The best ChatGPT and Claude prompts for lawyers, consultants and executives share one trait: they give the model a role, the source material, the audience and a fixed output structure. Below are 25 prompts in five groups: contract review and clause drafting, legal memos, consulting analysis, board and investor updates, and strategy one-pagers. Paste your material, get a structured draft, review it before anyone else sees it.
Two notes first. Nothing an AI writes here is legal advice: every output is a draft for review by a qualified lawyer. And on confidentiality, do not paste privileged client data, deal terms or unreleased financials into consumer AI tools without checking your firm or company policy. Use business tiers with no-training terms, or anonymise parties and amounts before you prompt.
Legal skill for Claude and ChatGPT
Leon - In-House Counsel AI Skill
A pre-built in-house counsel persona that reviews contracts, flags risk and drafts memos in the structure a GC expects, so you stop re-typing the setup in every chat.
$29
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How to get professional-grade output from a lawyer AI or consultant prompt
Generic prompts get generic drafts. Every prompt below follows the same pattern, which works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot:
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Role: "You are a senior commercial lawyer". Sets vocabulary and caution.
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Material: the clause, the brief, the data, pasted in full.
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Audience: a GC, a board, a client CEO. Decides length and how much is explained.
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Output structure: a risk list, an IRAC memo, a one-page table. Specify it and editing time halves.
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Guardrails: "Do not invent case law. Flag anything you are unsure about."
If you already use Claude skills, the persona is done for you: see the best Claude skills for legal teams and the best Claude skills for executives and chiefs of staff.
Group 1: contract review and clause drafting prompts
Where a "legal GPT" earns its keep. Paste the clause or agreement and say which side you act for.
Prompt 1: Clause-by-clause risk review
You are a senior commercial lawyer acting for [the customer / the supplier]. Review this agreement clause by clause. For each clause return: reference, one-line plain-English summary, risk level (high, medium, low) for my client, the specific risk, suggested amendment. Flag any clause you would expect in a [type of agreement] under [governing law] that is missing. Do not invent statutes or cases. Agreement: [paste]
Prompt 2: Limitation of liability redraft
Redraft this limitation of liability clause in favour of [my client's role], market-standard for a [SaaS / services / supply] agreement under [jurisdiction] law. Cap at [amount or multiple of fees], carve out [data protection, confidentiality, IP indemnity], exclude indirect loss. Show original, revised text, then bullets on what changed and why. Clause: [paste]
Prompt 3: Indemnity comparison against market position
Compare the indemnity in this contract with a typical market position for a [type of deal] between a [size] company and a [counterparty type]. Table columns: element (scope, trigger, procedure, cap, exclusions), this contract, market position, gap, recommended ask. Close with three points to push hardest and one to concede. Clause: [paste]
Prompt 4: NDA triage in five minutes
You are in-house counsel with 5 minutes to approve or push back on this NDA. Return: (1) mutual or one-way, (2) definition of confidential information, too broad or narrow, (3) term and survival, (4) any non-solicit, non-compete or residuals clause, (5) governing law and venue, (6) three priority redlines with wording. Under 300 words. NDA: [paste]
Prompt 5: Draft a clause from a term sheet bullet
Turn this deal term into a full clause for a [type of agreement] under [jurisdiction] law: [term, e.g. 'Supplier gets 30 days to cure a material breach before we can terminate']. Give the clause, then a version more favourable to the other side so I see the negotiating range, then list defined terms it relies on.
For repetitive drafting, the AI Contract Template Generator Skill ($29) produces first-draft agreements from a short brief, and the AI Terms of Service Generator Skill ($4.99) handles website terms.
Group 2: legal memo and research summary prompts
Fabricated citations do the most damage here, so each prompt tells the model to flag uncertainty. You still verify every source.
Prompt 6: Legal memo in IRAC form
You are a senior associate. Write an internal memo for [partner / general counsel] on: [question]. Structure: Question presented, Brief answer, Facts (as given), Analysis (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion per sub-issue), Recommendation, Open points. Cite only legislation and cases you are confident exist and mark each 'verify'. Facts: [paste]
Prompt 7: Case summary for a busy partner
Summarise this judgment for a partner with two minutes: parties and court, procedural history in one line, the question, the holding, reasoning in five bullets maximum, and why it matters for our matter involving [description]. End with whether it helps or hurts us. Judgment: [paste]
Prompt 8: Regulatory change briefing
Explain the practical effect of [regulation] on a [industry] company with [number] employees in [jurisdictions]. Structure: what changes, who is in scope, key dates, obligations checklist, penalties, three actions for this quarter. Where unsure, say so rather than guess. Source text: [paste sections]
Prompt 9: Research question decomposition
Legal question to research: [question]. Do not answer it yet. Break it into the sub-questions a careful lawyer would resolve, in order. For each, list the source type to check (statute, case law, regulator guidance, commentary) and search terms.
