SCALIR is a legal information retrieval system which uses a combination of symbolic and connectionist artificial intelligence techniques. Traditional systems used for automating legal research have many difficulties which make them “brittle”; SCALIR is an attempt to rectify many of these problems. SCALIR's hybrid nature is especially appropriate for the legal domain, which requires both logical and associative inferences. The system also benefits from a unique direct-manipulation style interface and the ability to improve its performance based on user feedback.