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FOLIO Python Client

software

Python library for interacting with the Federated Open Legal Information Ontology, providing search, exploration, and format conversion capabilities

period: 2024-present
team: ALEA Institute
tech:
Knowledge RepresentationLegal Informatics
GitHub Website

A comprehensive Python client library for the Federated Open Legal Information Ontology (FOLIO), enabling developers to integrate standardized legal concepts into their applications with powerful search and exploration capabilities.

Overview

The FOLIO Python library provides programmatic access to over 18,000 standardized legal concepts, making it easy to:

  • Search and explore legal terminology
  • Navigate semantic relationships
  • Convert between data formats
  • Integrate with AI/LLM applications

Key Features

Search Capabilities

  • Label Search: Find concepts by name or partial match
  • Definition Search: Query by concept definitions
  • LLM-Powered Search: Async semantic search across ontology
  • Prefix Matching: Efficient autocomplete functionality

Data Exploration

  • Navigate class hierarchies
  • Explore semantic relationships
  • Access multilingual labels
  • Retrieve detailed properties

Format Support

  • OWL XML: Native ontology format
  • JSON-LD: Web-friendly linked data
  • Markdown: Human-readable documentation
  • Custom Formats: Extensible conversion system

Installation

pip install folio-python

Usage Examples

from folio import FOLIO

folio = FOLIO()

# Search by prefix
results = folio.search_by_prefix("Mich")
for owl_class in results:
    print(f"Class: {owl_class.label}")
    print(f"Definition: {owl_class.definition}")

Exploring Relationships

# Get a specific concept
concept = folio.get_class_by_iri("http://openlegalstandard.org/folio#Contract")

# Explore relationships
for parent in concept.parents:
    print(f"Parent: {parent.label}")

for child in concept.children:
    print(f"Child: {child.label}")

LLM Integration

# Async LLM-powered semantic search
async def semantic_search():
    results = await folio.llm_search("agreements related to employment")
    return results

Technical Architecture

Core Components

  • Ontology Loader: Efficient OWL parsing
  • Search Engine: Optimized indexing and querying
  • Format Converters: Pluggable conversion system
  • Cache Layer: Performance optimization

Integration Points

  • RESTful API compatibility
  • Direct file loading support
  • Streaming data capabilities
  • Batch processing options

Use Cases

  • Contract analysis systems
  • Case management platforms
  • Regulatory compliance tools
  • Legal research applications

AI/ML Integration

  • Training data standardization
  • Knowledge graph construction
  • Semantic search enhancement
  • Entity recognition improvement

Documentation

Comprehensive documentation available at:

Community

The library is part of the broader FOLIO ecosystem:

  • Active development community
  • Regular updates and improvements
  • Integration with other FOLIO tools
  • Support through GitHub Issues

Performance

Optimized for production use:

  • Lazy loading of ontology data
  • Efficient search algorithms
  • Minimal dependencies
  • Thread-safe operations

Future Roadmap

  • Enhanced LLM integration
  • Graph database backends
  • Real-time synchronization
  • Additional language bindings

The FOLIO Python client serves as the primary interface for developers building legal technology applications on top of the FOLIO standard.

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