:** [None — policy already covers this | Partial — policy addresses X but not Y | Full — policy contradicts or doesn't address]

**Change needed:** [specific — "add a paragraph on X" not "update the policy"]

**Policy owner:** [from index]
```

### Step 4: No-match gaps

Requirements with no policy match get called out separately:

```markdown
### New policy needed

Requirement [N]: [requirement]

No existing policy covers this. Options:
- Draft new policy (suggested owner: [whoever owns the closest topic])
- Add to existing [related policy] as a new section
- Determine this doesn't need a policy (one-off compliance, not ongoing)
```

## Branches by regulatory input type

### Pre-rule branch (ANPR / RFI)

If the regulatory input is an ANPR or RFI (no imposed requirements), do NOT run a full gap-closure diff. Instead, produce a **pre-positioning analysis**:

- Name the policies that will likely need to change once a final rule issues (not today).
- Flag whether any of the ANPR's issue areas intersect with the company's practice in a way that warrants a comment letter.
- Note the comment deadline and the team's comment-decision owner from `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/regulatory-legal/CLAUDE.md`.
- Do NOT produce per-requirement "no gap" rows for an ANPR — there are no requirements to diff against. Produce one paragraph naming the future exposure and the policies it would touch.

### Negative-finding branch (final rule / NPRM diffed against a policy that isn't the right target)

If every requirement in the extracted list comes out as "no gap against [the named policy]," do NOT produce the full per-requirement analysis — compress to a single short paragraph:

```markdown
## Policy Diff: [Regulation name] — [Policy name]

[REGULATION] doesn't appear to require a change to [POLICY NAME]. [POLICY NAME]
§[X] already covers [Y]. The policies this regulation actually touches are
[other-policy-1] and [other-policy-2] — rerun `/regulatory-legal:policy-diff` against those.

Review on [next cycle — e.g., "at the next annual policy review"] or if
[trigger — e.g., "the rule is finalized or amended"].
```

One paragraph, one recommendation, routing note. Don't repeat the "no gap" finding for every requirement — the summary table handles that. A negative finding against the wrong target policy is a routing problem, not a compliance analysis.

### Gap branch (final rule / NPRM with at least one gap against the target policy)

Full per-requirement analysis as specified below. The detailed diff format is for diffs that actually find gaps.

## Output

```markdown
[WORK-PRODUCT HEADER — per plugin config ## Outputs — differs by role; see `## Who's using this`]

## Policy Diff: [Regulation name]

**Regulation:** [name, link]
**Effective:** [date]
**Requirements extracted:** [N]

### Bottom line

[N gaps need action by [date] — top 3: X, Y, Z]

### Summary

| # | Requirement | Policy affected | Gap | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [short] | [policy name or "none"] | None/Partial/Full | [name] |

### Detailed diffs

[Each requirement block from Step 3]

### New policies needed

[From Step 4, if any]

### No-gap requirements

[List — useful to know what's already covered]

