LegalMate — Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about LegalMate, an AI legal research tool for New Zealand law.
What is LegalMate?
LegalMate is an AI legal research tool for New Zealand law. It searches New Zealand legislation, case law and government agency guidance, answers research questions with citations to the primary sources, and analyses uploaded legal documents. It is software used by legal professionals — it is not a law firm.
How much does LegalMate cost?
LegalMate costs NZ$49 plus GST per user per month. There is a single plan with no credit system and no per-query metering, so deep research runs are not charged individually.
Is there a free trial of LegalMate?
Yes. New accounts get a 3-day free trial, which starts when you confirm your email address. No payment details are required to begin the trial.
Does LegalMate provide legal advice?
No. LegalMate provides legal research and cites the New Zealand primary sources behind each answer, but it does not provide legal advice and using it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Professional legal advice should be obtained for decisions on any specific matter.
Which areas of New Zealand law does LegalMate cover?
LegalMate covers New Zealand employment, criminal, property, tax, immigration and traffic law. Its corpus includes New Zealand Acts and their sections, case law and tribunal decisions, and guidance published by agencies including Inland Revenue, Immigration New Zealand, MBIE, WorkSafe and the Employment Relations Authority.
Does LegalMate cite its sources?
Yes. Answers cite the New Zealand legislation, case law or agency guidance they rely on, including the Act and section, so the underlying source can be checked directly rather than taken on trust.
Where is my data stored?
Account data, uploaded documents and question history are stored on servers located in New Zealand. Documents and questions are not used to train AI models.
Is my data sent overseas?
Yes, in part. To generate answers and analyse documents, LegalMate sends the text of questions and uploaded documents to Anthropic, whose processing occurs in the United States. This is a cross-border disclosure under Information Privacy Principle 12 of the Privacy Act 2020. The content is processed to produce your result and is not used to train the provider’s models.
Can I upload documents to LegalMate?
Yes. LegalMate accepts PDF, Word and plain text files up to 25 MB each, extracts the text and analyses it against your question. Documents filed to a matter are retained with that matter; unfiled research uploads are removed automatically after 90 days.
Who is LegalMate for?
LegalMate is built for New Zealand legal professionals and firms — lawyers, in-house counsel and legal support staff who need to research New Zealand law quickly and check the primary sources behind an answer.