Answer a Legal Question

Answer a Legal Question

When to use

• "do I need an NDA with investors?" - typically no, pitch-stage investors refuse.
• "do I need a DPA with {vendor}?" - depends on data + region.
• "does GDPR apply to me?" - depends on EU visitors/customers + data.
• "can I use this customer logo on my landing page?" - depends on MSA marketing rights clause.
• "do I need to file an 83(b)?" - probably yes, within 30 days of stock issuance. Hard deadline.
• Any "do I need X?" or "does X apply?" fits short memo.

Steps

1. Read shared context. Load legal-context.md for entity, data geography of current users, standing agreements, founder risk posture, escalation rules. Also read relevant prior advice-memos/ entries - don't re-answer decided stuff.

2. Clarify question (at most one follow-up). If question hinges on fact not in context, ask ONE targeted question with best-modality hint. Examples:

   • "Does GDPR apply?" → "Do you have analytics on your landing page, and any EU visitors? If your analytics tool is connected, I can check in 30 seconds."
   • "Do I need DPA with {vendor}?" → "What data {vendor} touch - customer PII, payment data, employee data, or own company docs?" Don't ask more than one. Broad question → scope it ("narrow to {subquestion}").

3. Research if needed. For questions citing regulations, checklists, market standards, use composio search web-search (or similar - discover at runtime) to pull authoritative sources: primary statute/regulation text, EDPB / IRS / SEC / USPTO guidance, reputable founder-legal checklists (Capbase, Andrew Bosin, Promise Legal, YC, Common Paper). Cite every source inline. No "probably" hedges - state or mark UNKNOWN.

4. Draft memo (~200-400 words, direct, verb-led). Structure:

   1. Question - founder's question in one sentence, verbatim if possible.
   2. Short answer - one paragraph. First sentence = bottom line ("Yes", "No", "It depends - here's rule"). No hedging. If depends, state two or three forks + what decides between.
   3. Context - one paragraph: why applies to this founder. Reference entity (Delaware C-corp), stage (week 0, pre-revenue / one customer), stack (Stripe, Google Workspace), any relevant standing agreement or data geography.
   4. Sources cited - bulleted. Each with one-line why-it-matters. Primary statute > regulator guidance > reputable checklist. 2-5 sources, no Wikipedia.
   5. Next move - one concrete action in plain language. Examples: "Draft a DPA with this vendor.", "Add this vendor to your privacy vendor list.", "File 83(b) within {N} days - I can track the deadline."
   6. Judgment-call disclaimer - "This is a judgment call, not final legal advice. Escalate to outside counsel if {specific condition - e.g. data is health-related, customer is a regulated entity, deal over $100K}."

5. Flag attorneyReviewRequired: true if question touches:

   • HIPAA, PCI-DSS, COPPA, biometrics, export controls.
   • International data transfers with non-standard mechanism.
   • Tax treatment decisions (QSBS eligibility, 83(b) filing mechanics beyond deadline itself, R&D credit).
   • Securities offerings beyond standard SAFE / priced round.
   • Employment law beyond at-will / offer-letter / CIIAA trio.
   • Anything criminal, regulatory enforcement, or litigation-adjacent.

6. Write atomically to advice-memos/{slug}-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md - {path}.tmp then rename. Slug = short kebab-case of question (e.g. gdpr-applies-to-landing-page, do-i-need-nda-with-investors, dpa-with-stripe).

7. Append to outputs.json. Read-merge-write atomically:

   {
     "id": "<uuid v4>",
     "type": "advice-memo",
     "title": "Advice  -  <question short form>",
     "summary": "<2-3 sentences  -  the bottom line + the next move>",
     "path": "advice-memos/<slug>-<YYYY-MM-DD>.md",
     "status": "ready",
     "attorneyReviewRequired": <true | false>,
     "createdAt": "<ISO-8601>",
     "updatedAt": "<ISO-8601>"
   }
   

   (Advice memos ship as ready - factual + cited; founder decides whether to act, not whether to approve draft.)

8. Summarize to user. One short paragraph in plain language: bottom line, next move, and whether a real lawyer should look at it. Never mention file names, paths, or the underlying memo location - just deliver the answer.

Outputs

• advice-memos/{slug}-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md
• Appends to outputs.json with type: "advice-memo".