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The 6 Guards of QWED-Legal

Each guard uses a deterministic engine to verify a specific aspect of legal documents.

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1. DeadlineGuard 📅

Purpose: Verify date calculations in contracts.

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The Problem

LLMs frequently miscalculate deadlines:
  • Confuse business days vs calendar days
  • Ignore leap years
  • Forget jurisdiction-specific holidays

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The Solution

from qwed_legal import DeadlineGuard

guard = DeadlineGuard(country="US", state="CA")

result = guard.verify(
    signing_date="2026-01-15",
    term="30 business days",
    claimed_deadline="2026-02-14"
)

print(result.verified)           # False
print(result.computed_deadline)  # 2026-02-27
print(result.difference_days)    # 13

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Features

FeatureDescription
Business vs CalendarAutomatically detects “business days” vs “days”
Holiday Support200+ countries via python-holidays
Leap YearsHandles Feb 29 correctly
Natural LanguageParses “2 weeks”, “3 months”, “1 year”

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2. LiabilityGuard 💰

Purpose: Verify liability cap and indemnity calculations.

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The Problem

LLMs get percentage math wrong:
  • “200% of 5M=5M = 15M” ❌ (Should be $10M)
  • Float precision errors on large amounts
  • Tiered liability miscalculations

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The Solution

from qwed_legal import LiabilityGuard

guard = LiabilityGuard()

result = guard.verify_cap(
    contract_value=5_000_000,
    cap_percentage=200,
    claimed_cap=15_000_000
)

print(result.verified)      # False
print(result.computed_cap)  # 10,000,000
print(result.difference)    # 5,000,000

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Additional Methods

# Tiered liability
result = guard.verify_tiered_liability(
    tiers=[
        {"base": 1_000_000, "percentage": 100},
        {"base": 500_000, "percentage": 50},
    ],
    claimed_total=1_250_000  # ✅ Correct: 1M + 250K
)

# Indemnity limit (3x annual fee)
result = guard.verify_indemnity_limit(
    annual_fee=100_000,
    multiplier=3,
    claimed_limit=300_000  # ✅ Correct
)

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3. ClauseGuard ⚖️

Purpose: Detect contradictory clauses using formal logic.

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The Problem

LLMs miss logical contradictions:
  • “Seller may terminate with 30 days notice”
  • “Neither party may terminate before 90 days”
These clauses conflict for days 30-90!

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The Solution

from qwed_legal import ClauseGuard

guard = ClauseGuard()

result = guard.check_consistency([
    "Seller may terminate with 30 days notice",
    "Neither party may terminate before 90 days",
    "Seller may terminate immediately upon breach"
])

print(result.consistent)  # False
print(result.conflicts)
# [(0, 1, "Termination notice (30 days) conflicts with minimum term (90 days)")]

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Detection Types

Conflict TypeDescription
TerminationNotice period vs minimum term
Permission/Prohibition”May” vs “May not”
ExclusivityMultiple exclusive rights

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4. CitationGuard 📚

Purpose: Verify legal citations are properly formatted and potentially real.

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The Problem

The Mata v. Avianca scandal: Lawyers used ChatGPT, which cited 6 fake court cases. They were fined $5,000 and sanctioned.

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The Solution

from qwed_legal import CitationGuard

guard = CitationGuard()

# Valid citation
result = guard.verify("Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)")
print(result.valid)  # True
print(result.parsed_components)
# {'plaintiff': 'Brown', 'defendant': 'Board of Education', 
#  'volume': 347, 'reporter': 'U.S.', 'page': 483, 'year': 1954}

# Invalid citation (fake reporter)
result = guard.verify("Smith v. Jones, 999 FAKE 123 (2020)")
print(result.valid)   # False
print(result.issues)  # ["Unknown reporter abbreviation: 'FAKE'"]

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Supported Reporters

CategoryExamples
Supreme CourtU.S., S.Ct., L.Ed., L.Ed.2d
FederalF., F.2d, F.3d, F.4th, F.Supp.
StateCal., N.Y., Tex., Ill., Pa.
RegionalA., N.E., N.W., P., S.E., S.W., So.

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Batch Verification

result = guard.verify_batch([
    "Brown v. Board, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)",
    "Fake v. Case, 999 X.Y.Z. 123",
])

print(result.total)    # 2
print(result.valid)    # 1
print(result.invalid)  # 1

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Statute Citations

result = guard.check_statute_citation("42 U.S.C. § 1983")
print(result.valid)  # True
print(result.parsed_components)
# {'title': 42, 'code': 'U.S.C.', 'section': '1983'}

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5. JurisdictionGuard 🌍

Purpose: Verify choice of law and forum selection clauses.

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The Problem

LLMs miss jurisdiction conflicts:
  • Governing law in one country, forum in another
  • Missing CISG applicability warnings
  • Cross-border legal system mismatches

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The Solution

from qwed_legal import JurisdictionGuard

guard = JurisdictionGuard()

result = guard.verify_choice_of_law(
    parties_countries=["US", "UK"],
    governing_law="Delaware",
    forum="London"
)

print(result.verified)   # False - mismatch detected
print(result.conflicts)  # ["Governing law 'Delaware' (US state) but forum 'London' is non-US..."]

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Features

FeatureDescription
Choice of LawValidates governing law makes sense for parties
Forum SelectionChecks forum vs governing law alignment
CISG DetectionWarns about international sale of goods conventions
Convention CheckVerifies Hague, NY Convention applicability

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Convention Check

result = guard.check_convention_applicability(
    parties_countries=["US", "DE"],
    convention="CISG"
)
print(result.verified)  # True - both are CISG members

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6. StatuteOfLimitationsGuard ⏰

Purpose: Verify claim limitation periods by jurisdiction.

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The Problem

LLMs don’t track jurisdiction-specific limitation periods:
  • California breach of contract: 4 years
  • New York breach of contract: 6 years
  • Different periods for negligence, fraud, etc.

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The Solution

from qwed_legal import StatuteOfLimitationsGuard

guard = StatuteOfLimitationsGuard()

result = guard.verify(
    claim_type="breach_of_contract",
    jurisdiction="California",
    incident_date="2020-01-15",
    filing_date="2026-06-01"
)

print(result.verified)          # False - 4 year limit exceeded!
print(result.expiration_date)   # 2024-01-15
print(result.days_remaining)    # -867 (negative = expired)

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Supported Jurisdictions

JurisdictionBreach of ContractNegligenceFraud
California4 years2 years3 years
New York6 years3 years6 years
Texas4 years2 years4 years
UK/England6 years6 years6 years
Germany3 years3 years10 years
India3 years3 years3 years

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Compare Jurisdictions

comparison = guard.compare_jurisdictions(
    "breach_of_contract",
    ["California", "New York", "Delaware"]
)
# {'California': 4.0, 'New York': 6.0, 'Delaware': 3.0}

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All-in-One: LegalGuard

For convenience, use the unified LegalGuard class: 
from qwed_legal import LegalGuard

guard = LegalGuard()

# All 6 guards available
guard.verify_deadline(...)
guard.verify_liability_cap(...)
guard.check_clause_consistency(...)
guard.verify_citation(...)
guard.verify_jurisdiction(...)               # NEW in v0.2.0
guard.verify_statute_of_limitations(...)     # NEW in v0.2.0

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Next Steps