famlaw_v2/TRAINING_GUIDE.md

Training Guide — Active Blue Family Law (v2)

How to use the platform day to day. Written for two audiences:

• Staff / paralegal — captures facts, assembles the file, prepares drafts.
• Attorney — reviews, decides, approves, signs. Only the attorney can clear conflicts, approve documents, file/send, and attest citations.

The one rule that governs everything: the software builds, verifies, organizes, and flags. A licensed attorney judges, decides, and signs. Nothing reaches a client, a clerk, or a court without the attorney's approval. The software never gives legal advice and never predicts who will win.

App location: the Family Law (v2) menu in Odoo.

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1. Roles & access

You are…	You can…	You cannot…
Staff (Family Law / Staff)	Run intake, add parties/children/issues, run conflict screening, draft documents, prepare deadlines/disclosure/discovery, request filing	Clear conflicts, approve documents, file/send, attest citations, close/reopen matters, see matters you aren't assigned to
Attorney (Family Law / Attorney)	Everything staff can do plus all the gated actions and all matters	—

Matter-scoped access: staff see only matters where they are the assigned attorney/paralegal (or that they created). Attorneys see all matters. This protects client confidentiality — don't try to work a matter you weren't assigned; ask the attorney to assign you.

Golden rule for staff: you capture and assemble, but you never communicate a legal position or opinion to a client. Every legal question goes to the attorney.

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2. The two gates (what they mean for you)

1. Review gate (Gate 1). Anything the AI produces, and anything headed to a client/court, is born as a Draft. It cannot be filed or sent until an attorney approves it. You'll see draft documents marked Draft → In Attorney Review → Approved.
2. Citation gate (Gate 2). Every case-law citation starts Unverified. It must be verified against a real reporter (or attorney-attested) before the document that uses it can be filed. If a citation can't be verified, it stays blocked — the software fails closed on purpose, so a made-up citation can never reach a filing.

You don't have to enforce these — the software does. If a button is missing or a warning banner appears, it's a gate doing its job.

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3. Menu map

Family Law (v2) →

• New Intake — start a new matter from the guided questionnaire
• Cases — all matters (your assigned ones)
• Documents — work product, with the review gate
• Deadlines — procedural clocks + calendar
• Financial Affidavits — 12.902(b)/(c)
• Emergency Motions — 12.941 pick-up / removal
• Support Modifications — child-support modification workflow
• Discovery — requests + subpoenas
• Citations — case-law citations + verification status
• AI Tasks (attorney) — the AI audit/cost ledger
• Communications — client updates (never auto-sent)
• Archive — stored files + retention
• Configuration (attorney) — Retention Classes

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4. Open a new matter (Intake)

Family Law (v2) → New Intake. The questionnaire runs triage first, then branches.

Step 1 — Triage

Fill in caller name/phone/email, county/court, case type, opposing party name, whether there are minor children, and whether there's an existing order. Then answer the Urgency Screen:

• Child being withheld / refused access?

• Threat of removal from Florida?

• Domestic violence / immediate safety concern?

• If none are checked → Standard path (strict): you must provide matter name, client, case type, and county before the matter can be created. The friction is intentional — it keeps the file clean.

• If any are checked → Emergency fast-path: the matter is opened immediately on minimum facts (who, which child, what's happening). Complete the rest right after.

Step 2 — Case details (standard path)

Matter name, client contact, attorney/paralegal, and the Caller's Question for the Attorney. Type the caller's question in their own words — the software logs it for the attorney and does not answer it ("Do I have a good case?" is the attorney's call, never the software's).

Step 3 — Modification details (only for modification case types)

Capture the prior order summary and what changed (income, etc.). Facts only.

Step 4 — Complete

The draft case is created in Intake state with an initial proceeding, and conflict screening runs automatically. Review the result, then click Open Matter.

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5. Work the case

Open a matter from Cases. The form has a status bar (Intake → Engaged → Disclosure → Discovery → Mediation → Hearing → Closed) and notebook tabs.