Prompt 10: Client-ready explanation of a legal position
Rewrite this internal analysis as a client email for a [CEO / founder] with no legal background. Under 250 words, lead with the answer, plain English reasoning, what we need from the client, one-line caveat that it rests on the facts provided. Analysis: [paste]
The Legal & Finance Prompt Library ($23) expands this group; our article on AI prompts for legal and finance work covers the finance side.
Legal memo template
The format most partners and general counsel expect. Ask the model for it directly and you edit rather than restructure.
- To / From / Date / Matter / Privileged and confidential
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Question presented: one sentence, framed neutrally.
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Brief answer: yes, no or probably, with the reason in two sentences.
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Facts: only what is relevant, with the source of each fact.
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Analysis: one IRAC block per sub-issue.
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Recommendation: what the business should do and by when.
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Open points: facts to confirm, sources to verify, questions for the client.
Group 3: consulting analysis prompts (SWOT, market sizing, issue trees)
An AI consultant prompt works best with real numbers and an instruction to show its working. The output is a first pass to challenge, not a finished deck.
Prompt 11: Issue tree for a client problem
You are a strategy consultant. Build a MECE issue tree for: [question, e.g. 'Why has gross margin fallen 4 points in 18 months?']. Three levels: core question, 3 to 5 branches, 2 to 4 testable hypotheses per branch, with the data needed to test each. Context: [industry, size, geography, what we know]
Prompt 12: Evidence-based SWOT
SWOT analysis for [company] in [market]. Four points per quadrant, each with the evidence or assumption it rests on and a confidence level (high, medium, low). Then one paragraph on the two most important strategic implications. Information: [paste notes, data, news]
Prompt 13: Top-down and bottom-up market sizing
Estimate the addressable market for [product] in [geography] for [year], top-down and bottom-up. Number every assumption with a plausible range, show the arithmetic, explain why the methods differ, then give one triangulated figure and the three assumptions that move it most. Label placeholder figures clearly.
Prompt 14: Competitor teardown table
Compare [our client] with [competitor 1], [competitor 2], [competitor 3] across: target customer, pricing model, strengths, weaknesses, go-to-market channel, recent moves. Return a table, then three bullets on where the client is exposed and three on where it can win. Mark anything uncertain. Notes: [paste]
Prompt 15: Workshop to recommendation
Raw client workshop notes: [paste]. Cluster into themes named in five words or fewer, identify the underlying problem behind each, and propose one recommendation per theme with effort and impact (low, medium, high). Table sorted by impact then effort.
The Thomas - Business Consultant AI Skill ($29) and Charles - AI Business Strategy Agent ($32) bake these frameworks into a persona; see the AI consultant collection for more.
Group 4: board and investor update prompts
An AI CEO assistant does not run the company, but it turns scattered numbers and notes into an update that reads cleanly.
Prompt 16: Monthly investor update
Write a monthly investor update for [company] for [month]. Candid, concise, no marketing language. Structure: one-sentence headline, metrics table (this month, last month, plan, variance) for [ARR, revenue, margin, burn, runway, headcount], what went well (3 bullets), what did not (3, honest), decisions taken, asks, next month's priorities. Data: [paste]
Prompt 17: Board pack executive summary
Turn this board pack material into a two-page summary for non-executive directors. Lead with the three decisions the board must make, then performance against plan, risks with owner and mitigation, people in one paragraph. Short sentences; every number versus plan and prior year. Material: [paste]
Prompt 18: Explaining a miss
We missed [metric] by [amount] this quarter. Draft the board update section explaining it: what happened in one sentence, ranked root causes with evidence, what we have already changed, what we will change, what we expect next quarter and why, what we need from the board. No spin, no passive voice. Context: [paste]
Prompt 19: Pre-read for a strategic decision
Prepare a board pre-read on the proposal to [decision, e.g. 'enter the German market in 2027']: one-line recommendation, why now, options with pros and cons in a table, financial impact with key assumptions, main risks and early signals we are wrong, the specific approval requested. Under 900 words. Inputs: [paste]
Prompt 20: Board Q&A preparation
Read this board update and list the 15 hardest questions a sceptical non-executive director would ask, grouped by topic. Draft a two-sentence answer to each using only the update, and flag where we lack the data to answer well. Update: [paste]
Board update template
Most boards want the same six blocks, in this order.
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Headline: the one thing to know this period.
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Decisions required: listed first, so nobody reaches page 12 before finding them.
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Performance against plan: a table, with variance and a one-line reason per line.
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Progress on strategic priorities: red, amber, green with a sentence each.
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Risks and issues: owner, status, mitigation.
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Asks and next steps: what you need from directors and when.
The Ryan - Chief of Staff AI Skill ($29) is built around this loop: gather inputs, draft the update, prepare the Q&A.
Group 5: strategy one-pagers and decision memos
Executives rarely need a 40-slide deck. They need a page that makes a decision easy to take or reject.
