Assistant Agentic Legal Research

When you ask a research question, the Assistant reasons about your query and follows structured research protocols to find and analyze the most relevant sources. Your question determines how, where, and to what extent the Assistant searches.

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How the Assistant determines its research approach:

The Assistant analyzes your query to decide:

Whether to search - Does your question require current information or specific legal sources, or can it be answered from existing knowledge?

Where to search - Should it search the web for external legal sources, your Library for institutional knowledge, or both?

How deep to go - Does this require a simple lookup of a statute, or a comprehensive multi-phase research protocol?

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The specificity and structure of your question directly influences the Assistant's research strategy.

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How does it work

When the Assistant determines that your query requires current information or specific legal sources for accurate analysis, it executes a structured three-phase research process. This protocol applies to both web research and Library search.

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Phase 1: Find relevant sources

The Assistant conducts three searches at a time, looking for applicable sources—whether statutes, case law, regulations, and authoritative commentary from the web, or templates, precedents, memos, and matter files from your Library. You'll see the specific search queries being formulated and the sources being accessed in real-time.

Phase 2: Analyze and evaluate

The Assistant reviews whether the relevant sources have been found and determines whether additional research is needed to effectively answer the question at hand. This strategic analysis is visible in the reasoning block, where you can see how the Assistant identifies key information, assesses gaps, and plans the next research steps.

Phase 3: Continue searching if necessary

The Assistant performs additional targeted searches until it has gathered sufficient high-quality sources to provide a comprehensive response. This phase is iterative—the Assistant refines its search strategy based on what it finds, conducting multiple rounds of searches if needed.

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This systematic approach ensures that the Assistant follows a thorough, methodical, and iterative process when accessing sources. The Assistant doesn't just search once and stop—it reasons about what it finds, identifies what's missing, and continues searching until it can provide a well-grounded answer.

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Legal Research on the Web

The Assistant conducts legal research across publicly available sources worldwide, following legal methodology to find and analyze primary and secondary legal sources from governmental websites, official databases, and authoritative sources.

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Example: Simple web lookup

What does GDPR Article 6(1)(f) say about legitimate interests?

Assistant's approach: One targeted search to retrieve the official GDPR text. No multi-phase research needed.

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Example: Complex web research

Can our client, a German B2B SaaS provider, rely on legitimate interests

under GDPR Article 6(1)(f) to process customer employee contact details

for direct marketing of new product features? Include EDPB guidance and

relevant CJEU case law.

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Assistant's approach (following the three-phase protocol):

Phase 1:Retrieve GDPR Article 6(1)(f) and identify the legitimate interests framework

Phase 2: Analyze the three-part test (legitimate interest, necessity, balancing test) and determine what interpretive guidance is needed

Phase 3: Search for EDPB guidelines on legitimate interests and B2B marketing, CJEU case law on the balancing test, and data protection authority decisions on similar scenarios

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Enterprise Search from Library

The Assistant searches your Library for relevant institutional knowledge, including templates and standard forms, precedent transactions and filings, internal legal memos and analysis, matter files and case materials, and documents from connected SharePoint or DMS.

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Example: Library-focused research

How have we previously drafted force majeure clauses for construction

contracts? Find our precedent clauses and any memos discussing

enforceability under English law.

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Assistant's approach (following the three-phase protocol):

Phase 1:Search your Library for construction contract templates, force majeure clause variations, and related legal memos

Phase 2: Evaluate whether the found precedents cover the required scope and identify any gaps in the analysis

Phase 3: Conduct additional targeted Library searches if needed to find comprehensive precedents or relevant case analysis

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Combined Research: Web + Library

When you ask a research question that benefits from both external legal authority and your firm's institutional knowledge, the Assistant:

Conducts external legal research (web) for primary and secondary legal sources

Searches your Library for relevant precedents and institutional knowledge

Synthesizes both into a unified answer with citations to external and internal sources

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Example: Combined research

What are our obligations when a data subject requests erasure of their

data under GDPR Article 17?

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The Assistant will:

Research GDPR Article 17 text and official guidance (external - web)

Find your firm's GDPR compliance memo (internal - Library)

Reference your data retention policy template (internal - Library)

Combine into answer citing both legal requirements and your firm's approach

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Citations will include:

GDPR Article 17 (Primary source - external)

EDPB guidelines (Secondary source - external)

Your firm's compliance memo (Secondary source - Library)

Your retention policy template (Secondary source - Library)

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Example: Multi-source analysis

We're negotiating a cloud services agreement with a US provider for our

German client (financial institution regulated by BaFin). Review the

data processing terms in the attached agreement against our standard DPA

[from library] and current requirements under GDPR Article 28 and BaFin

cloud computing guidance.

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Assistant's approach:

Analyze the attached agreement (priority source)

Compare against your Library DPA template (internal precedent)

Search for GDPR Article 28 requirements (external law)

Search for current BaFin cloud computing guidance (external regulation)

Synthesize all sources into a compliance gap analysis