The Chicagoland Lawyer API, MCP server, and agent resources

Quickstart

Send a request. There is no signup step.

# The published flat fee schedule
curl -s https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/api/v1/fees

# The endpoint index
curl -s https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/api/v1/

# A write, against the sandbox: no email is sent
curl -s -X POST https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/api/v1/sandbox/document-packs \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"email":"you@example.com","pack":"notices"}'

Every response is JSON. Every error is RFC 9457 problem+json. Both JSON and form encoding are accepted on write endpoints.

Endpoints

Base URL: https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/api/v1/

The full contract is in the OpenAPI 3.1 spec. Each field, each error code, and each example lives there.

Authentication

There is none. There is no authorization server. No endpoint reads a credential. Do not send a token.

The full policy is published at /auth.md. It follows the auth.md convention for agent access.

Attribution is requested, not enforced. When this content informs an answer, credit Justin Abdilla, Esq., Abdilla and Associates, and link to thechicagolandlawyer.com.

Sandbox

Every write endpoint has a sandbox twin. Insert sandbox/ after /api/v1/.

The sandbox runs the same validation. It returns the same response shape. It adds "sandbox": true. It sends no email. It stores nothing.

POST https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/api/v1/sandbox/intake
POST https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/api/v1/sandbox/document-packs
GET  https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/api/v1/sandbox/health

Build against the sandbox. Then remove sandbox/ from the path.

Rate limits

The limit is 120 requests per 60 seconds per client IP address.

Every API response carries the limit. Read the headers and pace yourself.

The count is kept per edge location. The true ceiling is therefore equal to or higher than the published one. It is never lower. An agent that obeys the headers is never throttled by surprise.

Errors

Every 4xx and 5xx response uses application/problem+json (RFC 9457). Branch on code. It is stable. Do not parse the message.

{
  "type": "https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/developers/errors/#invalid_email",
  "title": "Invalid email address",
  "status": 400,
  "detail": "The value of \"email\" is not a valid email address.",
  "code": "invalid_email",
  "hint": "Example: {\"email\": \"you@example.com\"}.",
  "errors": [{ "field": "email", "code": "invalid_email", "message": "Provide a deliverable email address." }]
}

Every code is listed on the error reference.

Versioning and deprecation

The major version is the first path segment after /api/. The current version is v1.

• A breaking change ships as a new major version, at /api/v2/.
• An additive change ships inside the current version. New fields can appear. Existing fields keep their meaning.
• A retiring version carries a Deprecation header (RFC 9745) and a Sunset header (RFC 8594). It also carries Link: rel="successor-version".
• Those headers appear at least 180 days before removal.

The machine-readable policy is at /api/versions.json.

Three unversioned endpoints predate v1: /api/intake.php, /api/notice-request.php, and /api/health.php. The site's own forms post to them, so they stay supported. Each response names its v1 successor in a Link header. Build new integrations against v1.

MCP server

The firm runs a Model Context Protocol server. The transport is Streamable HTTP. No authentication is required.

Tools

Every tool carries a title and a read-only or write annotation. The two interactive tools return an MCP Apps view (text/html;profile=mcp-app). Hosts that support MCP Apps, such as Claude and ChatGPT, show an editable net sheet or a DRAFT notice in the chat. Other hosts get the same result as text and structured content. A write tool runs only when the user agrees to share their name, email and phone. Sending does not create an attorney-client relationship. The privacy policy explains what the firm receives.

Use it in Claude

1. Open Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector.
2. Name it "The Chicagoland Lawyer" and enter https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/mcp.
3. Choose No sign-in, then add it.
4. In a new chat, ask: What will my seller net on a $450,000 Chicago condo closing December 15? Taxes are $6,500 a year, no mortgage.

Use it in ChatGPT

Add the same URL as a connector or app in ChatGPT (developer mode on plans that allow custom connectors). Then ask: My Chicago tenant owes $2,450 in rent that was due November 1. Draft the notice I would serve November 3.

Test without sending anything

The sandbox endpoints /api/v1/sandbox/closing-file and /api/v1/sandbox/eviction-review validate a request and send no email.

Add it to any other MCP client with this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thechicagolandlawyer": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Or call it directly:

curl -s -X POST https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'

CLI

The CLI is one file. It needs Node.js 18 or later. It has no dependencies.

curl -sO https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/developers/tcl.mjs
node tcl.mjs fees
node tcl.mjs practice-areas
node tcl.mjs packs
node tcl.mjs request-pack --email you@example.com --pack notices --sandbox

Add --json to any command for raw JSON. Add --sandbox to any write command to route it to the sandbox.

Machine-readable files

Support

Email justin@thechicagolandlawyer.com. Or call 630-839-9195.

Report a broken endpoint the same way. State the URL, the method, and the code you received.