Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Litigation Practice Setup Interview agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The cold-start-interview skill runs a guided setup interview for the litigation plugin in Claude Code or a compatible agent. It asks whether you work in-house, as a firm associate or as a solo practitioner, and whether you mostly represent plaintiffs, defendants or both, then saves your answers as a practice profile file. This guide covers what the skill does, how to install it, how to start it with a plain request, and what it needs and touches on your computer.
Litigation Practice Setup Interviewanthropics/claude-for-legal · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the cold-start-interview ZIP from this page and unzip it so you have a folder containing SKILL.md.
- 2Place the skill folder. Move the folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Confirm the litigation plugin is installed. The skill needs the claude-for-legal litigation plugin in Claude Code or a compatible agent before it can run.
- 4Make a plain request. Ask the agent to set up your litigation practice profile, or run /cold-start-interview.
- 5Answer role and side questions. Choose in-house, firm associate or solo, then plaintiff, defense or both. The interview branches from there.
- 6Review and confirm. Check the summary the skill shows and correct anything before finalizing the CLAUDE.md file.
What the skill makes the agent do
The skill walks you through a setup interview and writes the results to a file called CLAUDE.md in a fixed folder on your computer. It branches by role: in-house counsel get a path covering portfolio of matters, outside counsel oversight, reserve methodology and board or audit reporting; firm associates get matter context, case theory, seed brief style and eDiscovery or privilege log setup; solo practitioners get caseload, contingency or retainer economics, client expectations and statute of limitations tracking.
It also asks which side you mostly represent. Plaintiff, defense or both each set different default calibration vocabulary. Other litigation skills read the saved profile so they do not have to ask the same questions every time.
- Role routes the profile structure: in-house, firm associate or solo.
- Side sets calibration: plaintiff, defense, or both/varies by matter.
- The output is a practice profile at ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md.
- The skill asks you to confirm the captured profile before it is finalized.
Install the skill from the ZIP
Download the ZIP for this skill from this page and unzip it. The skill is delivered as a folder containing SKILL.md. To make it available across all your projects, place the unzipped folder in ~/.claude/skills/. To limit it to one project, place it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder.
If you use the Claude apps instead of Claude Code, you can upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- User-wide install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project-only install: the project's .claude/skills/ folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload
Check the requirements before you start
The skill needs Claude Code or a compatible agent with the claude-for-legal litigation plugin already installed. It also needs write access to ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/, because that is where the practice profile is saved.
Connectors are optional. Document management, email and CLM connectors are only used for the integration check. Without them, the interview still runs.
- Claude Code or compatible agent with the litigation plugin installed
- Write access to ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/
- Optional: MCP connectors for document management, email or CLM
Start the interview with a natural request
You do not need a special command to begin. Ask in plain language, for example that you want to set up your litigation practice profile, or that this is a fresh install of the litigation plugin. The skill is also meant for redoing the profile and for re-checking integrations.
The skill accepts two flags. Use --redo to re-run the full interview and overwrite the existing profile. Use --check-integrations to refresh the integrations table without repeating the interview. Before overwriting anything, the skill asks for confirmation.
- "Set up my litigation practice profile."
- "Redo my litigation practice profile."
- "Re-check which integrations are working for litigation."
- Flag --redo: full interview, overwrites the profile.
- Flag --check-integrations: refreshes only the integrations table.
/cold-start-interview [--redo | --check-integrations]Answer the interview and review the result
The first questions decide your role, practice setting and side. You can accept the defaults the skill offers or give your own answer. If you have a written risk framework or reporting threshold, share it; if you do not, the skill notes the gap and can help you think it through or leave a placeholder to fill later.
If you already have documents such as sample briefs or templates, the skill asks for them at each section. Sharing them is optional. Before finalizing, the skill shows what it captured and asks whether anything is wrong.
- Expect role and side questions first.
- Offer defaults or freeform answers at each section.
- Leave gaps as placeholders if you prefer to fill them later.
- Review the summary and correct anything before it is final.
Safety notes: local files and integrations
The skill saves document content and your preferences to a local file in your home folder. If you do not want a personal practice profile written to disk, do not run this skill.
According to the skill's listing, it runs no scripts and makes no network calls. Integration checks only report a connector as working when a tool call actually succeeds; connectors that are configured but untested are marked as not yet confirmed, with a note on how to test them.
- Writes to ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Not legal advice on a specific case: it only collects setup preferences
What people use it for
- A firm associate setting up the litigation plugin for the first time and saving a house brief style.
- An in-house counsel recording a portfolio of matters and reporting structure in the practice profile.
- A solo practitioner capturing caseload, fee arrangement and statute of limitations tracking.
- A user who connected a new document management or email connector and wants to re-check which integrations are working.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the cold-start-interview skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it. Place the folder in ~/.claude/skills/ to use it across projects, or in a project's .claude/skills/ folder to limit it to one project. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
What do I need to run it?
You need Claude Code or a compatible agent with the claude-for-legal litigation plugin installed, plus write access to ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/. MCP connectors are optional and only used for the integration check.
Is the cold-start-interview skill free?
The source material provided for this page does not state pricing or licence terms beyond the Apache-2.0 licence listed for the item. Check the licence file in the repository for the terms that apply.
Does it give legal advice on my case?
No. The skill only collects setup preferences such as role, side, risk approach and writing style. It is not meant for advice on a specific case.
Where is my practice profile saved, and can I delete it?
It is saved as CLAUDE.md in ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/. Because it contains document content and preferences, you can remove that file if you no longer want it on disk.
What if the skill does not seem to work or my connectors show as unconfirmed?
Connectors show as confirmed only after a tool call succeeds. Configured but untested connectors are marked as not yet confirmed. Run --check-integrations after setting up a new connector, and make sure the litigation plugin is installed and the config folder is writable.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if you are setting up the litigation plugin for the first time or want a saved practice profile that other litigation skills can read. Skip it if you want advice on a specific case, or if you do not want a personal profile written to a local file in your home folder.
Download the skill