Client Letter

Codex v1 local-input note: This migrated skill supports local files and pasted text by default. References to Drive, CLM IDs, Slack, Westlaw, iManage, Ironclad, eDiscovery, dockets, or other remote systems require a separately configured Codex connector/MCP server. When a connector is unavailable, ask for a local export, local file path, or pasted excerpts. If config/local/codex-for-legal/<practice>/CLAUDE.md is missing, ask the user to run the relevant cold-start-interview or customize skill and copy from config/templates/codex-for-legal/<practice>/CLAUDE.md.

$legal-clinic:client-letter

1. Load config/local/codex-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 → $legal-clinic: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 $legal-clinic:status client or a conversation, not a template letter.

Load context

config/local/codex-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 config/local/codex-for-legal/legal-clinic/guides/<practice-area>.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]

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]

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 → $legal-clinic:status client.)

Review label for the student (not for the client — strip before sending): [AI-ASSISTED DRAFT — requires review per plugin config supervision step]

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 config/local/codex-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 config/local/codex-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 config/local/codex-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 config/local/codex-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 $legal-clinic:status client or a conversation with the professor first.
• Bad news. Case closing, adverse ruling, can't-help — those need thought, not a template. Flag for professor.
• Anything to opposing counsel or a court. Different audience, different skill ($legal-clinic:draft or $legal-clinic:status court).