# Soi96 Legal — Design Session 1
## Domain Requirements Interview

**Goal:** Gather enough from the attorney to define the matter model, client profile schema, and document taxonomy before any code is written.

**Format:** Conversational. These are prompts, not a form. Follow the thread.

**Output:** Answers captured here feed directly into the proto definitions and Phase 1 build.

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## 1. The Firm Today

*Before building anything, understand what she's replacing and what pain it causes.*

- Walk me through what happens from the moment a new client calls to when a matter is closed. What does that look like today?
- What tools are you using right now? (Word, LINE, spreadsheets, email — anything)
- What's the thing that falls through the cracks most often?
- What takes the most time that shouldn't?
- What information do you need about a client that you currently have to hunt for?

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## 2. Matter Types

*The matter model is the core entity — we need to know what kinds exist and how they differ.*

- How do you categorise your cases? Give me the real list you use in your head, not a textbook answer.
  - e.g. Corporate civil disputes, debt collection, property disputes, divorce, child custody, inheritance, employment...
- For each type — what's different about how it runs? Does a property dispute have different stages than a family dispute?
- Do matters ever overlap types? (e.g. divorce that also involves a company asset)
- How do you number your cases? Is there a format you use, or does it follow the court's case number?

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## 3. How a Matter Moves

*We need to model the lifecycle — statuses, stages, transitions.*

- What are the stages a matter goes through from open to closed?
  - e.g. Initial consultation → engaged → filed → in hearing → judgment → appeal → closed
- Are all matter types the same lifecycle, or do some have different stages?
- What does "closed" mean? Judgment? Settlement? Client withdrew?
- Do matters ever reopen? What causes that?
- Who can move a matter from one stage to another? Just the lead attorney, or anyone on the team?

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## 4. Thai Court Workflow

*Thai civil procedure has specific patterns — hearings don't work like Western courts.*

- How are hearings scheduled? Does the court set the next date at the end of each hearing, or does it come in the mail?
- What are the types of hearings you attend? (Witness examination, evidence submission, oral argument, judgment reading...)
- How much notice do you typically get for a hearing date?
- Are there statutory deadlines you have to track? (Filing responses, submitting evidence, appeals windows)
- What happens if you miss a deadline? Is there a cure period?
- Do you handle appeals? Is that a separate matter or part of the same one?
- Do you ever appear in more than one court? (Civil, family, labour, bankruptcy?)

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## 5. Documents

*Document AI intake is a day-one ERP capability — we need to know what arrives.*

- What types of documents come in on a typical week? Give me the list.
  - Court summons, judgments, hearing notices, evidence, contracts, title deeds (chanote), DBD company extracts, correspondence from opposing counsel, client-provided documents...
- Which arrive as paper that gets scanned vs. already digital?
- Which are in Thai only, which in English, which in both?
- When a document arrives, what do you do with it? Who touches it first?
- What's the worst thing that can happen when a document doesn't get to the right person in time?
- Are there documents you generate and send out that also need to be tracked? (Letters to client, demand letters, court filings you submit)

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## 6. Client Profile — What Do You Need to Know?

*The client KB is only useful if it stores the right things.*

- When a new matter opens with an existing client, what do you wish you could see immediately without digging?
- What information about a client changes over time and needs to stay current? (Asset positions, family status, contact details)
- For corporate clients: what do you need to know about the company beyond the basics?
  - Shareholders, directors, DBD registration, specific assets involved in dispute...
- For individual clients: what matters most?
  - Marital property regime (Sin Suan Tua vs Sin Somros), asset positions, family structure...
- Are there client categories that need different attributes? (Thai individual vs. foreign individual vs. Thai company vs. foreign company)
- What do you wish you knew about opposing parties? Is that tracked anywhere today?

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## 7. The Team

*RBAC and routing depend on who does what.*

- Who is on the team right now? Roles, not names.
  - e.g. Senior attorney, junior attorney, paralegal, secretary, accounting
- Who can see all client files? Who is restricted?
- Does client confidentiality ever need to be enforced within the firm? (e.g. a junior who shouldn't see a specific matter)
- Who handles incoming email and LINE messages today? Is it you or someone else first?
- Who does billing and tracks retainers?

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## 8. Time & Billing

*Legal billing is different from ERP billing — need to understand the firm's model.*

- How do you bill? Retainer, hourly, flat fee, contingency, or a mix?
  - For which matter types is each model used?
- If hourly: how do you track time today? Are you capturing it, or estimating at invoice time?
- Do you use task codes? (UTBMS or a local equivalent, or nothing formal)
- How do you handle retainers? Client pays upfront, you draw down, and reconcile?
- How often do you invoice? End of month, end of matter, milestone-based?
- Do clients ever dispute invoices? What information do they want to see?

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## 9. Trust Accounting

*Thai bar requirements around client funds — need to know what's mandatory.*

- Do you hold client funds in a separate trust account today?
- What does the Thai Bar Association require you to track and report around client funds?
- Who reconciles the trust account and how often?
- Has this ever been a pain point — either for compliance or for client transparency?

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## 10. Conflict of Interest

*Conflict check needs to know its scope before we build it.*

- How do you currently check for conflicts when a new client enquires?
- Who counts as a conflicting party? Just the direct client and opposing party, or also witnesses, related companies, family members?
- Has a conflict check failure ever been a real problem? What happened?
- Do you track potential clients who were turned away due to conflict?

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## 11. Communications

*This drives the comms agent design.*

- On a typical day, how many emails come in that are matter-related?
- What portion are routine (status queries, document requests, scheduling) vs. complex?
- How quickly do clients expect a response?
- Which clients use LINE vs. email? Is it split by nationality, age, matter type?
- What's the cost of a slow response? Have you lost clients or goodwill because of it?
- Do opposing counsel communicate by email, fax, or through the court only?

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## 12. The One Thing

*End every design session with this.*

- If this system did only one thing perfectly — one thing that would make the biggest difference to how the firm runs — what would it be?

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## Capture Here

*Fill in during or immediately after the session.*

### Matter types confirmed:
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### Matter lifecycle (statuses):
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### Document types (priority order):
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### Billing model:
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### Team roles:
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### Key pain points (ranked):
1.
2.
3.

### Decisions made:
-

### Open questions / follow-up needed:
-
