Terms, sources, and limits
This guide combines a proposed professional framework, explanations of established methods, and a description of a local toolkit implementation. These are different kinds of claims. A synthetic example illustrates a design; it does not establish a result in legal practice.
A short glossary
| Term | Meaning in this guide |
|---|---|
| Process architecture | A view of the organization's connected areas of work |
| As-Is / To-Be | A model of current practice / a proposed future process |
| BPMN | Business Process Model and Notation, a formal language for process models |
| Manifest | The structured, versioned definition from which the toolkit generates execution and visual artifacts |
| Capability | A bounded kind of work a workflow needs to perform |
| Domain capability | A Layer 1 method for one kind of legal work, such as research, cite-checking, drafting, review or extraction |
| Capability resolution | Delivery's record of how each stated need is met: a reviewed binding reused, an installed skill wrapped, a new method built, or the need left unresolved |
| Design sign-off | The process owner's confirmation that the proposed process is right, given before delivery resolves capabilities |
| Release sign-off | The process owner's approval of the exact compiled workflow version that may run on matters |
| Skill | Reusable instructions, schemas, references, and any maintained helpers for performing work |
| Binding | A declared connection between a required capability and an implementation or available execution mechanism |
| Host | The active AI environment supplying reasoning and connected tools |
| Checkpoint | Portable records needed to continue a particular workflow run |
| Increment | A usable addition to a product that meets its Definition of Done |
| C4 | Software architecture views covering context, containers, components, and code |
| CI / CD | Continuous integration / continuous delivery or deployment, depending on the stated meaning |
Public reference points
- CLOC Core 12: a reference for the breadth of Legal Operations.
- Agile values (2001): the values behind Agile software development.
- Scrum Guide, November 2020: the framework authority used for Scrum terminology here.
- BPMN 2.0.2 specification: the formal notation and interchange standard.
- Harvey's Legal Engineer description: context for the author's reflection on the developing role.
The guide's definitions of legal engineering and its three-layer stack are proposals by Kevan Wee. They are not presented as definitions adopted by these organizations.
Implementation boundary
The current toolkit is local and session-driven. It uses a Python runner, JSON contracts, and SQLite state. The active host supplies the model and tools. It does not include an unattended hosted worker, authenticated skill endpoints, enterprise identity enforcement, or full BPMN-engine compatibility.
Packages target Codex, Claude Code, ChatGPT, and Claude chat. Package structure and checkpoint tests are distinct from live deployment in those products. A host without Python execution can support discussion and standalone methods but cannot perform this deterministic local run.
The recorded local checks include four-target package assembly, integrity verification, synthetic workflow routing, and independent BPMN import for the example models. Live skill selection, connector permissions, commercial source access, and substantive legal accuracy were not established by those checks.
Reading and reuse
This website is publicly readable. The source repositories remain private while the framework develops. Original framework and guide material is © 2026 Kevan Wee, all rights reserved. Public access does not itself grant a reuse license. Separately licensed software components and third-party materials retain their own terms.