100+ BEST ChatGPT Prompts for Lawyers (2023 EDITION)

Struggling to tap ChatGPT’s potential for legal work?

Don’t know where to start or what prompts work best?

Read this guide to mastering ChatGPT for lawyers through optimized prompts that enhance research, drafting, analysis, and strategy.

The result? Smoother legal workflows plus improved client service.

Getting Started With ChatGPT for Legal Work

To start using ChatGPT effectively for legal work, keep these best practices in mind:

• Be specific in prompts – Provide context, details, and clear instructions for the task at hand to get accurate responses. Vague questions produce vague answers.
• Ask follow-up questions – Have a dialogue rather than one-off questions. Ask for explanations of the AI’s logic and sources. Probe for errors or limitations.
• Verify information – Fact check details provided against primary sources. Use ChatGPT to generate hypotheses for further research rather than definitive answers.
• Customize conversations – Over several exchanges, train the AI on your preferences for style, tone, analysis, etc. to tailor responses.
• Request examples – Ask for specific case examples, sample motions, memo formats, etc. to get a head start on drafting.
• Focus on discrete tasks – Break down big assignments into step-by-step processes for the AI. Get granular versus asking open-ended, subjective questions.
• Cite limitations – Make the AI acknowledge its limitations around providing legal advice or guarantees. Use its capabilities responsibly.

Common Legal Tasks ChatGPT Can Assist With

Task	Sample Prompt
Drafting contracts	“Can you draft a simple non-disclosure agreement between Company A and Company B?”
Researching case law	“Can you summarize the key findings and precedent set in Roe v. Wade?”
Writing legal memos	“Please write a brief legal memo analyzing whether the evidence in this case supports a claim of discrimination under Title VII.”
Filing paperwork	“What forms need to be filed to incorporate a nonprofit in California?”

Use Cases of ChatGPT for Lawyers

While ChatGPT has restrictions around directly providing legal advice, it can serve lawyers in numerous other helpful ways, including:

• Performing legal research – The AI can quickly search, summarize, and compile case law, statutes, secondary sources, and more to start research.
• Drafting legal documents – With clear instructions, ChatGPT can draft memos, briefs, motions, contracts, discovery requests, and other documents to assist with drafting.
• Reviewing contracts and documents – Lawyers can engage ChatGPT to review and analyze contracts or other documents and identify key clauses, risks, missing terms, etc.
• Outlining arguments and strategies – While not providing definitive counsel, ChatGPT can outline potential legal theories, arguments, defenses, strategies, and courses of action on a matter.
• Answering hypotheticals – Lawyers can pose hypothetical fact patterns and have ChatGPT provide sample analyses to illustrate how the law might apply.
• Composing client correspondence – For appropriate matters, the AI can draft emails, letters, or other communications based on prompts to save time.
• Citing analogous cases – When provided with case details, ChatGPT can automatically find legally relevant analogous precedents from its training.
• Simplifying complex concepts – The AI can rephrase statutes, regulations, rulings, concepts, etc. in plain language when asked.

Best ChatGPT Prompts for Lawyers

ChatGPT performs best when guided by specific, detailed prompts framed as natural conversation.

Here are some examples of effective prompts lawyers can use:

ChatGPT Prompts for Drafting Legal Memos and Briefs

1. Please write a sample introduction for a legal memo analyzing whether my client has a valid claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The client is a veteran who uses a wheelchair and was denied access to a public library.
2. Please provide an IRAC analysis in memo format discussing if my client has a valid promissory estoppel claim under Illinois law. The client quit her job based on her boss’s promise to promote her in 90 days.
3. Draft a persuasive argument in memo format for why my client’s free speech rights were violated when he was arrested at a protest rally. Cite the First Amendment and relevant Supreme Court protest cases.
4. Please provide a draft conclusion for a memo advising whether my client, a bakery, can refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple on freedom of religion grounds. Summarize the key analysis.
5. Draft the table of contents for a brief arguing my client’s gender discrimination claim should survive the defendant’s motion to dismiss under FRCP 12(b)(6). Include key arguments and cases.
6. Please write a counterargument section in memo format addressing the opposing party’s strongest claims against class certification in my client’s consumer class action lawsuit.
7. Draft a persuasive section in brief format arguing that my client’s trespassing conviction should be overturned because it violates her Fourth Amendment rights against illegal searches.
8. Please provide 3 topic sentences summarizing key arguments for why my client’s breach of contract claim should succeed on a summary judgment motion.
9. Please draft a counterargument paragraph in memo format addressing the defendant’s claim that my client assumed the risk of injury when she attended the baseball game where she was hit by a foul ball.
10. Please write a draft conclusion for a memo assessing whether my client can bring a product liability lawsuit against a drug manufacturer under California’s consumer protection laws. Summarize the key analysis.

