Will I get sanctioned for using AI like the lawyers in Mata v. Avianca?

Mata v. Avianca was about lawyers citing cases that didn't exist — the AI hallucinated them. LegalMCP doesn't generate cases. It pulls real opinions from CourtListener's database (4M+ federal and state appellate opinions). Every result includes a verifiable courtlistener.com link. Always click through to confirm a citation before filing — that's the same diligence you'd apply to any research tool.

How do I verify a citation Claude gives me through LegalMCP?

Every result returned by LegalMCP contains a CourtListener URL — click it. If the link opens the real opinion, the cite is real. If the link 404s or the case name doesn't match, the AI hallucinated and ignored the tool result. For PACER results, the docket number is verifiable on pacer.uscourts.gov directly.

Do I still need Westlaw or Lexis?

Honest answer: depends on your work. For general US case-law search and citation tracing, most firms won't. CourtListener's free tier covers federal + state appellate opinions — 60-80% of typical research. For proprietary headnotes, KeyCite/Shepard's authority signals, and some state-specific niche treatises, you may still want a paid subscription. Check your malpractice policy for any specific tool requirements.

What happens to my queries — does ElasticFlow log client data?

Your queries go to your AI client (Claude / Cursor / etc.) per their privacy policy. ElasticFlow runs LegalMCP in our encrypted environment and proxies API calls to CourtListener / Clio / PACER. We log only metadata (which tool was called, when), never the content of opinions, matters, or filings. Your Clio OAuth token and PACER credentials are encrypted at rest, scoped per workspace, and never logged.

What about UK, EU, or other jurisdictions?

LegalMCP is US-only today. CourtListener covers US federal + state appellate opinions; PACER is US federal courts. Non-US jurisdictions are out of scope.

Why is PACER still charging me when I use this?

PACER's per-page document fee ($0.10/page) is unchanged — it's billed by PACER directly, not by LegalMCP. Search and listing are free; only document body downloads are billed. You can configure a per-conversation PACER budget in your ElasticFlow workspace settings to cap costs.

LegalMCP

by Mahender22· v0.1.0MITView source

Get 4M+ US court opinions, Clio, and PACER in chat — without a Westlaw subscription.

Name: LegalMCP
Author: Mahender22

You already pay $200-400/month for legal research. Here's a way to do most of it from chat — free, MIT, runs on your laptop.

Cost: $200–400/mo

Who this is for

Honestly I tend to just pay it, the charges add up but I don't have the bandwidth to fight every renewal. Most days I'm running the same five searches I ran yesterday and last week.

— from r/Lawfirm thread, 247 upvotes

How this changes your work

Find a case

Today

You open Westlaw, try a few different query phrasings, and skim through dozens of results. 45 to 90 minutes per question.

Use it with

LegalMCP works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini, Windsurf, OpenClaw, and Hermes — any MCP-compatible AI client. Get it running in seconds.

Compatible withChatGPTClaude CodeClaude DesktopCodex / Codex CLICursorGeminiHermes (via Continue / Cline)OpenClawWindsurf

Install on ElasticFlow

One click. Managed auth.

Pre-configured environment, OAuth handled for you. No command-line work.

Install on ElasticFlow →

Managed auth · No laptop setup.

Managed auth

Install on your AI client

Claude Desktop · Claude Code · Cursor

Copy a config snippet into your AI client and restart.

Paste into claude_desktop_config.json. macOS path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/. Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\.
Use the absolute path inside your venv. Remove LEGAL_MCP_DEMO once you add real API keys.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "legal-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/legal-mcp-env/bin/legal-mcp",
      "env": { "LEGAL_MCP_DEMO": "true" }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after pasting.

Steps

Decide: demo or real
Start with demo mode (LEGAL_MCP_DEMO=true) — works without any keys. Switch to real mode when you're ready.
CourtListener token (optional)
Rate limits are generous even without a token. Sign up at courtlistener.com/api/rest-info for higher limits.
Clio OAuth
Required if you want the 7 Clio tools. Create an OAuth app in Clio's developer portal; paste CLIO_TOKEN into .env.
PACER credentials
Required for the 3 PACER tools. PACER_USERNAME + PACER_PASSWORD — your regular PACER account works.

Scopes explained

Scope	Why this MCP needs it
`courtlistener:read`	Search opinions and dockets. No write access possible — CourtListener is read-only.
`clio:oauth`	Per-user OAuth, scoped to Clio's read permissions. No matter creation, no billing edits.
`pacer:account`	PACER does not support scoped tokens — full account credentials required. Treat as sensitive.

Troubleshooting

~7 min first time

MIT · v0.1.0 · last release 25 days ago

Get 4M+ US court opinions, Clio, and PACER in chat — without a Westlaw subscription.

Who this is for

How this changes your work

Find a case

Use it with

Steps

Scopes explained

Troubleshooting

Categories

Track citations

Pull billable hours

Track a federal filing

Works with

Clio

CourtListener

PACER

Proof

What Claude can do

Find and cite case law8

Pull from your practice ledger7

Track federal filings3

Common questions

What's new

Get 4M+ US court opinions, Clio, and PACER in chat — without a Westlaw subscription.

Who this is for

How this changes your work

Use it with

Authentication

Steps

Scopes explained

Troubleshooting

Claude Desktop shows 'server failed to start'

Clio tools return 401

PACER pages charge $0.10 each

Categories

Works with

Clio

CourtListener

PACER

Proof

What Claude can do

Find and cite case law8

Pull from your practice ledger7

Track federal filings3

Common questions

What's new