Build a Legal-Risk Linter for HR Documents

1. 1

   Draw the unauthorized-practice line clearly

   The tool flags patterns and educates; it does not give legal advice, and the product must say so persistently. Frame every flag as this language pattern is associated with risk, consider review, route high-severity documents toward attorney review (a referral network of employment lawyers is a feature, not a concession), and have your own counsel bless the framing. Staying honestly on the software side of that line is what lets you exist.

2. 2

   Build the rule base from documented failure modes

   Employment litigation turns on recognizable patterns: inconsistent stated reasons for termination, age-coded language (culture fit, digital native, overqualified), promises that create implied contracts, retaliation-adjacent timing references, and missing state-required notices. Work with employment attorneys to encode these with severity levels and plain-language explanations of why each flag matters.

3. 3

   Flag inconsistency, not just words

   The deepest risk in a termination letter is often what contradicts the file: a for-cause letter following years of glowing reviews, or a stated reason that shifted between drafts. Let teams optionally connect prior documents so the linter can flag internal inconsistency, the pattern attorneys exploit first.

4. 4

   Localize by state, honestly

   Employment law varies sharply by state (final-pay timing, required notices, protected categories beyond federal law). Build state packs with attorney review per state, launch with the biggest employment-law states, and be explicit in-product about which states are covered rather than pretending to be everywhere.

5. 5

   Fit the HR workflow, respect the privacy

   Browser extension and document-upload flows that meet HR where they draft, with security posture appropriate to the most sensitive documents a company produces: encryption, no training on customer documents, and retention controls. An HR tool with sloppy privacy is dead on arrival.

6. 6

   Sell calm to the HR department of one

   The buyer is the solo HR manager who loses sleep before every termination. Price per HR seat monthly at a fraction of one hour of employment-attorney time, and distribute through HR communities, PEO partnerships, and employment attorneys who would rather review the hard cases than the typos.

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