How to ask
You don't need special commands. Ask the way you'd ask a colleague — your assistant works out which action to take.
A few habits get you faster, more precise answers:
If you have the matter number, use it. Asking about "matter 2026/00123" goes straight to the right file. If you only have a name or an address, that's fine too — your assistant will search.
Start broad, then drill in. A request like "summarise matter 2026/00123" gives you the whole picture; you can then ask follow-ups like "show me the file notes" or "who's the other side?" without repeating the number.
It confirms before it changes anything. When you ask to open a matter, record time, add a disbursement, update details, or add a contact, you'll be shown the details and asked to confirm first.
Claude plugins
Plugins are ready-made workflows that sit on top of the MCP Server and your Microsoft 365 connection to handle a whole task end-to-end — not just a single look-up. Download one below, add it in Claude, and it's there for your whole team.
Each plugin comes as a .zip file. Installation is the same for every plugin and takes a minute — download the file, then add it under Claude's settings. The steps are at the bottom of this section.
A guided conflict-of-interest screen for a proposed new client or matter. You answer a few short questions about the client, the other side, and the strata scheme; the plugin then searches your firm's history across Actionstep, Outlook, SharePoint and Teams — open, closed, and historical files — for any matching party. It classifies what it finds against the relevant professional conduct rules and produces a branded preliminary conflict report you can save to the matter and send to a qualified person to sign off.
It is deliberately cautious: it biases toward flagging anything worth a second look, and it never makes the final "safe to act" call — that stays with a lawyer.
Australia & New Zealand — what's different
The two variants run exactly the same workflow. They differ only in the law and the local identifiers they screen against. The Australian variant assesses matches against the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules — applied by state or territory, and flagging Northern Territory matters, which sit outside that framework — and expects Australian strata identifiers (such as CTS, SP, or Plan of Subdivision numbers). The New Zealand variant screens against New Zealand's lawyers' professional conduct rules and expects New Zealand unit-title and body-corporate identifiers. Install the variant that matches your office; firms operating in both countries can install both.
Example
Needs: the Actionstep MCP Server and your firm's Microsoft 365 connection (Outlook, SharePoint, Teams).
Turns any SharePoint folder into a branded, on-brand document index. Point it at a folder — by link or by name — and it catalogues every file across the folder and all its subfolders, with each entry linking straight to the real file in SharePoint. You choose the format: an interactive, searchable HTML page (filter and sort by category or folder) or a traditional printable PDF. Optionally, it reads each document and adds a one-line summary, so the index doubles as a quick guide to what's in the file.
Example
Needs: your firm's Microsoft 365 / SharePoint connection.
Installing a plugin
The process is the same for every plugin above.
-
Download the plugin
Click the download button for the plugin you want and save the .zip file somewhere you can find it. There's no need to unzip it.
-
Open Claude's settings
In Claude, open Settings, then Capabilities.
-
Add the plugin
Under the plugins area, add the .zip file you just downloaded. Claude installs it and the plugin becomes available in your chats.
-
Check the connections it needs
Make sure the connectors the plugin relies on are connected — the Actionstep MCP Server (see the Setup page) and, for these plugins, your firm's Microsoft 365 connection. The plugin will let you know if something it needs isn't connected.
-
Start using it
Open a new chat and just ask — for example, "Run a conflict check on a new client" or "Index the documents in this SharePoint folder."
Finding matters & people
Locate a matter or a contact, and pull up the details and the people involved.
Searches for matters by client name, address, reference, or any partial text. Use this when you don't have the matter number to hand.
Finds every matter a person or organisation is connected to — across open, closed, and historical files — so you can screen for conflicts before taking on new work. Because it looks past just the open matters, you see the full picture, not only what's currently active.
A single, consolidated brief on one matter — the key details, the people involved, the current stage, and recent activity. The best place to start when you want to get across a file quickly.
The core details of a single matter — its type, status, key dates, and reference.
Lists everyone connected to a matter and their role — client, other side, agent, and so on.
Searches your Actionstep contacts — people and organisations — whether or not they're linked to a matter.
Full details for one contact — phone, email, and address.
Changes the details on an existing contact — phone, email, address, and other fields. You'll be shown the change and asked to confirm before it's saved.
Inside a matter
Once you're on a matter, look at where it's up to, what's outstanding, and what's been filed against it.
Shows where a matter sits in its workflow and what comes next.
Lists the tasks on a matter. You can ask for outstanding, completed, or all of them.
Adds a task to a matter — give it a task name, a due date, and who it's assigned to (someone already on the matter), with an optional priority and a longer description. New tasks start as incomplete and appear in Actionstep straight away.
Shows the extra information captured against a matter — the fields specific to that type of matter.
Lists the documents saved against a matter.
Shows the emails linked to a matter.
File notes
Read what's already on file, and record new notes as you go.
Shows all the file notes recorded on a matter.
Opens a single file note in full — handy as a follow-up after seeing a list.
Records a new file note against a matter.
Time, costs & billing
Check what's been recorded against a matter financially — and record time and costs as you work. Anything that changes a record is shown to you and confirmed first.
Shows the time recorded against a matter.
Adds a new time entry to a matter — duration, description, and whether it's billable. Tell it the time in plain language (e.g. "18 minutes" or "0.3 hours") and it records it correctly.
Adjusts an existing time entry — its duration, description, or billable status.
Lists the disbursements and expenses charged to a matter, with amounts and GST.
Records a new disbursement or expense against a matter — description and amount, with GST handled the way your firm expects.
Adjusts an existing disbursement — its description, amount, or quantity.
Shows how a matter is set up to bill — its billing mode, tax treatment, default rate, and related settings.
Lists any rate overrides on a matter, or confirms it's using your firm's default rates.
Changes a matter's billing settings — billing mode, quote or discount, tax, default rate, and billing email. Shown and confirmed before it's saved.
Adds a rate override to a matter, or changes an existing one.
Retrieves your firm's billing reference lists — rates, tax codes, units, activity codes, and similar — so the right one can be used when recording time or costs.
Creating & updating
Set up new files and contacts, update existing matters, and link people to a matter. Your assistant always shows you the details and asks you to confirm before anything is created or changed.
Lists the matter types your firm uses, so you can pick the right one.
Shows the fields and people required for a particular matter type, before you open it — so you can gather what you need first.
Creates a new matter, using the correct matter type and fields for your firm. Your assistant confirms the details with you before it's created.
Changes details on an existing matter — its name, status, reference, or who it's assigned to. Shown and confirmed before it's saved.
Links an existing contact to a matter in a role — client, other side, agent, and so on.
Creates a new person or organisation in Actionstep. Your assistant checks for an existing record first to avoid duplicates.
Advanced lookups
A catch-all for the occasional request the everyday actions don't cover.
A flexible, look-up-only action used to retrieve information the everyday tools don't cover — for example, reference lists like tax codes. You won't usually ask for it by name; your assistant reaches for it when it's the right fit. It can only read information — it can't change anything.
Good to know
A few things worth keeping in mind as you work.
It can't delete anything
The server can look things up, create new records, and update existing ones — matters, contacts, tasks, file notes, time, and disbursements. It cannot delete records.
It confirms before it changes anything
Whenever you ask to create or update something — open a matter, record time, add a disbursement, change details — you'll see the details and be asked to confirm first.
A secure, dedicated server
Your firm has its own dedicated server, connecting to your Actionstep account through a secure, authorised connection set up by LegalCollect.
Check the answer
Your assistant is a helpful tool, not a substitute for your own judgement. Confirm anything important against the matter itself before you rely on it.