bettercallclaude
BetterCallClaude is a Swiss legal intelligence plugin for Cowork Desktop that enhances legal research and document drafting.
BetterCallClaude transforms legal research, case strategy, and document drafting for Swiss lawyers. It provides deep integration with Swiss legal databases, multi-lingual analysis (DE/FR/IT/EN), and built-in Anwaltsgeheimnis (attorney-client privilege) protection -- 20 agents, 19 commands, 14 skills, and 7 MCP servers covering BGE/ATF/DTF precedent research, litigation strategy, adversarial analysis, legal drafting, and citation verification across all 26 Swiss cantons.
Claude Code CLI users: this repository is Cowork Desktop only. The CLI version is at fedec65/bettercallclaude-cli.
Overview
BetterCallClaude provides a structured methodology for handling legal work with AI assistance. The framework consists of five interconnected phases.
What's New in v4.2.1
v4.2.1 patch — Fixed Connectors section disappearing in Cowork Desktop after install. Two post-release bugs corrected: .mcp.json must be dot-prefixed (Cowork ignores mcp.json), and plugin.json must not exist at the plugin root (causes Cowork to skip .mcp.json entirely).
Cowork Desktop dedicated release -- This repository is now exclusively for Claude Cowork Desktop. The Claude Code CLI version has been split into a separate repository: fedec65/bettercallclaude-cli.
- HTTP-only transport: all 7 MCP servers connect via
mcp.bettercallclaude.chor SSE -- no local Node.js build required - Simplified setup:
/setupchecks connectivity only -- no transport switching needed in Cowork
Installation
Full installation guide with screenshots: BetterCallClaude Tutorial →
- In Cowork, click Customize > Browse plugins > Personal > + > Add marketplace from GitHub
- Enter
fedec65/bettercallclaudeand click Sync - Click Install on the BetterCallClaude card
MCP servers connect automatically via HTTP. No Node.js, no local setup, no API keys required.
Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/bettercallclaude:legal | Intelligent gateway -- analyzes intent, routes to the appropriate specialist agent, and manages multi-step legal workflows. Use --refine to transform vague queries first. |
/bettercallclaude:refine | Transform vague legal queries into structured prompts through Socratic dialogue. Recommends optimal workflows and introduces Swiss legal terminology. |
/bettercallclaude:research | Search Swiss legal precedents and compile research memoranda. Supports BGE/ATF/DTF databases, doctrine references, and cross-jurisdictional analysis. |
/bettercallclaude:strategy | Develop litigation strategy with risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and procedural pathway evaluation. |
/bettercallclaude:draft | Draft Swiss legal documents including contracts, court briefs, legal opinions, and memoranda with proper citation formatting. |
/bettercallclaude:cite | Verify and format Swiss legal citations across all four national languages (BGE/ATF/DTF formats). |
/bettercallclaude:validate | Validate Swiss legal citations in bulk -- check format, existence, and cross-language consistency. |
/bettercallclaude:precedent | Search and analyze BGE/ATF/DTF precedents with precedent chain tracking and evolution analysis. |
/bettercallclaude:federal | Analyze a legal question under federal Swiss law (ZGB, OR, StGB, BV, and related federal statutes). |
/bettercallclaude:cantonal | Analyze a legal question under cantonal law for a specific canton. |
/bettercallclaude:adversarial | Run three-agent adversarial analysis -- advocate builds the case, adversary challenges it, judicial analyst synthesizes. |
/bettercallclaude:briefing | Structured pre-execution briefing -- assembles a specialist panel, collects case context, and builds an execution plan before agents start working. |
/bettercallclaude:workflow | Define and execute multi-agent legal workflows (due diligence, litigation prep, contract lifecycle, real estate closing). |
/bettercallclaude:translate | Translate Swiss legal documents between DE, FR, IT, and EN while preserving legal terminology precision. |
/bettercallclaude:doc-analyze | Analyze Swiss legal documents -- identify legal issues, extract key clauses, verify citations, assess compliance. |
/bettercallclaude:summarize | Consolidate multi-agent pipeline output -- deduplicate disclaimers, terminology, and citations with length control (--short/--medium/--long). |
/bettercallclaude:setup | Check MCP server connectivity and display status for all 7 servers. |
/bettercallclaude:version | Display plugin version, installed components, and system status. |
/bettercallclaude:help | Show complete command reference, available agents, skills, and usage examples. |
Usage Examples
/bettercallclaude:legal I need to assess our exposure under Art. 97 OR for late delivery
/bettercallclaude:refine I have problems with my landlord
/bettercallclaude:research Art. 97 OR contractual liability for late delivery
/bettercallclaude:strategy Commercial lease dispute in Zurich, landlord claims CHF 200k damages
/bettercallclaude:draft Employment contract for a software engineer in Geneva, bilingual DE/FR
/bettercallclaude:adversarial Is the non-compete clause in this employment contract enforceable?
