new-case

Organize legal case materials into standardized directory structures with management files.

636|91|Updated Jan 7, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/cat-xierluo/legal-skills --skill new-case
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: new-case
Source: https://github.com/cat-xierluo/legal-skills/tree/main/skills/new-case
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/cat-xierluo/legal-skills --skill new-case

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes references (resource) and assets (resource) components.

What problem does it solve?

Lawyers receive messy folders of case materials—contracts, recordings, court documents, chat logs—and must manually build consistent case archives. This Skill automates the creation of standardized directory structures and management files for litigation, consultation, trademark, and patent matters.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Four Case-Type Presets: Litigation (12 directories), consultation (2 directories), trademark (2 sub-templates by business type), and patent (3 sub-templates by business type), each with tailored classification rules.
  • Automatic Material Classification: Keyword-based rules sort incoming files into the right directories while preserving file timestamps and user-created subdirectories.
  • Management File Generation: Produces case info dashboards, task lists, timesheets, and a case.yaml deadline file as the single source of truth for case status.
  • Official Document Dating: Extracts issuance dates from trademark office PDFs via pdftotext or OCR and prepends YYMMDD prefixes for chronological sorting.
  • Use Case: A lawyer receives a new trademark opposition matter with scattered files; the Skill detects the type, builds the 8-directory opposition structure, classifies all materials, and generates a project info card with renewal reminders.

Quick Start

Ask the AI to create a new case archive by saying: organize the case materials in this folder into a standard litigation case structure with case number, client name, and cause of action.

Frequently Asked Questions about new-case

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I organize legal case files into a standard folder structure?

Provide the case materials folder path and optionally the case type, client name, and case number. The Skill detects the matter type, creates the preset directory structure, classifies each file by keyword rules, and generates management files like case info and task lists.

What case types does this legal case organization skill support?

It supports four presets: litigation with 12 directories, consultation with 2 directories, trademark with 2 sub-templates (registration or opposition/invalidation), and patent with 3 sub-templates (application, review/invalidation, search/other). Sub-templates are selected automatically by business subtype.

Does organizing case files preserve original file timestamps?

Yes. The Skill mandates cp -p or mv for all file operations so modification times are preserved, since lawyers rely on file mtimes to reconstruct contract signing and project timelines. User-created subdirectories are also moved intact rather than flattened.

How are trademark office PDF dates extracted for file renaming?

The Skill runs pdftotext on text-layer PDFs or OCR tools on scanned documents, matches dates near keywords like issuance date or decision date, picks the latest plausible date, and prepends a YYMMDD prefix via mv. Files already dated are skipped.

Can I customize the directory structure for a new case type?

Yes. Add a new YAML preset under assets/ defining directories, classification rules, detection hints, and management files. Two structures are supported: a single flat template or a multi-template mode that selects sub-templates by business subtype without creating empty directories.

When should I not use this case initialization skill?

Do not use it for drafting legal documents, conducting legal research, or analyzing evidence, as it only handles case archive initialization and material organization. Those tasks belong to dedicated drafting or analysis skills.