Letters and opinions
Draft a legal opinion someone can actually rely on.
An opinion is not a memo with a letterhead. It is addressed, it is relied on, and it has to say so — which documents it saw, which facts it assumed, how firm the answer is, who may rely on it, and as of what date. This format was added to the catalogue from a real refusal: someone asked for a legal opinion, the tool turned the request away rather than improvising, and the request went into the queue.
How to draft this
Four steps from a sentence to a Word file.
- 01
Describe the document in one sentence
Type what you need in plain language — "draft a legal opinion" plus the facts you already have. No template to hunt, no blank Word file to start from.
- 02
Generate the first draft
BatasDB matches the request to a legal opinion and writes it against the 9 required elements on this page, citing only authority retrieved from the library.
- 03
Fill the marked blanks
Names, dates, amounts and other facts you did not supply come back as marked blanks, counted at the top of the draft. Rewrite freely in the editor.
- 04
Export to Word or PDF
Export with the unfilled blanks highlighted. Editing, exporting and duplicating are free — only generating a new draft uses credits.
Drafted from
The authorities depend on the question asked
This is the retrieval hint BatasDB searches the library with, and the anchor for the checklist below. It is never emitted into your draft as a citation: the draft may cite only what retrieval actually returned, plus any provision you named yourself.
The checklist
What a legal opinion has to contain.
These are the elements BatasDB drafts against — injected into the generation itself, not checked afterwards. Where you have not supplied what an element needs, the draft leaves a marked blank instead of writing something plausible.
- 01
Addressee and the precise question
The addressee by name and capacity, and the question restated in the opinion’s own words before it is answered. An opinion answers the questions it states and no others, so a question stated loosely is a defect that carries through every paragraph after it.
- 02
Scope — what was actually seen
The documents furnished and actually relied on, identified by kind, date and parties. Where a document that would ordinarily decide the question was not furnished — the written contract, the appointment paper, the payroll records, the board approval — the opinion says so expressly and states what it does in its absence. It never describes the contents of a document that was not supplied.
- 03
Assumed facts, labelled as assumptions
Never as findings. Where the answer turns on a fact not yet confirmed, the opinion names that fact and states how the answer comes out each way. An opinion that says the matter depends on the facts without naming the pivot has not answered anything.
- 04
The conclusion, stated first — and how firm it is
Settled, probable, or genuinely unsettled. A lawyer acts on the confidence level as much as on the conclusion.
- 05
The governing framework, applied element by element
The statute, issuance or judicially-stated test as the retrieved authority actually states it, worked through element by element against the assumed facts — saying which elements the facts do not yet answer. Reciting a test and then announcing a conclusion is the failure this item exists to prevent.
- 06
The strongest contrary position
Addressed rather than left out, including authority that cuts against the conclusion. An opinion relied on for a decision is worth nothing if it conceals the exposure it was asked about.
- 07
Consequences and next steps
The liability, exposure, entitlement, filing or remedy that follows — and where a period runs, the period and when it began, or a marked placeholder for the start date.
- 08
Qualifications
Stated expressly: Philippine law only; as of its date and on the law in force on that date; no undertaking to update it; and it addresses only the questions stated.
- 09
Reliance limitation
Who may rely on it — addressed to and for the sole benefit of the addressee, for the stated purpose, not to be quoted or relied on by anyone else without prior written consent.
Not written by the AI
The formal parts are assembled, not generated.
The scaffolding a legal opinion needs is appended by the app from the rule that requires it. The drafting model does not write these and is explicitly told not to, so they cannot drift, be paraphrased, or come out subtly wrong.
- the complimentary close
- counsel’s signature block
What it leaves to you
The gaps are marked, not filled.
Facts you did not supply
Every name, date, amount, docket number and address you did not give comes out as a marked blank — [FACT NEEDED: …] — rather than as a plausible invention. They are counted at the top of the draft and highlighted in the Word and PDF exports.
Assertions it made on its own
A gate reads the drafted text for concrete assertions that trace back to nothing you said and nothing that was retrieved, and rewrites each as [CONFIRM: …] for you to check before you sign.
The judgment
Every draft carries a standing notice: AI-generated draft — review before filing or signing. Not legal advice. It is a first draft for a lawyer, not a filing-ready document.
FAQ
Legal Opinion: questions lawyers ask.
- What must a legal opinion letter contain?
- Four things a memorandum does not: the scope of what was actually reviewed, the facts assumed and labelled as assumptions, the qualifications (Philippine law only, as of its date, no duty to update), and the reliance limitation naming who may rely on it. Plus the question restated, the conclusion with its confidence level, the governing framework applied element by element, and the strongest contrary position.
- Will it describe documents I never gave it?
- No — this is written into the checklist. Where a document that would ordinarily decide the question was not furnished, the opinion says expressly that it was not seen and states what it does in its absence. It never describes the contents of a document that was not supplied.
- Can I get an opinion on tax, employment status, or a corporate act?
- Yes. The catalogue holds "legal opinion" as one document type with one form; the subject matter comes from your own question and from what BatasDB retrieves for it. An opinion on employment status and one on a tax position are the same document with different content.
Start from a draft that already read the rule.
Describe your legal opinion in a sentence, fill in what only you know, and export it to Word or PDF.
Uses 5 credits from your monthly allowance — editing and exporting are free. See plans →
Draft this document