/bettercallclaude:workflow litigation-prep Personal injury claim against manufacturer
/bettercallclaude:briefing Prepare full litigation for Art. 97 OR breach, CHF 500K, Zurich
/bettercallclaude:cantonal ZH Commercial court jurisdiction for contract disputes over CHF 30k
/bettercallclaude:doc-analyze @contract.pdf Review this commercial lease agreement
Key Features
- Briefing sessions -- Complex queries trigger a collaborative intake phase with specialist panels, targeted questions, and structured execution plans before agents start working. Supports
--resumefor cross-session persistence. - Adversarial analysis -- Three-agent workflow: advocate builds the case, adversary challenges it, judicial analyst synthesizes using Swiss Erwagung methodology with probability scores.
- Multi-agent workflows -- Predefined pipelines for due diligence, litigation prep, contract lifecycle, and real estate closings.
- All 26 cantons -- Full cantonal coverage with court systems, citation formats, and MCP search via entscheidsuche.ch. Federal law is the default; mentioning a canton triggers cantonal mode.
- Multi-language -- Automatic language detection for DE/FR/IT/EN with correct legal terminology and citation formats.
MCP Servers
All servers connect automatically after installation. No configuration required.
| Server | Purpose | Transport |
|---|---|---|
entscheidsuche | Swiss court decision search (Bundesgericht + cantonal) | HTTP |
bge-search | Federal Supreme Court decision search | HTTP |
legal-citations | Citation verification and formatting | HTTP |
fedlex-sparql | Federal legislation database (SPARQL) | HTTP |
onlinekommentar | Swiss legal commentaries | HTTP |
swiss-caselaw | Case law, citation graphs, appeal chains (opencaselaw.ch) | SSE |
ollama | Local privacy classification for Anwaltsgeheimnis | Local |
The five HTTP servers connect to https://mcp.bettercallclaude.ch (rate limit: 60 req/min per IP). The swiss-caselaw server connects to https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch. No API keys required for any server.
See CONNECTORS.md for detailed API documentation.
Privacy
BetterCallClaude includes built-in Anwaltsgeheimnis (attorney-client privilege, Art. 321 StGB) compliance. A PreToolUse hook scans outgoing tool calls for privilege indicators in German (Anwaltsgeheimnis, Mandantengeheimnis, vertraulich), French (secret professionnel, confidentiel), and Italian (segreto professionale, confidenziale).
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
strict | All external calls require confirmation. Local processing preferred via Ollama. |
balanced | Privileged content triggers confirmation. Non-privileged content processed normally. |
cloud | Standard cloud processing with privacy hook active for explicit privilege markers only. |
Language Support
| Language | Code | Legal Context |
|---|---|---|
| German | DE | Primary: ZGB, OR, StGB, BGE. Used in ZH, BE, BS, and German-speaking cantons. |
| French | FR | Official: CC, CO, CP, ATF. Used in GE, VD, and French-speaking cantons. |
| Italian | IT | Official: CC, CO, CP, DTF. Used in TI and Italian-speaking regions. |
| English | EN | Working language with Swiss legal term mapping. |
Requirements
- Claude Cowork Desktop (latest version)
- Node.js >= 18 (for the ollama privacy classifier only -- all other servers connect via HTTP)
CLI Version
Prefer working from the terminal? BetterCallClaude CLI is the Claude Code CLI edition with local stdio MCP transport, configurable HTTP fallback, and the same 20 agents, 19 commands, and 14 skills.
Author
Federico Cesconi -- fedec65/bettercallclaude -- bettercallclaude.ch
License
AGPL-3.0 -- See LICENSE for full terms.
For Developers
The mcp-servers-src/ directory contains TypeScript source for the MCP servers. The mcp-servers-http/ directory contains the HTTP transport wrapper deployed to Railway at mcp.bettercallclaude.ch.
npm run build # Compile TypeScript
npm run build:bundle # Build single-file bundles into mcp-servers/*/dist/
npm test # Run tests
npm run package # Create distributable plugin zip
See CONNECTORS.md for MCP server API documentation.
Professional Disclaimer
BetterCallClaude is a legal research and analysis tool. All outputs produced by this plugin:
- Require professional lawyer review and validation before use.
- Do not constitute legal advice.
- May contain errors, omissions, or outdated information.
- Must be verified against official sources (admin.ch, court databases, official gazettes).
- Must be adapted to the specific circumstances of each case.
Lawyers maintain full professional responsibility for all legal work products. This tool assists legal professionals but does not replace professional judgment, independent verification, or the duty of care owed to clients.