LawY in practice: real research prompts for litigation, conveyancing, family law and more

This is the second post in our series on LEAP's built-in legal AI tools. The first post covered Matter AI, which reads from your case file. LawY is different: it answers questions about the law itself. Think of it as a research assistant that knows Irish law and is ready any time you need a quick, reliable starting point.

LawY is included in your LEAP subscription and available across the practice areas covered below. One thing to bear in mind: as with any research tool, review the output with your own professional judgement before relying on it in practice.

Litigation

Scenario: You are preparing for discovery in a civil litigation matter and want to confirm the procedural requirements before proceeding.

What rule governs the process of discovery?"

LawY will identify the relevant rule (Order 31 of the Rules of the Superior Courts for High Court proceedings, or the equivalent Circuit Court Rules) and summarise the key provisions, including the process for requesting voluntary discovery, making a motion to compel, and the categories of documents typically covered. A quick way to get your bearings before reviewing the full rules.

Conveyancing

Scenario: You are acting for a vendor selling a property that has been vacant for several years and want to check whether any additional steps or local authority notifications are required before the sale can proceed.

Does the sale of a long-term vacant property require prior notice to or clearance from the local authority under any recent housing or dereliction-related legislation?"

This question touches on several pieces of legislation, including the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and more recent housing provisions. Rather than working through multiple Acts and statutory instruments yourself, LawY will identify the relevant legislative framework and flag any obligations that may arise before the sale can proceed.

Family Law

Scenario: You are advising a client on grounds for divorce or judicial separation where both parties have continued to live in the family home.

Can a spouse prove living apart while both parties remained in the same home?"

There is a significant body of Irish case law on the concept of living apart under the same roof. LawY will identify the relevant statutory provisions and summarise the factors courts have considered in reaching that finding. A useful starting point before reviewing the cases in full ahead of advising your client.

Immigration

Scenario: You are advising a client whose immigration application includes a partner relationship but where cohabitation has been limited due to the circumstances of the application.

How do decision-makers assess whether a relationship is akin to a marriage or civil partnership when there has been limited or no cohabitation between the partners?"

LawY will identify the relevant policy guidance and case law on how Immigration Service Delivery assesses relationship genuineness where cohabitation is limited. Particularly useful in this area, where policy and guidance are updated regularly and keeping on top of the current position manually takes time.

Probate / Estates

Scenario: You are administering an estate where one or more beneficiaries are based outside Ireland.

If a beneficiary resides outside the jurisdiction, do I need to obtain tax clearance for them?"

LawY will identify the relevant Revenue Commissioners requirements under the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003, including whether tax clearance certificates are required and in what circumstances, and flag any applicable thresholds or exemptions. A quicker route to the answer than working through the legislation and Revenue guidance from scratch.

Adapting these prompts to your own matters

These examples are starting points, and LawY generally rewards more specific questions. If the first response is broader than you need, narrow the question. For example, adding a time frame such as "under legislation introduced since 2020" or specifying the court or jurisdiction will return a more focused result. You can also follow up within the same conversation to dig further into a particular point.

Want to know more about LawY?

You can find out more about LawY and how it integrates with LEAP here.

You can read the first post in this series on LEAP's built-in legal AI tools, which focuses on Matter AI here.

Try it now

If you are an existing LEAP user, open a matter in a practice area covered by LawY and try one of the prompts above. Starting with a question you already know the answer to is a good way to test the output and get a feel for how LawY responds.

Up next in this series

The next post moves away from practice area prompts and into everyday scenarios: using Matter AI to get up to speed on a colleague's matters, whether you are covering for someone on leave, returning from a break yourself, or picking up a file mid-way through. Practical examples of how AI can save you significant time in situations most solicitors encounter regularly.