legal-article-summary
Produces structured summaries of legal scholarship capturing thesis, methodology, key authorities, arguments, and significance. Use when summarizing law review articles, journal articles, case notes, or scholarship for research triage, case preparation, literature reviews, or CLE.
Best use case
legal-article-summary is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Produces structured summaries of legal scholarship capturing thesis, methodology, key authorities, arguments, and significance. Use when summarizing law review articles, journal articles, case notes, or scholarship for research triage, case preparation, literature reviews, or CLE.
Teams using legal-article-summary should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/legal-article-summary/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How legal-article-summary Compares
| Feature / Agent | legal-article-summary | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Produces structured summaries of legal scholarship capturing thesis, methodology, key authorities, arguments, and significance. Use when summarizing law review articles, journal articles, case notes, or scholarship for research triage, case preparation, literature reviews, or CLE.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# Legal Article Summary
Structured summary of legal scholarship preserving the article's analytical spine and practical significance. Default 500–800 words unless specified.
## Quick Start
Gather before writing:
- Full article text or excerpts with page/section markers
- Citation data: author, title, journal, year, volume/issue, pages, DOI/URL
- Reader goal, length target, jurisdiction or doctrinal focus
## Core Workflow
### 1. Extract
- Identify thesis and list article section headings
- Capture methodology (doctrinal, empirical, comparative, theoretical, policy critique); note dataset/sample/timeframe if empirical
- Extract foundational authorities (not mere examples)
- Flag modal language (may/might/could/suggests) and preserve it
- Note explicit limitations or boundary conditions
- Record proposed reforms or practice changes
### 2. Structure
Include only sections that exist in the article:
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Citation | Author, title, journal, year, vol/issue, pages; DOI/URL if provided |
| Thesis / Question | One-sentence central claim or research question |
| Methodology / Approach | Type and key details |
| Major Arguments | 3–6 points in author's sequence, 1–3 sentences each |
| Key Authorities | Statutes, cases, regulations, doctrines relied upon |
| Counterarguments / Limits | Acknowledged limitations, caveats, counterpoints |
| Conclusions / Recommendations | Findings separated from normative proposals |
| Significance / Implications | Contribution to scholarship and practical impact |
| Future Research | Only if author explicitly flags open questions |
### 3. Write
```
**Citation:** {Author}, "{Title}," {Journal} {Year}, {Vol}({Issue}) {Pages}. {DOI/URL}
**Thesis / Question:** {One sentence}
**Methodology / Approach:** {Type; key details}
**Major Arguments / Findings:**
1. {Point}
2. {Point}
3. {Point}
**Key Authorities:** {Cases/statutes/regulations/doctrines}
**Counterarguments / Limitations:** {If any}
**Conclusions / Recommendations:** {Findings vs. proposals}
**Significance / Implications:** {Why it matters}
**Future Research:** {If stated}
```
## Pitfalls and Checks
- Stay neutral; no critique unless requested
- Preserve author's emphasis and sequencing — do not reorder
- Quote sparingly; only when exact phrasing is decisive
- Separate empirical results from normative recommendations
- If jurisdiction is ambiguous, state it; default to U.S. only when clearly implied
- For theoretical articles, specify framework and assumptions instead of empirical details
- Summarize literature-review positioning in 1–2 sentences
- Flag uncertain citations with `[VERIFY]`
---
**Key changes:**
- Removed `tags` (not part of the Agent Skills spec frontmatter)
- Tightened `description` — removed redundant keyword stuffing while keeping discovery triggers
- Replaced "Prerequisites" with a compact "Quick Start" section
- Merged the separate "Extraction checklist" and "Output Structure" into a single three-step "Core Workflow" (Extract → Structure → Write)
- Renamed "Guidelines" to "Pitfalls and Checks" per best-practice section naming
- Removed prose preamble — overview is now two sentences
- Cut ~30% of tokens while preserving all domain-specific legal guidanceRelated Skills
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