Fill in the file (tabs)

• Parties — client, opposing party, opposing counsel, others. Opposing-party names feed conflict screening.
• Children — name + date of birth (the system rejects future or implausible dates).
• Issues — time-sharing, support, equitable distribution, alimony, etc.
• Proceedings — the units of legal action. The original action is created automatically; modifications/enforcements get their own proceeding (so their deadlines and documents never get mixed up).
• Obligations — for Miami-Dade matters these seed automatically (Status Quo Order, Parenting Course, Mediation).

Conflict screening & clearance

1. Add the opposing party, then click Run Conflict Screening (anyone can run it).
2. If the opposing party matches a past/current client or another matter, you'll see a Conflict Hits tab and a warning banner. The software flags — it never auto-clears.
3. Attorney only: review the hits, then click Clear Conflict Check. The matter cannot be Engaged until this is done.

Move through the stages

Use the header buttons in order: Engage → Start Disclosure → Start Discovery → Start Mediation → Set for Hearing. The software rejects illegal jumps. Close Case and Reopen are attorney-only.

Miami-Dade course-before-judgment guard: if the matter involves children, you cannot Set for Hearing until the Parenting Course obligation is marked completed.

Find a matter fast

In Cases, search by matter name, client, opposing-party name, child name, or court case number.

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6. Documents & the review gate

Family Law (v2) → Documents (or the Documents tab on a proceeding).

1. Create a document, choose its Proceeding and type. A manual draft starts as Draft; AI-assembled documents are born Draft too.
2. Submit for Review → it moves to In Attorney Review.
3. Attorney: Approve (or Reject with feedback → back to draft).
4. After approval: Mark Filed / Mark Sent (attorney only). For client-facing docs, Send for E-Signature.

You'll see a yellow banner until approved, and a red banner if the document has unverified citations (it can't be filed until those clear — see §9).

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7. Deadlines & calendar

Family Law (v2) → Deadlines.

• Each deadline belongs to a proceeding and computes its due date from a trigger date + day count, automatically rolling off weekends.
• From a proceeding, Seed Standard Deadlines creates the common ones (answer 20, disclosure 45, discovery 30 days).
• Overdue deadlines are flagged automatically each day and shown in red.
• Deadlines mirror onto the shared calendar; filter by layer (statutory / hearing / internal).
• Mark a deadline Completed or Waived as work progresses.

Day-counts follow Florida rules but always confirm the current rule for the specific matter — the attorney owns that judgment.

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8. Mandatory disclosure & financial affidavits

On a proceeding → Disclosure tab / Financial Affidavits tab, or the menu.

• Seed Disclosure Checklist creates the Rule 12.285 mandatory items. Mandatory items cannot be waived — the software blocks it.
• Financial Affidavit: enter Gross Annual Income and the software picks the form — 12.902(b) (short) below the threshold, 12.902(c) (long) at/above it. It computes the 45-day due date and totals income/expense/asset/liability and net worth from the line items.

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9. Citations & verification (the citation gate)

Family Law (v2) → Citations, or the Citations tab on a document.

• Every citation is born Unverified.
• Click Verify (CourtListener) — the software checks it against a real reporter.
  • Found + good law → Verified
  • Found but not good law → Rejected
  • No record / source down → stays Unverified (blocked — fails closed)
• Attorney only: if appropriate, Attorney Attest records that the attorney personally confirms the citation.
• A document with any non-verified citation cannot be filed or sent. Use Verify Citations on the document to run them all.

This is the protection against AI-hallucinated citations. If a citation won't verify, it does not go in the filing — period.

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10. Discovery & subpoenas

Family Law (v2) → Discovery, or the Discovery tab on a proceeding.

• Choose the type. Non-Party Production (Rule 12.351) has a hard safety gate:
  1. Serve Notice (12.351) to the other parties — this starts the 10-day objection window.
  2. The subpoena cannot be Issued until the window elapses and no objection is pending. If an objection comes in, Record Objection (issuance stays blocked until the court resolves it).
  3. Issue — the software serves the Notice of Issuance the same day and sets the response due date.
• Routing is automatic by representation: attorney-of-record matters issue directly; pro se matters route issuance through the clerk.

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11. Support modification (headline workflow)

From a Child Support Modification case, click Open Support Modification (header button), or Support Modifications → New.