Prompt 21: Strategy one-pager
Write a one-page strategy summary for [initiative]. Sections of 2 to 4 sentences: problem or opportunity, ambition in one measurable sentence, where we play and where we do not, how we win, what must be true, first 90 days, how we measure success. Under 450 words. Inputs: [paste]
Prompt 22: Decision memo with options
Draft a decision memo on [decision]: decision needed and deadline, context in three sentences, at least three options including 'do nothing' in a table with cost, benefit, risk, reversibility, recommendation with reasoning, what we would need to believe for another option to win, who decides. Inputs: [paste]
Prompt 23: Pre-mortem
We plan to [initiative]. Imagine it is 18 months on and it has clearly failed. Write the post-mortem: five most likely reasons, ranked by probability, each with an early warning sign and one mitigation we could put in place now. Be specific to our situation: [context]
Prompt 24: Stress-test a strategy document
Act as a sceptical board chair. Read this strategy document and return: three strongest points, five weakest or unsupported claims with the question you would ask about each, internal contradictions, missing numbers, and a verdict on whether it is ready to present. Document: [paste]
Prompt 25: Executive summary from a long report
Compress this report into an executive summary for a CEO with four minutes: the answer in one sentence, three findings with a number each, recommendation, cost and timing, one risk. Under 200 words. Add nothing not in the report. Report: [paste]
Strategy one-pager template
Seven boxes. If you cannot fill one, that is the gap to fix before the meeting.
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Problem or opportunity: why anyone should care, with one number.
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Ambition: one measurable sentence with a date.
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Where we play: segments, geographies, products, and what we will explicitly not do.
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How we win: the advantage that competitors cannot copy quickly.
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What must be true: the assumptions the plan depends on.
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First 90 days: three to five concrete moves with owners.
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Measures: two or three metrics reviewed monthly.
Which prompt for which task
| Task |
Role |
Prompts |
What you still check |
| Review an inbound contract |
Lawyer, in-house counsel |
1, 3, 4 |
Governing law specifics, commercial context |
| Redraft a clause |
Lawyer |
2, 5 |
Defined terms, consistency with the rest of the agreement |
| Write an internal memo |
Associate, GC |
6, 9, 10 |
Every citation, every fact |
| Brief the business on a regulation |
GC, compliance |
8, 10 |
Dates, thresholds, scope |
| Frame a client engagement |
Consultant |
11, 15 |
Whether the tree matches the client's real question |
| Size a market or compare rivals |
Consultant, strategy lead |
12, 13, 14 |
Every input number, every competitor claim |
| Update the board or investors |
CEO, chief of staff |
16, 17, 18, 20 |
Numbers against the finance pack |
| Take a strategic decision |
Executive team |
19, 21, 22, 23, 24 |
Assumptions, what you have left out |
More general banks live on our ChatGPT prompts page; drafting tools are in the AI legal document generators collection.
Prompts versus a pre-built skill
Every prompt above works copied and pasted. The limitation is consistency: each colleague writes the role slightly differently and the output drifts. A skill fixes the persona, checklists and formats once, so the whole team gets the same memo structure and risk taxonomy.
Frequently asked questions
Can a lawyer use ChatGPT or Claude for real client work?
Yes, for drafting and analysis you will review before anything leaves your desk. The output is a first draft, not legal advice. Check your firm or bar association policy on confidentiality first, and prefer business or enterprise tiers that do not train on your inputs before pasting anything privileged.
Is there a difference between ChatGPT and Claude for legal and consulting prompts?
The prompts in this article work in both. In practice Claude handles very long contracts and memos well because of its large context window, while ChatGPT is convenient if your team already lives in custom GPTs. Test the same prompt in both and keep whichever gives you fewer edits.
What is a legal GPT and do I need one?
A legal GPT is a ChatGPT (or Claude) configuration with a pre-written persona, checklists and output formats for legal work. You do not need one to use the prompts here, but a skill like Leon or Victoria saves you from re-typing the same setup and produces more consistent memo structure across a team.
How do I stop the AI inventing case law or statutes?
Tell it explicitly: cite only sources you are certain exist, and flag anything you are unsure about. Then verify every citation yourself in Westlaw, Lexis or the primary source. Treat any AI citation as unverified until you have opened it.
What do the KissMySkills legal and business skills include?
Each skill is a one-time purchase: a .md skill file plus a README that works in Claude (including Claude Code), ChatGPT as a custom GPT, Gemini as a Gem and Copilot. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked.
The bottom line
Treat ChatGPT or Claude as a fast junior who needs a clear brief and whose work always gets checked. Use the 25 prompts above, keep privileged data out of consumer tools unless your policy allows it, and remember every output is a draft, not legal advice.
For consultants and executives
Business Agent Bundle - All 5 AI Business Agents
Five business agents in one purchase, covering strategy, analysis and operations, so the prompts in this article run inside a persona that already knows the frameworks.
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Browse AI legal document generators and the AI consultant collection at KissMySkills.
