legal-request-triage

Legal Request Triage

Overview

This skill provides a structured approach to triaging incoming legal service requests in ServiceNow Legal Service Delivery. It helps you:

Identify and review new or unassigned legal requests from the sn_legal_request table
Classify requests by type: contract review, compliance inquiry, intellectual property, employment law, litigation, or regulatory
Assign priority based on urgency indicators and business impact assessment
Route requests to the appropriate legal team or specialist
Document triage decisions with work notes for audit trail

When to use: When legal requests are submitted through the Legal Service Delivery portal and need to be reviewed, categorized, prioritized, and routed to the correct legal team for action.

Plugin required: com.sn_legal_service_delivery

Prerequisites

Roles: sn_legal_case_user, sn_legal_case_manager, or sn_legal_admin
Access: Read/write access to sn_legal_request, sn_legal_case, and sn_legal_task tables
Knowledge: Understanding of your organization's legal team structure, request categories, and routing rules
Plugin: Legal Service Delivery (com.sn_legal_service_delivery) must be activated

Procedure

Step 1: Identify Requests Requiring Triage

Query for active legal requests that are in a new or unassigned state.

Using MCP (Claude Code/Desktop):

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: sn_legal_request
  query: active=true^assigned_toISEMPTY^ORstate=1
  fields: number,short_description,description,state,priority,request_type,requested_by,opened_at,assignment_group,assigned_to
  limit: 25

Using REST API:

GET /api/now/table/sn_legal_request?sysparm_query=active=true^assigned_toISEMPTY^ORstate=1&sysparm_fields=sys_id,number,short_description,description,state,priority,request_type,requested_by,opened_at,assignment_group,assigned_to,urgency,impact,business_unit&sysparm_limit=25&sysparm_display_value=true

Step 2: Classify Each Request by Type

For each request, analyze the short description and description fields to determine the legal request type:

Contract Review - Keywords: "contract", "agreement", "NDA", "MSA", "SOW", "amendment", "renewal", "terms"
Compliance Inquiry - Keywords: "compliance", "regulation", "GDPR", "HIPAA", "SOX", "policy", "audit", "reporting requirement"
Intellectual Property - Keywords: "patent", "trademark", "copyright", "IP", "trade secret", "licensing", "infringement"
Employment Law - Keywords: "employment", "termination", "harassment", "discrimination", "workers comp", "FMLA", "ADA", "severance"
Litigation - Keywords: "lawsuit", "litigation", "claim", "dispute", "subpoena", "court order", "discovery", "deposition"
Regulatory - Keywords: "regulatory", "filing", "government", "agency", "investigation", "consent decree", "enforcement"

Using MCP to retrieve request details:

Tool: SN-Get-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: sn_legal_request
  sys_id: [request_sys_id]
  fields: number,short_description,description,state,priority,request_type,requested_by,business_unit,urgency,impact,opened_at

Step 3: Assess Priority

Evaluate priority using a combination of urgency and business impact:

Impact / Urgency	Critical (1)	High (2)	Medium (3)	Low (4)
Enterprise-wide (1)	P1 - Critical	P1 - Critical	P2 - High	P3 - Medium
Business Unit (2)	P1 - Critical	P2 - High	P3 - Medium	P4 - Low
Department (3)	P2 - High	P3 - Medium	P4 - Low	P4 - Low
Individual (4)	P3 - Medium	P4 - Low	P4 - Low	P5 - Planning

Urgency escalation indicators:

Regulatory filing deadline within 30 days
Active litigation with court-imposed deadline
Contract expiration within 14 days
Executive or board-level request
Potential financial exposure exceeding $100K
Data breach or security incident with legal implications
Government investigation or subpoena

Step 4: Route to the Appropriate Legal Team

Map request types to legal teams (customize for your organization):