---

**Verify citations before relying on them.** The regulatory citations and policy references above were AI-generated and have not been checked against a primary source. Before acting on any requirement here, confirm the rule against Westlaw, your firm's research platform, or the issuing authority's website — check accuracy, effective date, and current status. AI-generated regulatory citations are sometimes fabricated, misquoted, or stale. Source tags on each requirement (e.g., `[Federal Register]`, `[web search — verify]`) show where the citation came from; `verify` tags carry higher fabrication risk and should be checked first.
```

## Config-dependent fallbacks

This skill reads the policy library index from `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/regulatory-legal/CLAUDE.md`. When the index is empty or still `[PLACEHOLDER]`:

- **Policy library empty:** flag every requirement as "no policy match" by default and append to the output: "The policy library in your configuration is empty, so every requirement is flagged as a new-policy gap. If you have policies that address these requirements, add them to the library with `/regulatory-legal:cold-start-interview --redo` or by editing `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/regulatory-legal/CLAUDE.md`, then re-run the diff."
- **Owner missing for a matched policy:** leave the Owner cell blank in the summary and append: "Policy owners aren't set for [list]. Assign them with `/regulatory-legal:cold-start-interview --redo` or by editing the policy library in `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/regulatory-legal/CLAUDE.md` so gap-surfacer can route."

Say nothing about config when the library is populated and owners are set.

## Handoff

To gap-surfacer: every Partial or Full gap becomes a tracked item with owner and deadline.

## Close with the next-steps decision tree

End with the next-steps decision tree per CLAUDE.md `## Outputs`. Customize the options to what this skill just produced — the five default branches (draft the X, escalate, get more facts, watch and wait, something else) are a starting point, not a lock-in. The tree is the output; the lawyer picks.

## What this skill does not do

- Draft the policy updates. It identifies what needs updating; policy-drafting (or a human) drafts.
- Interpret ambiguous regulatory text definitively. If the reg could be read two ways, say so and flag for counsel.

---

Attribution added by YourAIKit. It is not part of the upstream file.

- Source: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-for-legal/tree/main/regulatory-legal/skills/policy-diff
- Credit: Anthropic, Claude for Legal (regulatory-legal)
- Upstream copy: anthropics/claude-for-legal at commit 4a6c651889c97cc9140580363c73e0eb17379c2b, regulatory-legal/skills/policy-diff/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.

      "Legal Entity" shall mean the union of the acting entity and all
      other entities that control, are controlled by, or are under common
      control with that entity. For the purposes of this definition,
      "control" means (i) the power, direct or indirect, to cause the
      direction or management of such entity, whether by contract or
      otherwise, or (ii) ownership of fifty percent (50%) or more of the
      outstanding shares, or (iii) beneficial ownership of such entity.

      "You" (or "Your") shall mean an individual or Legal Entity
      exercising permissions granted by this License.

      "Source" form shall mean the preferred form for making modifications,
      including but not limited to software source code, documentation
      source, and configuration files.

      "Object" form shall mean any form resulting from mechanical
      transformation or translation of a Source form, including but
      not limited to compiled object code, generated documentation,
      and conversions to other media types.

      "Work" shall mean the work of authorship, whether in Source or
      Object form, made available under the License, as indicated by a
      copyright notice that is included in or attached to the work
      (an example is provided in the Appendix below).

      "Derivative Works" shall mean any work, whether in Source or Object
      form, that is based on (or derived from) the Work and for which the
      editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications
      represent, as a whole, an original work of authorship. For the purposes
      of this License, Derivative Works shall not include works that remain
      separable from, or merely link (or bind by name) to the interfaces of,
      the Work and Derivative Works thereof.

      "Contribution" shall mean any work of authorship, including
      the original version of the Work and any modifications or additions
      to that Work or Derivative Works thereof, that is intentionally
      submitted to Licensor for inclusion in the Work by the copyright owner
      or by an individual or Legal Entity authorized to submit on behalf of
      the copyright owner. For the purposes of this definition, "submitted"
      means any form of electronic, verbal, or written communication sent
      to the Licensor or its representatives, including but not limited to
      communication on electronic mailing lists, source code control systems,
      and issue tracking systems that are managed by, or on behalf of, the
      Licensor for the purpose of discussing and improving the Work, but
      excluding communication that is conspicuously marked or otherwise
      designated in writing by the copyright owner as "Not a Contribution."

      "Contributor" shall mean Licensor and any individual or Legal Entity
      on behalf of whom a Contribution has been received by Licensor and
      subsequently incorporated within the Work.

   2. Grant of Copyright License. Subject to the terms and conditions of
      this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual,
      worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable
      copyright license to reproduce, prepare Derivative Works of,
      publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute the
      Work and such Derivative Works in Source or Object form.

   3. Grant of Patent License. Subject to the terms and conditions of
      this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual,
      worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable
      (except as stated in this section) patent license to make, have made,
      use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer the Work,
      where such license applies only to those patent claims licensable
