LegalAI[Space]

In-house and operations · Knowledge lead, head of legal, practice development

Capture knowledge from closed matters into one register

A firm closes about two hundred matters a year and keeps everything in matter folders nobody searches. The run reads a sample of closed matters and pulls out the clauses, positions and research answers worth keeping.

First draft
A first register across the closed-matter sample comes back from one run.

The problem

Knowledge management fails because capture is asked of the person least able to do it, at the moment they are least willing. The associate closing a matter on a Friday afternoon does not write up the negotiated indemnity wording that took three weeks to agree, and eighteen months later somebody drafts it again from scratch.
  1. Step 01 of 05

    Pick the sample

    Thirty closed matters from one practice area are added, with their final documents, memos and research runs.

    Matters · Project Halcyon · SPA warranties and disclosureOpen

    Project Halcyon: SPA warranties and disclosure

    Buy-side warranty review, disclosure analysis and cited due-diligence grid.

    Client
    Halcyon Bidco Ltd
    Reference
    WC-2026-0412
    Practice area
    Corporate / M&A
    Jurisdiction
    England and Wales
    Responsible partner
    E. Vance
    No conflict check on file.

    Chat, on this matter

    Compare warranties with the disclosure letter.

    Three high-priority exceptions require action: the unregistered charge, the change-of-control right and the tribunal claim.

    Send a message… (@ to mention tools)BalancedPrepare for
    1. 25 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Chat

    2. 21 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Run · completed · 560 credits

    3. 18 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Disclosure Letter

      Document · indexed

    4. 16 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Share Purchase Agreement

      Document · indexed

    5. 4 Aug

      Matter opened

      Opened

  2. Step 02 of 05

    Run the capture

    Prepare for: Work-Stream Memo, Deliver as: spreadsheet. The instruction asks for negotiated wording worth reusing, positions taken and the research answers that would apply again.

    Agents · Contract Agent · New runMatter: Northgate · senior associate hire

    Agent

    Jurisdiction

    Prepare for

    Deliver as

    Instruction

    What should the agent look for?

    Documents

    Drop a contract, or pick one from the matter

    Also on the matter

    • Offer_letter_v3.pdf2 pages
    • Staff_handbook_2025.docx61 pages
    • Board_minute_14_Aug.pdf3 pages
    Platform model · zero data retention · audit register on
  3. Step 03 of 05

    Read what came out

    Forty-one entries come back, each tagged by clause type and issue, with the matter it came from and the wording quoted exactly as agreed.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    6 items need your confirmation14 authorities · Where we looked

    Senior Associate Employment Contract: English Law Review

    Summary

    1. 1.

      Clause 9(c), non-competeHigh

      The 12-month prohibition on working for any law firm anywhere in the UK, Ireland or EU, in any capacity, is almost certainly wider than reasonably necessary and therefore unlikely to be enforceable.

      Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32
    2. 2.

      Clause 11, data and monitoringHigh

      Blanket contractual consent is not an adequate basis for general employment processing, special-category data or unrestricted monitoring.

      UK GDPR, Arts 6 and 9
    3. 3.

      Clause 4, holiday carry-overHigh

      The unconditional five-day cap conflicts with mandatory carry-over rights where sickness, statutory leave or employer failure prevents leave being taken.

      Working Time Regulations 1998, regs 13 to 13A
  4. Step 04 of 05

    Check the reusable answers

    Research answers are separated by whether the law has moved since, and the ones that need re-checking are marked rather than published as current.

    Authorities · 14 · Where we looked
    #ReferenceVerdict
    1

    Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd

    [2019] UKSC 32
    not yet checked
    2

    Working Time Regulations 1998

    SI 1998/1833, regs 4 to 5, 10 to 14
    not yet checked
    3

    Coppage v Safety Net Security Ltd

    [2013] EWCA Civ 1176
    not yet checked
    4

    UK GDPR, Articles 6 and 9

    Retained Regulation (EU) 2016/679
    not yet checked
    5

    Employment Rights Act 1996, s 1

    c 18
    not yet checked
    6

    Harlow v Artemis International

    [2008] EWHC 1126 (QB)
    not yet checked
  5. Step 05 of 05

    Publish the register

    The register exports as a spreadsheet, and the audit register records which matters were read to produce it.

    Audit register · Calder & Finch LLP · last 24 hours
    5 of 8 entries · digest sha-256
    TimeWhoTypeEntryMatter
    09:36j.okaforDocumentDisclosure_letter_v4.docx uploaded · 18 pagesHAL-2026-0031
    09:30e.vanceConflict checkConflict check on open · no matches across 38 mattersRC-2026-0009
    09:12adminMemberp.hartley added · role: Associate · 4 mattersWorkspace
    08:55r.chenRunDue Diligence Agent · review grid · 12 documentsHAL-2026-0031
    08:40r.chenVerificationVerify all · 6 authorities · 6 verifiedHAL-2026-0031
    Exports carry a content digest so a reviewer can confirm nothing was edited after the fact.

What comes back

A document, not a transcript.

  • A register of reusable clause wording tagged by type, with the matter and the exact agreed text.
  • Positions taken on recurring issues, recorded with the reasoning as it stood at the time.
  • Research answers separated into those still current and those that need re-checking before reuse.
  • An export the team can search, and a record of which matters were read to build it.

Authorities it checks

  • SRA Code of Conduct for Firms
  • UK GDPR, Art 5
Every source it may cite

What it does not do

  • It does not decide what is confidential to a client. Anything drawn from a matter needs a human check before reuse.
  • It does not update an entry when the law changes; a horizon watch and a re-check are separate steps.
  • It does not publish anything outside the firm.

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