The Lawyer's Practical Guide to Solon
How to set up and use Solon Desktop and the Microsoft Word companion on Windows for private, local-first legal drafting, contract review, and citation research.
The Local-First Legal Standard
Traditional AI products require uploading your clients' confidential agreements and court filings to third-party cloud servers. Solon operates on a local-first principle: your client files, discovery materials, and matter notes stay strictly on your personal computer. When you run AI drafting or review, queries are sent directly to your chosen AI provider without passing through intermediate storage.
Setting Up Your Workspace & AI Provider Keys
Install Solon Desktop on your Windows PC. The desktop application is your command center: it manages your active client matters, indexes case documents locally, and runs quietly in the background to assist your drafting in Microsoft Word.
In Solon Desktop, click Create Matter and select any existing folder on your computer (such as Documents\Matters\Acme-Dispute). Solon indexes PDFs, Word documents, and text files within that folder locally on your machine.
Prior to the release of managed firm accounts, Solon uses a Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) model: you provide your own API key directly from providers like Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, or OpenAI. This keeps your costs 100% under your control with 0% middleman markup.
- Google Gemini (Gemini 3.1 Pro / 3.6 Flash / 3.7 Flash): Ideal for long context document discovery and hybrid reasoning.
- Anthropic Claude (Claude Sonnet 5 / Haiku 4.5 / Opus 4.6): Flagship precision legal drafting, contractual redlining, and risk checks.
- OpenAI (GPT-5.5 / GPT-5.6 Terra / GPT-5.6 Luna): Heavy structural drafting, multi-agreement synthesis, and damages calculations.
Navigate to App Settings ➔ Keys in Solon Desktop and paste your key. It is saved in your Windows Secure Credential Vault and shared automatically with your Word companion.
Solon runs directly as a side panel in Microsoft Word so you can draft, review, and citate without switching windows. Follow the method that best fits your environment:
If your firm uses Microsoft 365, adding Solon via Word on the Web syncs it automatically to your Desktop Word app:
- Open word.new (or Office.com) in your web browser.
- Click Insert ➔ Add-ins (or Apps).
- Click Upload My Add-in in the top-right corner.
- Select manifest.xml.
- Solon will appear on your Word ribbon on both the web and your Windows Desktop Word.
Follow these 4 visual steps to configure Windows Word to load Solon locally from a trusted catalog:
1. Create a local folder and save manifest.xml
Create a folder on your drive (e.g. C:\SolonManifest) and place the downloaded manifest.xml inside it.
2. Share the folder on your local network
Right-click C:\SolonManifest ➔ Properties ➔ Sharing tab ➔ Click Share... ➔ Select your Windows username ➔ Click Share. Note the network path generated (e.g., \\YOUR-PC\SolonManifest).
3. Open Word Options and navigate to Trust Center Settings
In Microsoft Word on Windows, go to File ➔ Options ➔ Trust Center ➔ Click the Trust Center Settings... button on the right.
4. Register your Catalog URL and check "Show in Menu"
Select Trusted Add-in Catalogs on the left. In the Catalog Url field, paste your network share path (e.g., \\YOUR-PC\SolonManifest), click Add catalog, and ensure the Show in Menu checkbox is ticked. Click OK.
5. Restart Word and Launch Solon
Restart Microsoft Word. Go to Home (or Insert) ➔ Add-ins ➔ SHARED FOLDER tab ➔ Click Add on Solon Legal AI. The Solon ribbon tab and buttons will appear permanently on your Word menu.
On Mac, press Cmd + Shift + G in Finder, paste ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Documents/wef/, place manifest.xml inside, and restart Word.
IT Administrators can push Solon to all firm attorneys at once via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center under Settings ➔ Integrated apps ➔ Upload custom apps using manifest.prod.xml.
The 3 Daily Legal Workflows
Workflow 1: Matter Analysis & Cross-Document Discovery (Desktop)
When opening a new matter or preparing for a trial hearing, you often have multiple witness statements, pleadings, and exhibits in a folder.
How to execute:
- Open Solon Desktop and select your active matter.
- In the chat assistant, ask questions across your files: "Identify all inconsistencies between the claimant's affidavit and the witness deposition."
- Solon reads the relevant local excerpts and presents structured findings with exact file citations.
Workflow 2: Live Contract Drafting & Redlining in Microsoft Word
Instead of switching back and forth between browser tabs and Word, Solon lives directly in your Microsoft Word sidebar on Windows.
How to execute:
- Open your agreement in Microsoft Word and launch the Solon sidebar tab.
- Highlight any clause (e.g. an uncapped liability or broad indemnity).
- Type your instructions: "Tighten the indemnity to exclude gross negligence and cap aggregate liability at 12 months fees paid."
- Review the drafted clause and click Replace Selection to update your document instantly, or Add Comment to insert a margin note for opposing counsel.
Workflow 3: Precedent Lookup & Kenya Law Statutory Citations
Solon integrates Kenya Law / eKLR statutory provisions and precedent checks directly into your drafting workflow.
How to execute:
- In Word or Desktop, select the Citator tab.
- Enter a case name, neutral citation, or statute section (e.g., Section 3 of the Law of Contract Act Cap 23).
- Verify judicial treatment and copy standard OSCOLA-formatted legal citations with one click.
Microsoft Word & Windows Requirements
Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit). Solon Desktop runs natively with support for Windows Credential Vault and local file monitoring.
Microsoft 365 (desktop Word on Windows), Office 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 with Office Add-in support enabled.
Questions from Legal Advocates & Law Firms
Does Solon store or read files from other client matters?
No. Solon only accesses the active matter folder you explicitly select. Files outside the active folder are completely isolated and never read by the AI assistant.
Do I need an internet connection to use Solon?
If you use local open-source models (via Ollama or local small models), Solon works 100% offline. If you use frontier models like Claude Sonnet 5, GPT-5.5, or Gemini 3.1 Pro, an internet connection is required to send the specific clause directly to the provider's encrypted API.
What happens when Solon Managed Cloud launches?
When managed accounts launch, law firms will have the option of centralized team billing and shared matter access without needing individual API keys. However, the local-first private desktop engine will remain a permanent, fully supported choice.
Ready to start private legal drafting?
Download Solon Desktop for Windows and connect your Microsoft Word companion in minutes.