ChatGPT Prompts for Conducting Legal Research

1. Please provide a summary of the key California Supreme Court cases from the past 10 years regarding privacy rights and technology.
2. What U.S. Supreme Court cases establish standards for evaluating expert witness testimony under Daubert and FRE 702? Please summarize the facts and holdings.
3. Please find me the most relevant Tennessee statutes on consumer warranty rights and summarize the key protections and remedies available under state law.
4. What law review articles would you recommend for researching Eighth Amendment excessive force standards in the prison context? Please summarize two helpful articles.
5. Please identify the leading recent cases in the Fifth Circuit on maritime law jurisdiction and summarize the standards used for determining Admiralty jurisdiction.
6. Can you outline the legislative history and congressional intent behind the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act? Summarize key materials.
7. What secondary sources would you recommend for researching modern due process standards for public university disciplinary proceedings? Please summarize two sources.
8. Please identify three academic articles analyzing standards of review in Equal Protection Clause race discrimination cases. Summarize the key arguments in each.
9. Can you provide an overview of the major changes to Delaware corporate law regarding shareholder rights enacted over the past 15 years?
10. What are the most influential law review articles published since 2010 on Fourth Amendment privacy rights in cell phone data and location information? Please summarize two articles.

ChatGPT Prompts for Reviewing and Summarizing Case Law

1. Please review the key facts, issues, holding, and reasoning in Roe v. Wade and summarize the core constitutional principles established regarding abortion rights.
2. Summarize the factual background, legal issues, holdings, and rationale from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Miranda v. Arizona.
3. Review the New York Court of Appeals decision in MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co. and summarize the key legal principles and reasoning on product liability standards.
4. Please summarize the background, issues, ruling, and precedent established in the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case.
5. Can you review the basic facts, holdings, and analysis in the landmark defamation case New York Times v. Sullivan and draft a brief bullet point summary?
6. Please review Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. NRDC and draft a short paragraph summarizing the core legal standards regarding judicial deference to federal agency statutory interpretations.
7. Summarize in a few sentences the key facts, issues, holdings, and reasoning in Gideon v. Wainwright regarding indigent defendants’ right to counsel.
8. Can you read the decision in Lawrence v. Texas and draft a one-paragraph summary analyzing the central constitutional principles regarding privacy and same-sex relations?
9. Please provide a succinct two-sentence summary of the Supreme Court’s holding in Roe v. Wade regarding the fundamental constitutional right to abortion.
10. Review Brandenburg v. Ohio and draft a one-sentence summary of the case’s holding on free speech protections for inflammatory speech.

ChatGPT Prompts for Analyzing Contracts and Documents

1. Please review this non-disclosure agreement and identify any deficiencies or missing terms needed to protect my client’s interests.
2. Can you analyze this lease agreement to identify provisions that unfairly favor the landlord over the tenant? Please summarize the issues.
3. Please read this employment contract and assess if any provisions violate California employment law protections.
4. What warranty terms are missing from this supplier contract that would normally protect the buyer’s interests? Please summarize key omissions.
5. Please review this shareholder agreement and identify any ambiguous or potentially problematic terms related to transfer restrictions.
6. Does this commercial lease contain any unusual terms that could pose risks for the tenant? If so, please summarize.
7. Read this will and identify any ambiguous language or inconsistencies that could lead to a will contest. Summarize key issues.
8. Does this merger agreement contain all the standard clauses and protections one would expect? Identify any key missing terms or issues.
9. Please analyze this complaint draft and assess whether it establishes valid claims and sufficiently alleges facts under FRCP 8 pleading standards.
10. Are there any enforceability issues or missing terms that could pose problems in this settlement agreement draft? Please summarize.

