How to use the Matter Update Logger agent skill (matter-update)

What is an agent skill and what does matter-update do?

An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file that gives an AI agent a set of instructions for one kind of task. When a request matches the skill's description, the agent follows those instructions. The matter-update skill is designed for in-house legal and litigation teams that track several matters in the claude-for-legal setup.

When you use it, the agent asks you for the matter slug, the event type, the date (defaulting to today), a summary, and any log field changes. It then appends a dated entry to that matter's history.md file and updates _log.yaml, setting last_updated and applying any field changes. It shows you the entry and the YAML changes before writing anything.

• Records event types: procedural, discovery, substantive, strategy, risk re-assessment, stakeholder and administrative.
• Checks that the matter already exists in _log.yaml before logging anything.
• Prompts for a materiality check on substantive, strategy, risk and regulatory events.
• Routes accepted settlements from non-lawyers to an attorney before logging them.

Install the matter-update skill

Download the ZIP file for the skill from this directory page. The skill's only file is SKILL.md. Unzip it into one of two places, depending on how you want to use it.

You can install it for yourself in ~/.claude/skills/, so it is available in every project. Or you can install it for one project by putting 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.

• Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
• Project install: unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the skill

Set up the prerequisites before first use

The skill reads and writes specific files, so it will not work on a blank setup. You need Claude Code or a compatible SKILL.md agent, and the claude-for-legal litigation-legal plugin with its matter log (_log.yaml) and matter folders already set up under ~/.claude/plugins/config/.

Each matter must already have been through /litigation-legal:matter-intake. That run is where the conflicts check happens and the matter workspace is created. If a matter has not been intaken, the skill refuses to log against it.

• Claude Code or a compatible SKILL.md agent
• claude-for-legal litigation-legal plugin installed
• _log.yaml and matter folders under ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/matters/
• A prior /litigation-legal:matter-intake run for each matter

Trigger the skill with natural requests

The skill activates when you ask the agent to log an update on a matter, note a development, or record a status change against the portfolio. You can also invoke it directly as /matter-update with an optional slug and short event description.

If you leave out the slug, the agent asks you for it and offers a short list of recently updated matters to choose from.

• "Log an update on the acme-v-widgets matter: opposing counsel served their document production today."
• "Note a development on the vendor-dispute matter: the court set a hearing for next month."
• "Record a status change against the portfolio for the lease-renewal matter."
• /matter-update [slug] [brief event description]

Walk through a typical update

The agent first confirms the slug exists in the matter log. It then asks for the event type from its list, the date, and a one-paragraph summary covering what happened, what it means and any immediate implication.

Next it walks through the fields likely to be affected by that event type, such as status, stage, risk, materiality, exposure_range, next_deadline, outside_counsel, internal_owners and legal_hold. A procedural update usually only touches stage and next_deadline. For a materiality-triggering event, the agent requires an explicit answer. "No change" must be stated, not implied by silence.

Finally, it shows you the history entry and the YAML diff, and asks whether to commit them. Entries are added at the top of history.md, below the header separator, in a format with the date, event type, summary and any fields changed.

• Entry format: ## [YYYY-MM-DD] — [Event type]: [short title]
• Materiality answers are captured as no change, or changed from X to Y, with one sentence of reasoning.
• Related documents can be linked by path if you provide one; this is optional.

Settlement acceptance and attorney review

If the update is a settlement acceptance, meaning the company is accepting an offer, executing a settlement agreement, or authorising acceptance in principle, the skill checks the Role in the ## Who's using this section of the litigation-legal CLAUDE.md. If the role is non-lawyer, it stops and asks whether an attorney has reviewed the deal.

If not, it generates a one-page brief for an attorney covering the proposed terms, exposure, authority status and questions to ask. It also points to your professional regulator's referral service to find a licensed professional. Logging an offer or counter-offer does not trigger this gate; only acceptance does.

Safety notes: scripts and network

The skill does not run scripts and does not use the network. Its work is limited to reading and writing the matter log, history and matter files under the claude-for-legal litigation-legal folder, and reading CLAUDE.md for role and thresholds.

The skill does not make legal judgments. It captures information and asks questions, such as whether an event might change materiality, but it does not decide whether a development requires a reserve or disclosure. It also never edits past history entries; corrections are added as new entries.

• No scripts are run.
• No network use.
• Past history entries are not edited; corrections are new entries.
• Every log change is shown to you before it is written.

Tips for keeping the log useful

Log events close to when they happen, since the skill is meant to make updates quick. Give the date override when you are recording something from an earlier day. Link the source document when you have its path, so the history entry points back to it.

Keep your matter slugs consistent, because the skill finds matters by slug in _log.yaml.

• Use the event date override when logging past events.
• Include the document path so related docs are linked.
• Answer the materiality prompt explicitly every time.