ChatGPT Prompts for Lawyers: 12 Prompts for Daily Legal Work

The most useful ChatGPT prompts for lawyers organize what you already have: intake notes, documents, and deadlines. They ask for chronologies, issue lists, and first drafts, and they tell the model not to invent law. Below are 12 copy-paste prompts for intake, review, drafting, and client communication, plus a flagship prompt that turns a new client consult into a case assessment memo.

Not legal advice: these prompts produce drafts for a licensed attorney to review. Check your firm's policy before you paste anything confidential, use initials instead of client names, and verify every rule, deadline, and citation in a primary source.

Prompts for intake and case assessment

1. Intake to case assessment

Here are my notes from a new client consult in [practice area, jurisdiction]: [notes with initials]. Write a matter summary, a fact chronology with sources, issues to research phrased as questions, and follow up questions for the client. Do not name statutes or cases.

2. Conflict check list

List every person and entity mentioned in these notes with their role in the matter: [notes]. Flag any name that appears in more than one role.

3. Deadline watch list

From these dates: [dates], list each one that could start a limitation period, notice requirement, or response deadline. Name the rule I should check. Do not calculate the deadline.

Prompts for document review

4. Fact chronology from documents

Build a chronology table from these excerpts: [excerpts]. Columns: date, event, document, page or paragraph. Mark any date that conflicts with another document.

5. Contract clause summary

Summarize these clauses for an attorney: [clauses]. For each: what it requires, who it favors, any defined terms it depends on, and questions to raise. Quote the language you rely on.

6. Inconsistency check

Compare the client's account: [account] with these documents: [documents]. List every inconsistency and what document would resolve it.

Prompts for drafting

7. Demand letter first draft

Draft a demand letter from these facts: [facts] asking for [remedy] by [date]. Leave [CITATION] placeholders wherever law would be cited. Firm, professional tone.

8. Research memo outline

Outline a research memo on this question: [question]. Use Question Presented, Brief Answer placeholder, Facts, Discussion headings, and list the research steps I should run.

9. Deposition outline

Build a deposition outline for [witness role] from these facts and documents: [facts]. Group questions by topic, start broad, and list exhibits to use under each topic.

Prompts for client communication

10. Plain language client update

Rewrite this case update for a client with no legal background: [update]. Keep every date and next step, remove jargon, and end with what we need from them.

11. Engagement letter checklist

List the points my engagement letter for [matter type] should cover, based on my firm template headings: [headings]. Flag anything the template does not address.

12. Billing narrative cleanup

Rewrite these time entries so each describes the task clearly without revealing privileged strategy: [entries].

Get the full intake memo prompt

The Lawyer Prompt: New Client Intake to Case Assessment Memo combines the first three prompts. You give it the practice area and jurisdiction, intake notes, documents received, parties, key dates, and any law or firm checklists you paste. It returns a summary, a sourced chronology, a conflict list, issues with facts for and against, a deadline watch list, missing documents, client questions, and gaps. The example on the page works up a tenant security deposit dispute.

Tips for lawyers using ChatGPT

• Paste the law you want applied. A model that is told not to cite anything else cannot invent a case.
• Ask for sources on every fact so you can trace it back to a document.
• Never let a computed deadline stand without checking the rule yourself.
• Keep the draft label on. Everything here is work product for attorney review.

Related prompts

Marketing your practice? Run ads and web copy through the Law Firm Advertising Rule Reviewer. Paralegals counting court deadlines can use the Federal Litigation Deadline Docketing Calculator. Find more in the Legal prompts hub, browse more prompts, or share a prompt your practice relies on.