ChatGPT Prompts for Composing Emails, Letters, and Other Correspondence

1. Please draft an email to opposing counsel requesting additional documents in discovery under FRCP 34. The requested documents relate to marketing materials for the product our client alleges was defective.
2. Please compose a letter to my client summarizing the terms of the settlement offer we just received in his age discrimination case and making a recommendation on the next steps.
3. Can you please draft an email to an expert witness we plan to retain for litigation, outlining the case background and posing our initial questions for consideration?
4. Please compose a letter to the judge in professional but persuasive tones requesting an extension on the briefing schedule in my client’s upcoming summary judgment motion.
5. I need an email draft to the client updating them on the denial of our motion to dismiss in their civil rights case and previewing our intended approach for the discovery phase.
6. Please draft a response letter to this demand letter on behalf of my client indicating we find the monetary demand unacceptable but remain open to a reasonable settlement.
7. Can you compose an email to opposing counsel regarding a meet and confer on the search terms for e-discovery in this employment discrimination case?
8. Draft a short client letter explaining the mediation process we will soon undertake in their breach of contract case and managing their expectations.
9. Please write an email to our client summarizing the key terms of the settlement agreement draft from the plaintiff in non-technical language.
10. I need to email our clients to prepare them for an upcoming deposition by the defendant in their personal injury case. Please provide tips for how to best prepare.

Advanced ChatGPT Prompts for Lawyers

For more complex assignments, open-ended hypotheticals, and litigation strategy guidance, lawyers can use these advanced prompts with ChatGPT:

ChatGPT Prompts for Generating Legal Arguments and Strategies

1. Outline the strongest legal arguments I could make in a motion to dismiss my client’s breach of contract claim under FRCP 12(b)(6). Provide an overview of potential supporting cases and rationales.
2. If I were representing a plaintiff suing for employment discrimination, what are the most compelling legal theories and arguments I could assert under Title VII and state law? Please draft an outline.
3. My client is facing criminal fraud charges. Outline our strongest arguments to exclude key evidence at trial on relevance, hearsay, and constitutional grounds.
4. What affirmative defenses should we raise in an answer to a Complaint alleging our client engaged in unlicensed securities trading? Please provide an overview of defenses and their legal basis.
5. If representing a defendant accused of violating a non-compete agreement, what are the best counterarguments I could make challenging enforceability or breach? Please outline high-level arguments.
6. In an infringement case, how could we rebut claims that our client’s product design violates the plaintiff’s utility patent? Draft an issues outline for non-infringement defenses.
7. My client was injured by a surgical robot. What novel legal arguments could potentially establish negligence liability against the manufacturer despite compliance with FDA standards? Outline possible theories.
8. If representing a minor seeking emancipation from parents, what persuasive legal and policy arguments should be made to the court? Please provide a high-level issues list.
9. My client was excluded from a public swimming pool because of their disability. Draft an argument outline for ADA violation and constitutional claims.
10. What arguments might compel a court to exclude past criminal conviction evidence against my client under FRE 403 or 404 in a civil negligence lawsuit arising out of the same facts?

