Draft a Legal Memo with the AI-Powered Legal Research Agent

1. 1
   Frame Your Legal Question

   Start with a precise, well-defined legal question. The quality of the agent's output depends directly on the clarity of your input. Specify the jurisdiction and the core legal issue you need to resolve. This focuses the search on relevant case law and statutes.
2. 2
   Initiate AI-Powered Research

   Invoke the Legal Research Agent via its API. Pass your legal question, jurisdiction, and desired output format ('memo'). The agent will query Westlaw's databases for case law, statutes, and secondary sources to synthesize an initial draft.
3. 3
   Review the Synthesized Memo

   Analyze the generated memo. The Legal Research Agent provides a structured document with key arguments, supporting cases, and statutory references. Pay close attention to the confidence scores associated with each citation to gauge the strength of the source.
4. 4
   Request a Precedent Map

   To understand how the key precedent has been treated, ask the Legal Research Agent to generate a precedent map or a treatment analysis (e.g., 'KeyCite' in Westlaw). This visualizes how subsequent cases have followed, distinguished, or overruled the controlling case.
5. 5
   Refine and Finalize

   Incorporate your own expertise. Use the AI-generated memo as a powerful first draft. Edit the analysis, strengthen arguments using the precedent map, and format the document according to your firm's or court's specific requirements. The agent accelerates research, but the final work product is your responsibility.

import os
import requests
import json

# NOTE: This is a hypothetical API for demonstration purposes.
# Replace with the actual API endpoint and key provided by Thomson Reuters Westlaw.
API_KEY = os.environ.get("WESTLAW_API_KEY", "YOUR_WESTLAW_API_KEY")
API_BASE_URL = "https://api.westlaw.com/v1/agent"

LEGAL_QUESTION = (
    "Under California law, what is the standard for determining if an employee's social media post, "
    "critical of their employer, constitutes protected concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)?"
)
JURISDICTION = "California"

def run_legal_research_agent():
    """Demonstrates a call to the Legal Research Agent to generate a memo."""
    if API_KEY == "YOUR_WESTLAW_API_KEY":
        print("Error: Please set your WESTLAW_API_KEY environment variable.")
        return

    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    }

    print(f"Submitting research request for jurisdiction: {JURISDICTION}...")
    print(f"Query: {LEGAL_QUESTION}\n")

    try:
        # Step 1: Generate the initial research memo
        response = requests.post(
            f"{API_BASE_URL}/research",
            headers=headers,
            json={
                "query": LEGAL_QUESTION,
                "jurisdiction": JURISDICTION,
                "output_format": "memo",
                "include_confidence_scores": True,
                "include_precedent_map": False
            }
        )
        response.raise_for_status()  # Raise an exception for bad status codes (4xx or 5xx)
        
        memo_data = response.json()

        print("--- Generated Memo Draft ---")
        print(json.dumps(memo_data, indent=2))
        print("\n--- End of Memo ---\n")

        # Example of a follow-up action: Verify a specific citation
        if memo_data.get('citations'):
            target_citation = memo_data['citations'][0]['citation_text']
            print(f"Performing citation verification for: {target_citation}")
            
            cite_check_response = requests.post(
                f"{API_BASE_URL}/verify-citation",
                headers=headers,
                json={"citation": target_citation}
            )
            cite_check_response.raise_for_status()
            verification_result = cite_check_response.json()
            print("--- Citation Verification Result ---")
            print(json.dumps(verification_result, indent=2))

    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"An API error occurred: {e}")
        print("Please ensure the API endpoint is correct and your key is valid.")
        print("Since this is a hypothetical example, the script simulates the workflow.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    run_legal_research_agent()