Legal Research

This section explains how to use legal research in Ordalie: asking questions, adding context with documents, and verifying the sources of answers.

How to Ask a Question?

1. Select Search Mode

To begin, make sure you are in the Assistant channel, colored blue in the square at the bottom right of the main field.

2. Ask Your Question Naturally

Type your question directly in the dedicated space or use the microphone 🎤 by clicking the Start Recording button at the bottom right. No need to format your question like a technical prompt — phrase your request as you would with a colleague. For more precise answers, detail your context (factual situation, parties involved, stakes) and specify the type of response expected (legal analysis, legal references, case law examples).

Ordalie automatically selects relevant sources, presents them in the Research box, then sorts and synthesizes the information to formulate a response with matching citations.

3. Add Context to Your Search with @ Mentions 📎

The @ mention system is your gateway to all your documents and sources. Simply type @ in the input field to bring up an intelligent explorer that allows you to pin precisely the context you need.

What Can You Mention?

• Individual Documents: Type @ followed by a document name to pin it. For example, “@lease_contract” will add this specific contract to your question’s context. To learn more about managing your documents, see the Documents section.
• Complete Tags: If you have organized your documents with tags (for example “Martin File”, “2024 Contracts”), type @ followed by the tag name to instantly pin all associated documents. This is particularly useful for analyzing a complete file at once.
• Vault Folders: For users with Ordalie Vault, type @ to access your internal folders and select documents from your SharePoint, Google Drive, or other connected source. Discover all possibilities in Ordalie Vault.
• External Sources: You can also mention documents from your integrations (Google Drive, OneDrive, Teams). To configure these connections, see Integrations.

Intuitive Navigation

When you type @, a navigation interface appears with several columns. You can browse your folders like in a classic file explorer: click on a folder to see its content in the next column, use the search at the top to filter, and select one or more items to pin.

This approach allows you to quickly add relevant context without interrupting your thinking. For example, for a question about a dispute, you could type: “@opposing_conclusions @our_2024_evidence What is our best strategy to respond to the opposing party’s arguments?”

4. Verify Your Sources with One Click ✅

Each response indicates its sources via small colored dots in the interface. Click on these dots to access the sources used and verify the accuracy of the information. A link to Légifrance is available to consult the original source when possible.

5. Organize Your Discoveries with Tags 🏷️

When viewing a document, case law, or any other source, you can assign one or more tags to organize it according to your own categories (for example: "Martin File", "2024 Contracts", "Sensitive Clauses"). Tags are personal and visible only to you.

The main benefit of tags comes through the @ mention system: when you type @ in the input field, a "Tags" tab lets you browse all your tags and select all associated documents at once. It's a quick way to build a research context from documents you've already identified and categorized.

Configuring Sources for Precise Searches

Manage Your Data Sources

1. Access the Sources panel by clicking the icon at the top right of the screen
2. Official sources (codes, case law) are activated by default - deactivate those that are not relevant to your field by unchecking the corresponding boxes
3. To add a specific website as a source, click Add + > Website and enter the complete URL
4. To use your personal documents, import them via Add + > Document - they will be automatically included in your searches

Filters: Refine your searches using the filters under the search bar. Select a date range, a document type (judgment, code, doctrine) or a specific jurisdiction to target the information sought.

Global Search Palette

Ordalie includes a global search palette that lets you search across the product from one field.

How to Open It

• Press Cmd + K on macOS or Ctrl + K on Windows/Linux
• Or open it from the Dynamic Island at the top of the app

What It Searches

The palette can return:

• actions and settings shortcuts
• documents
• integrations and connected sources
• conversations
• workflows
• tags
• legal results

Some results are available immediately from local state, while others are streamed as matching results arrive.

Shortcut Destinations

The palette can also be used to go directly to common destinations such as:

• a new chat
• the documents page
• legal search
• source and integration settings
• profile, organization, billing, integration, or preferences settings

Category Tabs

The tabs at the top of the palette let you focus on one type of result at a time.

• Actions shows commands and shortcuts
• Documents shows files
• Integrations shows connected folders and external sources
• Conversations shows previous chats
• Tags shows saved tags

This makes it possible to start with one search and then narrow the visible results by clicking the relevant tab.

Conversational Context and Memory

Advanced Conversational Mode Ask follow-up questions without repeating the initial context. For example:

1. First question: What is the legal definition of workplace moral harassment?
2. Follow-up questions: What penalties are provided? or Cite 3 recent cases - Ordalie understands that you are continuing on the same topic

Access to History Find any previous conversation:

1. Click the History icon at the top right
2. Use the search bar to find a conversation by keywords
3. Conversations are classified chronologically and kept for 30 days
4. To resume a conversation, click on it

When you work inside a workspace, conversation history stays tied more closely to that workspace context. This makes it easier to reopen conversations linked to the same folder or work area.

Contextual Chat from Your Documents

When viewing a document or source, a side chat panel is available to ask questions without leaving your reading. This panel offers:

• Quick actions: AI-generated contextual suggestions based on the displayed document
• Saved prompts: Direct access to your prompt library organized by category
• Applicable workflows: Direct launch of relevant workflows for the current document

The panel is resizable and can be collapsed, displayed in compact mode, or expanded according to your preferences.

Intelligent Multi-Document Analysis (in the Assistant section)

To compare or synthesize multiple documents:

1. Select multiple files with the pin icon or via the "@" key on your keyboard and mention a document or directly a tag that groups several documents
2. Specify your need, for example:
   1. Compare the liability clauses in these contracts
   2. Create a table of differences between these judgments
   3. Synthesize the parties' arguments in these conclusions
3. Choose the output format adapted to your need (table, bullet list, continuous text)

Interactive analysis table: When you ask the same question across multiple documents, results display in an interactive table where each column represents a question and each row a document. You can sort columns (by text, number, date), filter results, resize columns, and click a cell to see full details. You can also rephrase a question to create a new version while keeping previous results.

This function is particularly effective for detecting inconsistencies between similar documents or for quickly preparing comparative memos.