ChatGPT Prompts for Answering Complex Hypothetical Scenarios

1. My client signed an overly broad non-compete agreement with a former employer. If the employer tries to enforce it when my client starts a competing business, what claims could I bring and defenses assert? Please analyze the issues.
2. A client asks if he can be liable for breaching an NDA if he discloses trade secrets to the government to report wrongdoing. What potential protections exist? Please analyze.
3. A prospective client asks if she has a valid wrongful termination case after being fired for taking leave under the FMLA. What analysis would you provide if she were fired soon after returning?
4. My client wants to understand options if his ex-wife seeks to relocate their children out-of-state in violation of a custody order. Analyze the issues and standards a court would apply.
5. If police compelled my client to provide a DNA sample without probable cause, consent, or a warrant, would the sample and any evidence from it likely be excluded under the Fourth Amendment? Please analyze.
6. A client asks about suing her HOA over intrusive new security cameras and fines for trivial violations. Does she have valid claims for invasion of privacy or constitutional violations? Please analyze potential claims and issues.
7. My client’s former college girlfriend is threatening to publicize intimate photos to harm his career. Analyze potential civil claims if photos are disseminated without consent.
8. An elderly client wants to gift property to a neighbor instead of family members. Advise whether the gift could successfully be challenged under undue influence or capacity grounds. Analyze the key issues.
9. If police secretly attach a GPS device to my client’s car without a warrant and use it to collect location data, would this violate any reasonable expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment? Analyze the core issues.
10. My new client asks if he can use deadly force against police officers unlawfully entering his home without a warrant. Does he have any defense under state ‘stand your ground’ laws? Please provide a constitutional analysis.

ChatGPT Prompts for Suggesting Courses of Action for Clients

1. Based on the facts I’ve provided, what proposed course of action would you advise for my client-facing trespassing charges for alleged presence at a protest? Explain your strategic recommendation.
2. My client’s ex-business partner has accused him of embezzlement. What steps and strategy would you recommend to establish his innocence and avoid charges or liability? Explain your advice.
3. What options would you suggest my client pursue to enforce her divorce agreement if her ex-husband is refusing to pay court-ordered spousal support on schedule?
4. If you were advising my client who slipped and fell outside a store, what recommended next steps would you provide for building a viable negligence case against the retailer? Explain your strategic advice.
5. My client’s identity was stolen and accounts were opened by an unknown perpetrator. What specific course of action and the game plan would you suggest for dealing with police, banks, and credit agencies? Explain your advice.
6. The school is alleging serious misconduct by my juvenile client and recommending expulsion. If retained, what recommended course of action would you advise to protect his rights in any hearings? Explain your strategy.
7. My client received a large bill from a contractor for unfinished work. What process would you suggest she follow to contest the charges and mediate the dispute cost-effectively out of court? Explain your advice.
8. The client was seriously injured using a product. What strategic steps and litigation roadmap would you suggest for building a case against the manufacturer? Explain your advice.
9. My new client is involved in a complex dispute with a landlord seeking to evict his retail business for alleged lease noncompliance. What recommendations would you provide to protect against eviction and resolve the conflict?
10. The client’s ex-business partner has registered a domain using their old company name. What cost-effective steps and strategies would you suggest for recovering the domain? Explain your advice.

ChatGPT Prompts for Drafting Legal Motions and Filings

1. Please draft the preliminary statement for a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a breach of contract complaint alleging our client failed to deliver goods under a supply agreement on time. Assert plaintiff failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted.
2. Draft an argument section for a summary judgment motion asserting our client’s conduct was protected free speech under the First Amendment and did not amount to defamation as the plaintiff alleges.
3. Please compose a request for the production of documents under FRCP 34 seeking emails and communications between the plaintiff and the FDA regarding our client’s medical device that allegedly caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
4. Draft the introduction to a motion in limine in this employment discrimination case seeking to exclude as irrelevant alleged discriminatory acts by our client that occurred more than 10 years ago under FRE 401.
5. Please write a draft Federal Rule of Evidence 104(a) motion requesting a Daubert hearing to challenge the qualifications and reliability of the plaintiff’s expert witness testimony on the standard of care.
6. Compose a draft motion for contempt asserting the defendant violated the injunction against the use of our client’s trade secrets and confidential information. Seek sanctions.
7. draft the legal standard section for our summary judgment motion arguing plaintiff’s trademark infringement claims fail because there is no likelihood of consumer confusion under the applicable multi-factor test.
8. Please provide a draft Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(e) motion for a more definite statement from the plaintiff because the trademark infringement complaint lacks specificity on the allegedly infringing products.
9. Draft a request for judicial notice in support of our motion to dismiss asking the court to recognize and take notice of the USPTO registration certificate attached as an exhibit evidencing the plaintiff’s trademark rights.
10. Please compose a draft declaration from our medical expert witness summarizing his key opinions on the standard of care to attach in support of our medical malpractice summary judgment motion.

