What you can and can’t do
OSED divides the work along one line: the mechanical part it can help with, and the judgment part only a lawyer can do. Knowing which side of the line you’re on keeps a draft from being mistaken for a decision.
What you can do with OSED
- Describe your situation and see which legal pathways it might travel.
- Prepare a first draft of an instrument — a notice, a petition, a complaint — with the facts you have, and the ones you don’t marked as placeholders.
- See the questions a lawyer will need to answer, because OSED flags every judgment call inline
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[⚠ ATTORNEY: ...]) instead of quietly resolving it. - Bring all of that to counsel so the lawyer’s time starts from a structured draft, not a blank page.
What only a lawyer can do
- Decide whether you have a case, and whether the merits are sound.
- Decide whether you have standing, whether a claim is ripe, and which forum fits.
- Decide whether and when to file anything, and confirm every deadline.
- Assess whether any named party is liable — OSED describes situations neutrally and never concludes that a company, county, or agency broke the law.
The reason for the line is in the pathways: instruments are templatable, but standing, ripeness, and whether to sue are judgment calls that depend on specific facts, forum, and strategy. A draft that crossed that line would be worse than none — a confident-looking document that’s wrong can sink a real case.
So: a pathway and a draft are a starting point. They do not mean you have a case. The next step is always a lawyer — here’s how to find one.