How to use CourtStairs: chat, modes, and citations explained

In short: To get good answers from CourtStairs, ask a real question in plain language and include the facts that matter — what happened, and what you want to know. CourtStairs has four modes: Default gives a clear, cited answer for most questions (1 credit), Max Mode runs a deeper, wider search for complex or multi-issue questions (2 credits), Draft produces an editable document instead of a chat answer (1 credit), and Learning explains the reasoning as it answers (1 credit). Every answer links to public Portuguese and EU sources you can verify.

CourtStairs answers Portuguese and EU legal questions in plain language and cites where each answer came from. The quality of what you get back depends a lot on how you ask, and on which mode you use. This is a short guide to getting the most out of it.

How do I ask CourtStairs a good legal question?

Ask a real question in plain language and include the facts that decide the answer — the context, what happened, and what you want to know. You do not need legal keywords. Ask the way you would ask a knowledgeable friend, but be specific:

• The context. Is this about a rented home, a job, an online purchase, a data-protection issue? Naming it points the answer to the right body of law — national, EU, or both.
• What actually happened. "My landlord sent a letter raising the rent by €80 starting next month" beats "rent question."
• What you want to know. An amount? A deadline? Whether you can refuse? Say so.

You can also ask in Portuguese. The whole product is bilingual, and a Portuguese question gets a Portuguese answer grounded in Portuguese and EU law, in European Portuguese (pt-PT).

What are the four CourtStairs modes, and when should I use each?

CourtStairs has four modes — Default for most questions, Max Mode for deep multi-issue questions, Draft to produce a document, and Learning to see the reasoning. Above the message box you'll see a mode selector and two toggles: Max Mode and Draft. Here's when to reach for which.

Default

The everyday mode. Ask, and you get a plain-language answer with a citation table and, where relevant, web references. Start here for almost everything. It's fast and costs a single credit.

Max Mode

Turn this on for the hard ones. Max Mode searches wider and deeper — more source documents, more web results, and stronger reasoning — which is what you want when a question has several moving parts. A good example: "I bought a faulty appliance online from a seller in another EU country. What are all my rights, under the Portuguese consumer rules and under EU law?" That question touches the distance-selling regime, the consumer guarantee, and the EU layer at once — exactly the multi-issue prompt Max Mode is built for. It costs 2 credits because it does roughly twice the work.

Draft

When you want a document rather than an explanation, switch on Draft. Instead of answering in the chat, CourtStairs produces the document — a formal complaint, a notice, a draft letter — into a canvas beside the conversation. You can edit it there and export it. If you use Microsoft Word, the CourtStairs Word add-in lets you draft the same way inside a document you're already working on.

Learning

Learning mode explains the law as it answers, rather than just stating the conclusion. If you're a student, or you want to understand why the answer is what it is, this is the mode. Same cost as Default.

How do I read the citations in an answer?

Every answer links back to the public sources it used, so you can check it rather than take it on faith. Each response is built to be verified:

• The citation table lists the authorities the answer rests on — statutes, decree-laws, decisions, or EU instruments.
• Web references show any external pages consulted, kept separate from the legal authorities.
• Follow-up chips suggest sharp next questions, so you can drill in without retyping context.

Here is what a citation table looks like for a Portuguese rent question, each row pointing to a public source. (These figures are current: the 2026 annual rent coefficient set by INE is 1.0224 — a 2.24% cap on the yearly update.)

Treat the citations as the real product. If an answer matters, open the source in the Diário da República or EUR-Lex and read the provision yourself. The assistant points you to it precisely so you can. For the specifics behind that rent example, see our guide to Portugal rent increase rules, and for the EU consumer example, the 14-day right to withdraw.

A few habits that pay off

Follow a simple workflow: name the context, keep one matter per chat, refine instead of restarting, and escalate to Max Mode only when the question earns it.

1. Name the context up frontHousing, employment, consumer, data — it points the answer to the right law, national or EU.
2. One matter per chatKeep a chat focused on one question or file; start a new chat for a new topic. Inside a case, the assistant already has your case context.
3. Refine, don't restartUse the follow-up chips or just reply — e.g. "what if the lease is less than a year old?" — instead of re-explaining from scratch.
4. Escalate deliberatelyStart in Default; move to Max Mode only when the question earns it. That keeps your credits for the questions that need the depth.
5. Verify before you relyOpen the cited source for anything important. That is the whole point of the citations.

How much does CourtStairs cost per question?

Each message costs one credit, and Max Mode costs two. There's a free tier to try all of this, and if you run low, top-up credit packs never expire. You don't need to think about credits for ordinary use — just remember that Max Mode is the one that costs double, so save it for the questions that deserve the depth.

CourtStairs answers in English and European Portuguese, and every answer links to public Portuguese and EU sources you can check for yourself. New to the product? Start with our overview of common legal questions people ask in Portugal.