AI prompts for lawyers: 14 copy-and-paste prompts with placeholders

How to use these prompts

General information, not legal advice. Check your own bar or regulator's guidance and your client engagement terms before putting any client information into an AI tool.

Each prompt below uses square brackets for the parts you fill in. Anonymise first: describe the situation in the abstract ('a landlord and a commercial tenant') rather than naming people or companies. If your firm has an enterprise agreement with an AI vendor that covers confidentiality, follow your firm's policy on what may be entered.

Two habits improve almost every prompt: give the assistant a role and an audience, and tell it the format you want back. Then iterate: ask for a shorter version, a more cautious tone, or a list of what it assumed.

Reading and summarising

1. Document summary

Act as a careful paralegal. Summarise the text below for a [partner / client / junior colleague] in no more than [200] words. List: parties, key obligations, dates, and anything unusual. If something is unclear, say so rather than guessing. Text: [paste non-confidential text].

2. Issue spotter

Read the following facts, which are anonymised. List the legal issues a [jurisdiction] [practice area] lawyer would want to investigate, as questions, not conclusions. Mark each as 'facts needed' or 'research needed'. Facts: [facts].

3. Timeline builder

From the notes below, produce a chronological table with columns Date, Event, Source in the notes, and Gaps or inconsistencies. Do not infer dates that are not stated. Notes: [notes].

4. Plain-language rewrite

Rewrite this paragraph for a client with no legal background at a reading age of about [14]. Keep every legal condition and exception; do not simplify away risk. Then list any terms you had to leave in legal form. Paragraph: [paragraph].

Drafting and communication

5. Client email

Draft an email to a client explaining [topic] in [3] short paragraphs. Tone: [warm but professional]. Include next steps for the client and the date by which we need [item]. Do not give a prediction of the outcome. Facts: [anonymised facts].

6. Engagement letter checklist

List the sections a [jurisdiction] engagement letter for [matter type] commonly covers (scope, fees, billing, conflicts, file retention, termination). For each, add one sentence on what to decide. Flag items where local rules differ and tell me to check them.

7. Meeting agenda and minutes

Create an agenda for a [45-minute] meeting on [topic] with [attendees' roles]. After the meeting I will paste my notes; then produce minutes with decisions, owners and due dates in a table.

8. Negotiation positions

For a clause on [subject] in a [contract type], give three drafting positions: client-favourable, balanced, and fallback. Explain the trade-off in one sentence each. Do not state that any position is 'market' without saying that I should check.

Practice management and review

9. Intake questions

Write a list of 12 intake questions for a first call about [matter type]. Group them under Parties, Facts, Deadlines, Documents and Goals. Add a final question that checks for possible conflicts.

10. Task breakdown

Turn this goal into a task list with owner roles, dependencies and rough effort in hours: [goal]. Output as a table I can paste into a Notion database with columns Task, Owner, Depends on, Due offset in days.

11. Research plan

I need to research [question] in [jurisdiction]. Propose a research plan: primary sources to check, secondary sources, search terms, and what would change the answer. Do not cite specific cases or statutes; I will find them in a legal database.

12. Devil's advocate

Here is my draft argument (anonymised): [argument]. Act as opposing counsel and list the five strongest counter-arguments and the facts that would support each.

13. Proofreading

Proofread the text below for typos, inconsistent defined terms, cross-reference errors and ambiguity. Return a table of Location, Problem, Suggested fix. Do not rewrite the substance. Text: [text].

14. Prompt improver

Here is a prompt I used and the poor answer I got. Explain why the prompt was weak and rewrite it with a role, context, format and constraints. Prompt: [prompt]. Answer: [answer].

Keep a prompt library in Notion

Prompts you reuse should live in one place. A simple Notion database with columns for Name, Use case, Prompt text, Tool, Last tested and Owner is enough, and a 'Last tested' date reminds you that assistant behaviour changes. LawyerOS Pro includes a Custom AI Agents page for the Notion-native version of this idea.

• Prompt engineering for lawyers
• Notion AI for lawyers
• LawyerOS

Frequently asked questions

Can I paste client documents into these prompts?

Only if your firm's policy and the tool's terms allow it. Anonymise by default and read the vendor's current data-use terms. Many bars expect lawyers to understand how a tool treats the data entered.

Which assistant works best with these prompts?

They are written to work in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Notion AI. Quality varies by model and changes often, so test on non-confidential examples.

Why do the prompts say not to cite cases?

Assistants can generate plausible but non-existent citations. It is safer to use the assistant for structure and to find authorities in a proper legal database.

Do I need to disclose AI use to clients?

It depends on your jurisdiction, your engagement terms and the task. Check your regulator's guidance and consider addressing it in the engagement letter.