The operating problem
Start with a lawyer submitting a draft research memo. A successful handoff produces a source-linked citation check report for professional review. Define the accountable owner before connecting systems. The workflow cannot establish that an authority is current, binding, or correctly applied. A source event is a request to evaluate the current state; it is not permission to make an irreversible change.
Use your own working copy
The free workbook for this process opens in a browser and works offline after download. It includes editable checks and notes, a text export, and a print view. It is a planning resource: it does not send messages, read account data, or run actions in business systems. No vendor account is needed to use the workbook.
Map the process
1. Register the draft
Record memo version, matter, author, and permitted research sources.
2. Extract citations as candidates
Preserve the exact citation and associated proposition without inventing missing authorities.
3. Locate approved source records
Use authorized research tools and store the source reference, retrieval date, and match uncertainty.
4. Check quotation and reference
Flag missing sources, text mismatches, incomplete citations, and review-required status signals.
5. Request lawyer confirmation
The lawyer assesses validity, treatment, jurisdiction, and relevance before use.
Information to check
These reference fields describe the process. Use invented values while planning. Keep real records in an appropriate private system; the public website does not need them.
| Reference field | Working record | Check before progressing |
|---|---|---|
| memo_version | memo_version | Bind approval to this exact source version; changes require review. |
| citation_id | citation_id | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
| source_reference | source_reference | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
| lawyer_verification | lawyer_verification | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
Acceptance checks
- A nonexistent authority stays an unresolved exception.
- A source match cannot approve the legal proposition automatically.
- A repeated source event creates only one current review task.
- A changed source version invalidates an earlier approval.
Walk through a successful example, a duplicate, a missing item, an incorrect match, and an interrupted handoff with synthetic records. Record the expected result, observed result, owner, and recovery action. Checklists record your work; checking a box does not establish that an external action happened.
Ownership and review
Name the person responsible for the process and the person who can resolve an exception. Define which decisions require qualified professional review. Use stable references, limit access to private records, and document when work must stop. Educational material does not establish legal, accounting, tax, security, or regulatory compliance.
Run a measured pilot
Choose a small, reversible sample. Measure handling time, waiting time, review, rework, and errors before changing the process. Include the effort of maintaining the new method. Expand only when the observed result meets your acceptance criteria; a longer checklist is not proof of improved performance.
Use the free workflow planner to define your next step, or compare the assumptions in the opportunity calculator.