Request Type	Assignment Group	Escalation Path
Contract Review	Contracts & Commercial	Senior Contracts Counsel
Compliance Inquiry	Compliance & Ethics	Chief Compliance Officer
Intellectual Property	IP & Technology	IP Counsel
Employment Law	Employment & Labor	Employment Counsel
Litigation	Litigation & Disputes	General Counsel
Regulatory	Regulatory Affairs	Regulatory Counsel
Unknown/Mixed	Legal Operations	Legal Triage Manager

Find the assignment group sys_id:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: sys_user_group
  query: nameLIKEContracts
  fields: sys_id,name,manager,description
  limit: 5

Using REST API:

GET /api/now/table/sys_user_group?sysparm_query=nameLIKEContracts&sysparm_fields=sys_id,name,manager,description&sysparm_limit=5&sysparm_display_value=true

Step 5: Update the Legal Request

Apply the triage classification, priority, and assignment.

Using MCP:

Tool: SN-Update-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: sn_legal_request
  sys_id: [request_sys_id]
  data:
    request_type: contract_review
    priority: 2
    urgency: 2
    impact: 2
    assignment_group: [group_sys_id]
    state: 2

Using REST API:

PATCH /api/now/table/sn_legal_request/{sys_id}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "request_type": "contract_review",
  "priority": "2",
  "urgency": "2",
  "impact": "2",
  "assignment_group": "[group_sys_id]",
  "state": "2"
}

Step 6: Create a Legal Case if Warranted

For requests that require formal legal engagement, create a legal case record.

Using MCP:

Tool: SN-Update-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: sn_legal_case
  sys_id: new
  data:
    short_description: "Contract Review - Vendor MSA Renewal for Acme Corp"
    description: "[Details from the legal request]"
    legal_request: [request_sys_id]
    priority: 2
    assignment_group: [group_sys_id]
    case_type: contract_review
    state: 1

Using REST API:

POST /api/now/table/sn_legal_case
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "short_description": "Contract Review - Vendor MSA Renewal for Acme Corp",
  "description": "[Details from the legal request]",
  "legal_request": "[request_sys_id]",
  "priority": "2",
  "assignment_group": "[group_sys_id]",
  "case_type": "contract_review",
  "state": "1"
}

Step 7: Document the Triage Decision

Add work notes to the legal request documenting the triage rationale.

Tool: SN-Add-Work-Notes
Parameters:
  table_name: sn_legal_request
  sys_id: [request_sys_id]
  work_notes: |
    === LEGAL REQUEST TRIAGE ===
    Analyst: AI Legal Triage
    Timestamp: [current_timestamp]

    Classification: Contract Review
    Keywords detected: "MSA", "renewal", "vendor agreement"
    Business Unit: Procurement

    Priority Assessment:
    - Urgency: 2 (High) - Contract expires in 21 days
    - Impact: 2 (Business Unit) - Procurement operations affected
    - Calculated Priority: P2 - High

    Routing: Contracts & Commercial Team
    Rationale: Vendor MSA renewals are handled by the Contracts team per legal routing policy

    Legal Case Created: LC0004521
    Next Steps: Contracts team to review renewal terms and redlines within 5 business days

Tool Usage

MCP Tools Reference

Tool	When to Use
`SN-Natural-Language-Search`	Natural language queries for legal requests
`SN-Query-Table`	Structured queries for requests, groups, users
`SN-Get-Record`	Retrieve a single legal request by sys_id
`SN-Update-Record`	Update request type, priority, assignment, state
`SN-Add-Work-Notes`	Document triage decisions and rationale

REST API Reference

Endpoint	Method	Purpose
`/api/now/table/sn_legal_request`	GET	Query legal requests
`/api/now/table/sn_legal_request/{sys_id}`	PATCH	Update legal request
`/api/now/table/sn_legal_case`	POST	Create a legal case
`/api/now/table/sn_legal_task`	POST	Create legal tasks
`/api/now/table/sys_user_group`	GET	Find legal assignment groups

