Understand the proof graph
Read the four-layer structure that connects claims to the evidence that can prove them.
The proof graph is Lattice’s central model. It makes the reasoning already happening in a litigator’s head visible, reviewable, and reusable.
The four layers
- Claims state the legal theory and identify who asserts it against whom.
- Elements break each claim into the propositions that must be established.
- Facts describe what happened and whether each fact supports, rebuts, or complicates an element.
- Evidence anchors facts to documents, testimony, records, and other sources.
Connections matter as much as nodes. A strong document does not strengthen the case until its relevance to a fact and element is clear.
Read from the weakest link
A claim is only as strong as its least-supported required element. Lattice surfaces that floor so a polished overall narrative cannot hide a dispositive gap.
Read both sides independently
Your support and the opponent’s pressure are not opposites on a single score. An element can be well supported and heavily contested at the same time. Lattice keeps those assessments separate.
Reuse without duplication
One fact can connect to multiple elements or claims. Reusing the same fact preserves a single record while allowing the graph to show every place it matters.
Parent and subordinate facts
Facts can also be organized from broad to specific. A parent fact states the general event or proposition; a subordinate fact supplies a narrower detail, component, or consequence. Each remains an independent fact with its own status, date, evidence, and element links.
Hierarchy is not a substitute for chronology, corroboration, or relevance. Two facts should not be placed in a parent/subordinate relationship merely because they share a date, source, person, or element. See Organize parent and subordinate facts for examples, manual controls, timeline behavior, and Case Assistant proposals.