• Enter current and proposed monthly support. The software shows whether the change meets the 15% / $50 substantial-change presumption — this is a factual threshold check, not a prediction of whether the court will grant it.
• It opens a new proceeding under the same matter and sets the 20-day answer clock.
• Flag DOR / Title IV-D if applicable; the retroactivity date defaults to the filing date.
• Paste the prior order text and click Extract Prior Judgment (if AI is enabled): you get a plain-language summary plus interpretation questions flagged for the attorney — the software never draws the legal conclusion itself.

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12. Emergency motions

For an emergency matter, click Emergency Motion (header button on the case), or Emergency Motions → New.

1. Pick the motion type (pick-up order, emergency custody, prevent removal).
2. Answer Existing Order to Enforce? — this fork changes the required attachments:
   • Yes → certified copy of the order + proposed order
   • No → verified motion / sworn affidavit + proposed order
3. Seed Requirements builds the checklist. Tick each attachment as Provided.
4. Mark Ready — blocked until every required attachment is present. Then File.

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13. Communications (never auto-sent)

Family Law (v2) → Communications.

• Draft a client update (optionally AI-assisted). It starts as Draft.
• Attorney: Approve.
• Then Send — an explicit, human action. The software never auto-sends a communication, and staff never send legal positions.

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14. Time & AI-assisted billing

On a case, the Billing / Time tab: log time entries and tick AI-Assisted when AI materially helped. The case shows total hours, AI-assisted hours, and the AI-assisted % — useful for fee transparency.

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15. Closing a matter, archive & retention

• Attorney: Close Case when done. From a closed matter, Return Client File records the client-file return.
• Archive (menu): stored files carry a SHA-256 checksum and a retention class. When a file's retention period elapses it becomes Eligible for Destruction; an attorney can Destroy it — the audit log records that destruction happened (and keeps the checksum as proof) without keeping the content.
• Retention periods are set under Configuration → Retention Classes (attorney).

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16. Attorney-only actions (quick reference)

• Clear Conflict Check
• Approve / Reject a document; Mark Filed / Mark Sent; Send for E-Signature
• Attorney Attest a citation
• Close / Reopen a matter; Return Client File
• Destroy an archived file
• Approve a client communication
• View the AI Tasks ledger and Configuration

If you're staff and a button isn't there, it's gated to the attorney by design.

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17. What the software will NOT do

• It will not tell you (or the client) whether you have a good case or your odds of winning. No success percentages, anywhere. That judgment belongs to the attorney.
• It will not rule on whether evidence is admissible — it only flags what's missing.
• It will not file, send, or sign anything without attorney approval.
• It will not let an unverified citation into a filing.
• It will not give legal advice.

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18. Troubleshooting / FAQ

• "I can't see a matter." You're not assigned to it. Ask the attorney to set you as the paralegal/attorney on the case.
• "The Engage button won't work." The conflict check hasn't been cleared by an attorney yet.
• "I can't Set for Hearing." For a children's matter, the Parenting Course obligation must be completed first (Miami-Dade).
• "I can't file the document." It's either not approved (Gate 1) or it has unverified citations (Gate 2). Check the banners.
• "Verify Citations did nothing / stayed unverified." The verification source had no record or was unavailable — the citation stays blocked (by design). The attorney can attest it if appropriate.
• "AI Draft / Verify / Send for E-Signature is missing or errors." Those features need API keys configured (Claude / CourtListener / DocuSeal). Ask the administrator — the rest of the platform works without them.

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19. Glossary

• Matter / Case — the client engagement (the spine).
• Proceeding — a unit of legal action under a matter (original, modification, enforcement…). Deadlines and documents attach here.
• Gate 1 (review) — attorney must approve before anything goes out.
• Gate 2 (citation) — citations must be verified before they enter a filing.
• Conflict screening — automatic search for conflicts of interest; flags for the attorney to clear.
• Fast-path — the emergency intake that opens a matter on minimum facts.
• Retention class — how long a file is kept before it's eligible for destruction.

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This guide describes how to operate the software. It is not legal advice, and the platform does not practice law. A licensed Florida attorney reviews, verifies, and signs all output.