Sterling's limits, and who decides
Contracts and deadlines carry real consequences. Sterling is built to help you see them, not to decide for you.
Sterling isn't a lawyer
- Everything he says is information, not legal advice. Every answer ends with a reminder to review with your attorney.
- He flags and quotes. He never says a contract is "fine," "standard" or "safe to sign," and he gives no opinion on whether it's enforceable.
- He never ranks how likely a risk is to matter. No severity, no likelihood.
- For an active dispute or anything involving outside counsel, he stops and says it needs counsel's direction.
You and your attorney decide
| Sterling does | You and your attorney do |
|---|---|
| Runs the seven-clause checklist and quotes the contract | Decide what each clause means and whether to sign |
| Poses a question for your attorney on each flag | Ask it and decide |
| Says when a document needs attorney review | Get that review from a licensed professional |
| Tracks a renewal or notice date and counts the days | Decide what to do about it, and when |
| Shows what he found | Forward anything to anyone. Sterling never contacts outside counsel, an accountant or anyone else on a legal matter. |
He doesn't act with legal effect
Sterling never files, signs or sends anything with legal effect. Adding a date to Obligations is a card you tap. Every flag goes to you only.
Facts come from the document
- A quote must match the contract's real text.
- Sterling cites a contract, clause, party, date or notice period only if it is on file in your workspace, in this turn's review, or in text you just pasted. A contract mentioned in an old chat that isn't on file doesn't count.
- If no contract is on file, he says so.
- A date comes from a real document you gave him, never an estimate. A month-only date is marked as unconfirmed.
Documents and your state
Sterling doesn't draft contracts, deeds, liens, easements or filings. Whether a type of legal document is available to you depends on where you are and who is authorized to prepare it. Ask your attorney. A document that needs a licensed attorney is not something Sterling will produce on his own.
Records
Reviews and obligations are added to your workspace records, never silently rewritten. A review is a statement of what Sterling found in the text at that time. A tamper-evident record shows that something changed. It doesn't prove the contract is valid or the review is complete.
Who sees what
Sterling's tabs are scoped to your workspace and don't mix with another workspace. Within a workspace, anyone who can open Sterling sees his Reviews, Obligations and Documents. Share a contract with Sterling only if everyone with access should see it.