Help me prepare a careful first draft for legal review. This is not a request for legal advice, a final legal document, or a substitute for a qualified lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction. Do not invent law, legal citations, deadlines, parties, signatures, facts, authority, or outcomes. If the task involves an imminent deadline, criminal exposure, a court filing, significant money, employment termination, immigration status, child custody, personal injury, or another high-stakes matter, say so prominently and recommend prompt review by a qualified lawyer. Inputs: [JURISDICTION] [DOCUMENT OR LEGAL TASK] [FACTS AND TIMELINE] [PARTIES AND ROLES] [GOAL AND KNOWN CONSTRAINTS] First, identify the document type or work product, its intended reader, the stated jurisdiction, and the key factual gaps. Then provide: 1. A short issue list separating facts, questions, assumptions, and items needing counsel confirmation. 2. A plain-language outline of the usual sections this type of document may require, without claiming they are legally sufficient in my jurisdiction. 3. A first draft or working template appropriate to the task, with bracketed blanks for missing information. Use neutral, precise wording and numbered sections where useful. 4. A review checklist covering authority to sign, defined terms, dates, exhibits, notice details, payment or remedy terms if relevant, governing-law and venue questions, and filing or service requirements if applicable. 5. Five focused questions to take to a qualified lawyer. Do not give a definitive legal conclusion. Distinguish “fact provided,” “drafting assumption,” and “requires legal review.” Before answering, check that no material fact is silently assumed and that no legal citation is presented unless it appears in my inputs and is identified as unverified. Ask up to three clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [JURISDICTION] | Enter the country, state or province, and city or court if relevant. | New York, United States; contract will be signed by two New York businesses. |
| [DOCUMENT OR LEGAL TASK] | State the document or legal task you need to prepare, such as a demand-letter draft or contract review checklist. | First-draft independent contractor agreement for a six-week website copywriting project. |
| [FACTS AND TIMELINE] | Paste the known events in date order and distinguish confirmed facts from your understanding or concerns. | Client needs copy by November 15. Contractor starts October 1. Client will provide product materials by October 5. No prior written agreement. |
| [PARTIES AND ROLES] | List each person or organization involved and their relationship to the matter. | Northline Studio LLC is the client; Avery Kim is a self-employed copywriter and contractor. |
| [GOAL AND KNOWN CONSTRAINTS] | State what you want the draft to accomplish and any deadlines, existing agreements, or limits you know about. | Define deliverables, two revision rounds, $4,800 fee, ownership after full payment, and confidentiality. Lawyer will review before signature. |
How to use
- State the jurisdiction and the exact task first; legal wording that works in one place may be unsuitable in another.
- Paste a dated factual timeline and mark uncertainty instead of asking the AI to fill in gaps.
- Use the output as a preparation packet for counsel, then compare every bracketed blank, defined term, amount, and deadline to your records.
- Follow up with: “Turn the issue list into a one-page question sheet for my lawyer, ordered by urgency and decision needed.”
Variations
Contract review
Use this to prepare comments on a contract you received, before counsel reviews it.
Review this proposed [CONTRACT TYPE] for a business based in [JURISDICTION]: [CONTRACT TEXT]. My role and goals are [MY ROLE AND GOALS]. Produce a non-legal-advice issue checklist organized by payment, scope, liability, intellectual property, confidentiality, termination, dispute terms, and missing definitions. For each issue, quote the relevant clause briefly, explain the practical question it raises, and suggest a question for counsel. Do not say a term is enforceable or unenforceable. Flag deadlines and unusual obligations. Ask up to three questions only if a required input is missing.
Demand letter prep
Use this to organize facts and a neutral draft for a lawyer to review.
Prepare a factual, non-threatening draft demand letter for lawyer review regarding [DISPUTE]. Use [JURISDICTION], [TIMELINE AND EVIDENCE], [PARTIES], and [REQUESTED RESOLUTION]. Give a timeline, list attached evidence, and draft a concise letter with bracketed blanks for missing facts and a response deadline only if I provide one. Avoid legal conclusions, threats, accusations not supported by evidence, and invented statutes. Flag urgent limitation or service questions for counsel. Ask up to three questions only if required information is missing.
Privacy notice prep
Use this to gather the operational facts needed for a privacy professional.
Create a privacy-notice preparation brief for [BUSINESS] operating in [JURISDICTIONS]. Use [DATA PRACTICES] and [WEBSITE OR APP FEATURES]. List data collected, purposes, processors, retention gaps, user rights questions, cookies, marketing practices, and children’s-data risks. Then draft plain-language placeholder copy only for practices expressly provided. Do not claim compliance or invent retention periods, legal bases, or consent mechanisms. Provide a review checklist for privacy counsel. Ask up to three questions only if an input is missing.
Tips
- Give the AI dates, names, and documents exactly as they appear in your records; legal drafts become unreliable when a timeline is reconstructed from memory.
- Ask it to expose missing facts and defined-term conflicts, not to declare what the law requires.
- For contracts, verify the business names, signer authority, payment trigger, scope, ownership, and termination mechanics before a lawyer spends time on finer wording.
- Save the source documents and the AI draft separately so a reviewer can tell what came from the record and what is merely proposed language.
FAQ
Can I use an AI-generated legal document without a lawyer?
For a matter with meaningful risk, have a qualified lawyer review it. AI can help prepare a draft and questions, but it may miss jurisdiction-specific rules and facts that change the result.
Can AI cite laws or cases for me?
It can help identify research questions, but do not rely on citations without checking them in an authoritative legal source or with counsel. Incorrect or inapplicable citations are a known failure mode.
What should I remove before sharing documents with AI?
Remove unnecessary personal, financial, medical, and confidential information, and follow your organization’s data-handling rules. Preserve enough context for a reviewer to understand the issue.