Credential Trust Chain
All selfdriven.legal credentials chain upward to the GLEIF vLEI root — creating a globally verifiable trust hierarchy. Any party — including courts and regulators — can independently verify the full chain without querying the practice itself.
SAID-addressed schemas: Every credential schema is identified by its Self-Addressing Identifier (SAID) — a hash of the schema content itself. The schema cannot change without the identifier changing. Version pinning is cryptographic, not procedural.
Schema 01 — Entity vLEI
The root organisational credential. Issued by a GLEIF-authorised Qualified vLEI Issuer (QVI) and anchored in the practice entity's KERI KEL. All other practice credentials chain from this credential.
| Attribute | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEI | string | required | Global Legal Entity Identifier (20-character ISO 17442) |
| legalName | string | required | Registered legal name of the practice entity |
| jurisdiction | string | required | ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code of incorporation |
| entityAID | string | required | KERI AID of the practice entity (self-certifying) |
| practiceType | string | optional | Practice classification — e.g. ai-native-legal, community-legal |
| regulatoryStatus | string | required | Current regulatory registration status |
Schema 02 — Conductor Role
Issued by the practice entity to a practitioner, certifying their role as a Human Conductor for a specific Area of Focus. Chains to the entity vLEI. Enables the conductor to sign consequential outputs and issue agent delegation credentials.
| Attribute | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| conductorAID | string | required | Practitioner's self-certifying KERI AID |
| areaOfFocus | string | required | Assigned area — "01" through "08" |
| qualifications | array | required | Legal qualifications and admissions held |
| signingAuthority | array | required | Explicit list of actions the conductor may authorise |
| reviewDate | datetime | required | Date at which credential must be renewed or revoked |
Schema 03 — Engagement
Issued to a client at matter inception, replacing the traditional paper retainer. Scopes the engagement to a specific matter, practice area, and conductor. Chains to the entity vLEI. The client's acceptance is recorded as a KERI interaction event.
| Attribute | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| clientAID | string | required | Client's self-certifying KERI AID |
| matterRef | string | required | Unique matter reference identifier |
| pricingModel | string | required | fixed-scope | outcome-indexed | value-based |
| scope | array | required | Explicit list of services included in the engagement |
| excludes | array | optional | Explicit list of services excluded from the engagement |
| clientConsentIxn | string | required | SAID of the client's KERI ixn event recording consent |
Schema 04 — Agent Delegation
Issued by a conductor to an AI agent, scoping the agent's authority to specific matter types, actions, and time windows. This credential accompanies the KERI dip event creating the agent's delegated AID.
| Attribute | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| permittedActions | array | required | Explicit whitelist of actions the agent may perform |
| prohibitedActions | array | required | Explicit blacklist — signing, filing, and sub-delegation always prohibited |
| matterScope | array | required | Matter refs the agent may act on — or ["all"] for area-wide scope |
| validUntil | datetime | required | Hard expiry — agent cannot act after this date regardless of KEL state |
| humanReviewRequired | boolean | required | If true, all output is queued — conductor must approve before dispatch |
| dipEventSAID | string | required | Links credential to the KERI delegation event in the conductor's KEL |
Schema 05 — Legal Instrument
Issued at the point of conductor signing — wrapping the legal document with its provenance, authorship chain, and the KERI interaction event that constitutes the signature. Provides courts and counterparties with cryptographically verifiable document provenance.
Schema 06 — Community Legal Access
A reduced-fee or no-fee engagement credential for the access-to-justice program. Scopes the community legal agent's authority and records the basis of the fee waiver or reduction. Chains to the entity vLEI.