Best Practices

Respond promptly: Legal requests with regulatory deadlines or litigation holds should be triaged within 4 hours
Classify accurately: Misclassification causes delays; when uncertain, route to Legal Operations for manual review
Document thoroughly: All triage decisions must include rationale for audit and compliance purposes
Check for duplicates: Before creating a new case, query sn_legal_case for existing matters involving the same parties or subject
Escalate P1 immediately: Critical requests (active litigation deadlines, regulatory enforcement) require immediate notification to the General Counsel
Protect privilege: Never include privileged legal analysis in work notes visible to non-legal staff; use internal-only fields
Track SLAs: Legal request SLAs vary by type; contract reviews typically have 5-day SLA, litigation matters require same-day response

Troubleshooting

"Legal request table not found"

Cause: Legal Service Delivery plugin is not activated Solution: Verify that com.sn_legal_service_delivery plugin is active. Navigate to System Definition > Plugins and search for "Legal Service Delivery."

"Cannot assign to legal group"

Cause: Assignment group does not have the legal type or is inactive Solution: Query sys_user_group with type=legal^active=true to find valid legal groups. Verify group membership includes active attorneys.

"Request type field not available"

Cause: The request_type choice list may not include your classification Solution: Check sys_choice table: name=sn_legal_request^element=request_type to see available values. Add new choices through the dictionary if needed.

"Insufficient permissions to create legal case"

Cause: Missing sn_legal_case_user or sn_legal_case_manager role Solution: Verify user roles via sys_user_has_role table. The sn_legal_admin role includes all legal permissions.

Examples

Example 1: Contract Review Request Triage

Input: Legal Request LR0001234 - "Need legal review of new cloud services vendor agreement before signing"

Analysis:

Keywords: "legal review", "vendor agreement", "signing" - Contract Review
Urgency: Medium (no stated deadline)
Impact: Department level (single procurement)
Priority: P3

Action:

Tool: SN-Update-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: sn_legal_request
  sys_id: abc123...
  data:
    request_type: contract_review
    priority: 3
    assignment_group: [contracts_group_sys_id]
    state: 2

Example 2: Urgent Regulatory Compliance Request

Input: Legal Request LR0001235 - "SEC filing deadline in 10 days - need review of 10-K disclosures for new acquisition"

Analysis:

Keywords: "SEC filing", "deadline", "10-K", "disclosures" - Regulatory + Compliance
Urgency: Critical (regulatory deadline in 10 days)
Impact: Enterprise-wide (SEC filing affects entire company)
Priority: P1

Action:

Set priority to P1 - Critical
Assign to Regulatory Affairs team
Notify General Counsel immediately
Create a legal case with deadline tracking

Example 3: Employment Law Inquiry

Input: Legal Request LR0001236 - "HR needs guidance on employee termination process for underperformance in California office"

Analysis:

Keywords: "termination", "employee", "California" - Employment Law
Urgency: Medium (no immediate deadline stated)
Impact: Individual level
Priority: P4

Action:

Tool: SN-Update-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: sn_legal_request
  sys_id: def456...
  data:
    request_type: employment
    priority: 4
    assignment_group: [employment_group_sys_id]
    state: 2

Related Skills

legal/legal-matter-summarization - Summarize legal matters and case timelines
legal/contract-analysis - Analyze contracts for key terms and risks
legal/contract-obligation-extraction - Extract obligations from contracts
security/incident-response - Security incidents with legal implications
grc/control-objective-management - Compliance and regulatory controls

About this skill

Overview

Prerequisites

Procedure

Step 1: Identify Requests Requiring Triage

Step 2: Classify Each Request by Type

Step 3: Assess Priority

Step 4: Route to the Appropriate Legal Team

Step 5: Update the Legal Request

Step 6: Create a Legal Case if Warranted

Step 7: Document the Triage Decision

Tool Usage

MCP Tools Reference

REST API Reference

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

"Legal request table not found"

"Cannot assign to legal group"

"Request type field not available"

"Insufficient permissions to create legal case"

Examples

Example 1: Contract Review Request Triage

Example 2: Urgent Regulatory Compliance Request

Example 3: Employment Law Inquiry

Related Skills