      by such Contributor that are necessarily infringed by their
      Contribution(s) alone or by combination of their Contribution(s)
      with the Work to which such Contribution(s) was submitted. If You
      institute patent litigation against any entity (including a
      cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the Work
      or a Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct
      or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses
      granted to You under this License for that Work shall terminate
      as of the date such litigation is filed.

   4. Redistribution. You may reproduce and distribute copies of the
      Work or Derivative Works thereof in any medium, with or without
      modifications, and in Source or Object form, provided that You
      meet the following conditions:

      (a) You must give any other recipients of the Work or
          Derivative Works a copy of this License; and

      (b) You must cause any modified files to carry prominent notices
          stating that You changed the files; and

      (c) You must retain, in the Source form of any Derivative Works
          that You distribute, all copyright, patent, trademark, and
          attribution notices from the Source form of the Work,
          excluding those notices that do not pertain to any part of
          the Derivative Works; and

      (d) If the Work includes a "NOTICE" text file as part of its
          distribution, then any Derivative Works that You distribute must
          include a readable copy of the attribution notices contained
          within such NOTICE file, excluding those notices that do not
          pertain to any part of the Derivative Works, in at least one
          of the following places: within a NOTICE text file distributed
          as part of the Derivative Works; within the Source form or
          documentation, if provided along with the Derivative Works; or,
          within a display generated by the Derivative Works, if and
          wherever such third-party notices normally appear. The contents
          of the NOTICE file are for informational purposes only and
          do not modify the License. You may add Your own attribution
          notices within Derivative Works that You distribute, alongside
          or as an addendum to the NOTICE text from the Work, provided
          that such additional attribution notices cannot be construed
          as modifying the License.

      You may add Your own copyright statement to Your modifications and
      may provide additional or different license terms and conditions
      for use, reproduction, or distribution of Your modifications, or
      for any such Derivative Works as a whole, provided Your use,
      reproduction, and distribution of the Work otherwise complies with
      the conditions stated in this License.

   5. Submission of Contributions. Unless You explicitly state otherwise,
      any Contribution intentionally submitted for inclusion in the Work
      by You to the Licensor shall be under the terms and conditions of
      this License, without any additional terms or conditions.
      Notwithstanding the above, nothing herein shall supersede or modify
      the terms of any separate license agreement you may have executed
      with Licensor regarding such Contributions.

   6. Trademarks. This License does not grant permission to use the trade
      names, trademarks, service marks, or product names of the Licensor,
      except as required for reasonable and customary use in describing the
      origin of the Work and reproducing the content of the NOTICE file.

   7. Disclaimer of Warranty. Unless required by applicable law or
      agreed to in writing, Licensor provides the Work (and each
      Contributor provides its Contributions) on an "AS IS" BASIS,
      WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or
      implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions
      of TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, or FITNESS FOR A
      PARTICULAR PURPOSE. You are solely responsible for determining the
      appropriateness of using or redistributing the Work and assume any
      risks associated with Your exercise of permissions under this License.

   8. Limitation of Liability. In no event and under no legal theory,
      whether in tort (including negligence), contract, or otherwise,
      unless required by applicable law (such as deliberate and grossly
      negligent acts) or agreed to in writing, shall any Contributor be
      liable to You for damages, including any direct, indirect, special,
      incidental, or consequential damages of any character arising as a
      result of this License or out of the use or inability to use the
      Work (including but not limited to damages for loss of goodwill,
      work stoppage, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all
      other commercial damages or losses), even if such Contributor
      has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

   9. Accepting Warranty or Additional Liability. While redistributing
      the Work or Derivative Works thereof, You may choose to offer,
      and charge a fee for, acceptance of support, warranty, indemnity,
      or other liability obligations and/or rights consistent with this
      License. However, in accepting such obligations, You may act only
      on Your own behalf and on Your sole responsibility, not on behalf
      of any other Contributor, and only if You agree to indemnify,
      defend, and hold each Contributor harmless for any liability
      incurred by, or claims asserted against, such Contributor by reason
      of your accepting any such warranty or additional liability.

   END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS

   APPENDIX: How to apply the Apache License to your work.

      To apply the Apache License to your work, attach the following
      boilerplate notice, with the fields enclosed by brackets "[]"
      replaced with your own identifying information. (Don't include
      the brackets!)  The text should be enclosed in the appropriate
      comment syntax for the file format. We also recommend that a
      file or class name and description of purpose be included on the
      same "printed page" as the copyright notice for easier
      identification within third-party archives.

   Copyright [yyyy] [name of copyright owner]

   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   You may obtain a copy of the License at

       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   limitations under the License.
```