> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.vlex.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.vlex.com/vincent-by-vlex/vincent/skills/what-are-skills-in-vincent.md). # What are Skills in Vincent? #### Summary Vincent Skills are reusable instructions that tell Vincent how you and your firm prefer to handle specific legal tasks. Instead of re-explaining your preferences every session, you save them once as a Skill and Vincent applies them consistently across every future conversation. #### Why This is Important Legal work is repetitive by nature, the same demand letter structure, the same due diligence checklist, the same deposition prep framework, over and over. Without Skills, you and your colleagues have to re-explain your firm's preferred format, terminology, and standards to Vincent each time you start a conversation. Skills solve this problem by capturing your firm's institutional knowledge in a reusable format. Once a Skill exists, anyone at your firm can trigger it, a senior partner's demand letter framework becomes available to every associate, a paralegal's diligence checklist becomes the firm standard, and Vincent produces consistent output whether it's you, a new hire, or a colleague across the office using it. #### What You Can Use Skills For Skills work well for any recurring legal task where consistency matters. Common examples include: * **Drafting**: demand letters, client updates, NDAs, engagement letters, or any document with a standard structure * **Reviewing**: vendor contracts against your playbook, discovery productions for privilege, medical records for personal injury cases * **Preparing**: deposition outlines, argument frameworks, hearing prep packets * **Analyzing**: Chapter 11 plans, class action exposure estimates, legal risk assessments * **Extracting**: diligence data points from agreements, key terms from leases, treatment details from medical records #### How Skills Work A Skill is essentially a set of instructions Vincent reads every time the Skill is activated. Each Skill includes: * **A description:** what the Skill does, which Vincent uses to identify when to apply it * **Activation conditions:** the prompts, questions, or situations that should trigger the Skill (for example, "user asks to draft a demand letter") * **Instructions:** plain-language directions telling Vincent how to handle the task, including preferred structure, terminology, jurisdiction defaults, and things to avoid

Every Skill combines three core elements: a Description (the what), Activation Conditions (the when), and Instructions (the how).

Skills can be activated **automatically** when your prompt matches the conditions, or **manually** by selecting them before starting a conversation. #### Who Manages Skills Vincent has three roles for working with Skills: * **Publishers** control which Skills are available firm-wide and set organization-wide context * **Builders** create and test their own Skills, and can submit them for firm-wide approval * **Users** apply Skills that have been published by their organization Everyone in your organization is a User by default. For more detail, see Skills Roles and Permissions. {% hint style="info" %} **Start with the tasks you repeat most.** The highest-value Skills are the ones that codify work you and your team do every week, the demand letter format your firm always uses, the diligence checklist that never changes, the deposition prep structure senior partners expect. Skills built on high-frequency tasks pay back immediately. {% endhint %} #### Where to Go Next Depending on what you want to do, start here: * **If you want to use Skills that already exist:** Using Skills in a Conversation * **If you want to install ready-made Skills from Clio:** Browsing and Installing Skills from the Skills Library * **If you want to build your own Skill:** Creating a Custom Skill * **If you manage Skills for your firm:** Reviewing and Publishing Skills for Your Organization #### Best Practices & Pro Tips * **Skills capture institutional knowledge.** When a senior lawyer creates a Skill for how they draft a specific document, that expertise becomes available to every associate and paralegal at the firm. Skills are one of the fastest ways to standardize quality across a team. #### Related Articles * [Skills Roles and Permissions](/vincent-by-vlex/vincent/skills/skills-roles-and-permissions.md) * [Browsing and Installing Skills from the Skills Library](/vincent-by-vlex/vincent/skills/browsing-and-installing-skills-from-the-skills-library.md) * [Creating a Custom Skill](/vincent-by-vlex/vincent/skills/creating-a-custom-skill.md) * [Tips for Writing Effective Skills](/vincent-by-vlex/vincent/skills/tips-for-writing-effective-skills.md) ### Relevant Video Content {% embed url="" %} **What's Your Next Step?** | **New to Vincent?** | **Already a Vincent Customer?** | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [See how Vincent can transform your practice. **Request a personalized demo**.](https://vlex.com/book-a-demo?utm_source=website\&utm_medium=organic\&utm_campaign=web_trial_homepage\&campaign_id=4270741) | [If you still have questions or need help with a specific feature, our team is here to assist. **Contact our Support team**.](https://vlex.com/contact-us) |