The five fields that keep a legal intake from becoming a scavenger hunt.

By ExtraordinaryOS / Jack Smith, company operator. 20 October 2026. Educational only. Not legal advice.

A legal review should begin with the question that needs judgment, not with a search through email threads, renamed attachments, and partial summaries. Before a matter moves to review, prepare one short handoff that makes the working record legible.

This is an operations practice, not a legal conclusion. Counsel decides what the record means, what belongs in a filing, and what to do next. The handoff simply makes that decision easier to inspect.

Use five fields

1. Claim or questionState the factual point or decision in plain language. Avoid a broad label when the team really needs an answer to one narrower question.
2. SourceName the underlying record and its location. Include the date and the part that matters, not only a screenshot or a summary.
3. Current versionMark which draft, exhibit set, or client statement is current. If two versions conflict, say so instead of silently selecting one.
4. OwnerMake the next owner visible: client, preparer, paralegal, or counsel. A shared mailbox is not an owner.
5. Open decisionWrite the next question that needs an answer, along with the deadline or trigger that makes it important.

What this prevents

Without these fields, teams often turn a missing source into a drafting issue, treat an older attachment as current, or ask a lawyer to reconstruct a factual timeline from a polished narrative. The five-field handoff does not make a case stronger by itself. It reduces avoidable rework and creates a cleaner place for the real legal judgment to happen.

Keep the file under the firm’s control

Use the firm’s approved systems for client material. Do not send petitions, exhibits, or client identity to ExtraordinaryOS. If the team is evaluating an AI-assisted workflow, start with a fictional or anonymized sample and have counsel decide what data handling is appropriate.

The EB-1A Petition Second Review kit provides a local structure for facts, sources, issues, questions, and counsel decisions. It is a downloadable workflow, not a portal and not a substitute for legal advice.

This page is educational only. It is not legal advice.