ChatGPT Prompts for Using Conditional Language and Specifics for More Accurate Responses

1. If I were challenging my client’s trespassing conviction under the First Amendment’s freedom of assembly protections, what persuasive arguments could I make given she was arrested protesting on public property open to the public?
2. Assuming Texas law applies and my client’s employment contract contains a non-compete provision, what specific arguments could potentially render the non-compete unenforceable against my client who left to work for a competitor?
3. In arguing this evidence should be excluded under the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule, what exceptions exist that could allow the prosecution to successfully argue the evidence was lawfully obtained as a good faith reliance on a defective warrant?
4. If I were to assert a due process claim on behalf of a student suspended from a public university, specifically what protections would the student be entitled to under the Fourteenth Amendment precedent before being deprived of the property right in continued enrollment?
5. Specifically what kinds of statements would likely qualify as defamatory per se if made about my client by her former employer, such that reputational harm could be presumed under our state’s law without proof of actual damages?
6. Particularly in light of recent Supreme Court precedent, what procedural safeguards would a public school need to provide under the Fourteenth Amendment before suspending my client’s child for alleged bullying without a formal hearing?
7. Under California’s consumer protection laws, if we can show the defendant car dealer engaged in deceptive advertising about a used car’s safety record, what specific remedies would my client potentially be entitled to?
8. Given my client signed this overly broad confidentiality agreement as a condition of employment if she discloses misconduct to the press, what protected activities could she specifically argue the NDA unconstitutionally prohibits under the First Amendment?
9. If the search of my client’s home exceeded the scope of the warrant by searching in clearly unintended areas like drawers, specifically how could the exclusionary rule apply to limit the admissibility of evidence from the improper parts of the search?
10. Specifically what kinds of religious beliefs would likely need to be implicated for my client to argue a vaccine mandate violates her First Amendment right to free exercise of religion?

ChatGPT Limitations for Legal Work

Limitation	Explanation
Cannot replace legal expertise	ChatGPT does not have legal training and cannot provide legal advice or services requiring a licensed professional.
Risk of bias	ChatGPT’s training data may contain biases that could lead to problematic outputs. Users should scrutinize responses carefully.
Citation issues	ChatGPT cannot properly cite sources. Users should verify any cited information themselves.
Privacy concerns	Lawyers have strict confidentiality duties. ChatGPT may store users’ prompts, raising privacy issues.

Practice Areas and ChatGPT Examples

While ChatGPT has limitations in its legal capabilities, lawyers can prompt it for useful examples across different practice areas:

Intellectual Property Law

• Draft a cease and desist letter to someone infringing my client’s trademarks and copyrights online. Explain the violations.
• Analyze whether my client’s proposed software name infringes any registered trademarks under the likelihood of confusion standard.

Family Law

• Write an order to show cause draft seeking to hold my client’s ex in contempt for violating child custody provisions of a divorce judgment.
• Advise whether my client is likely to get alimony under our state law given her spouse was the primary earner but they had a 20-year marriage.

Litigation

• Compose discovery requests seeking evidence of the defendant’s assets offshore accounts in this fraud case.
• Draft a settlement conference statement asserting my client’s wrongful termination claims have merit warranting employer concession.

Real Estate Law

• Review this title report and identify any easements or covenants that could unfavorably impact land usage for my client.
• Analyze whether the illegal basement unit in my client’s new home was likely a material fact the sellers had a duty to disclose under our state law.

Criminal Defense

• Identify Fourth and Fifth Amendment issues with the police stop and search of my client leading to a drug possession arrest.
• Analyze potential suppression arguments under Miranda if police continued questioning my client after he requested counsel.

Final Thoughts

With responsible oversight, lawyers can harness ChatGPT’s potential to enhance efficiency and insight across many aspects of legal work.

However, human intelligence, judgment, and accountability remain essential to delivering competent, ethical representation.