Legal research memo outline prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when an attorney asks for a research memo and you want a structure before pulling sources. The prompt lays out the question, key facts, issues and, for each issue, the kind of authority to look for, such as a court rule, a statute or cases on a point. It leaves the answers blank on purpose.
AI tools have invented citations to cases that don't exist, and lawyers have been sanctioned for filing them. So this prompt tells the AI not to name any case, statute or rule unless you supplied it. You find and read every source yourself before it goes in the memo.
Have a professional review it. This prompt helps you draft, not decide. AI can get the law wrong and doesn’t know your jurisdiction or your facts, so have a licensed attorney review anything legal before you send or sign it.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are a law clerk at [FIRM] building an outline for a research memo that [ATTORNEY] has asked for. Context: The question the attorney wants answered: [QUESTION]. The court or jurisdiction: [JURISDICTION]. The facts we know: [FACTS]. Sources I already have and have checked: [KNOWN SOURCES]. Task: Write an outline with these sections: Question presented, Short answer (leave as "TO BE WRITTEN AFTER RESEARCH"), Key facts, Issues, Research plan, Open factual questions. Under Issues, break the question into the separate points that need an answer. Under Research plan, describe for each issue the kind of authority to look for and search terms to try. Do not name any case, statute, rule or citation I didn't give you. Where you would, write "FIND:" and describe what it would need to say. Do not state what the law is. Format: A numbered outline with the section names as headings and short bullet points. No emoji. Mark every source I gave you as "provided by user".
Fill in the blanks
[FIRM]- Your firm's name.
[ATTORNEY]- The attorney who asked for the memo.
[QUESTION]- The research question as the attorney phrased it.
[JURISDICTION]- The court, state or federal circuit, because the answer depends on it.
[FACTS]- Only the facts that matter to the question, with dates. Leave out client details the outline doesn't need.
[KNOWN SOURCES]- Rules or cases you have already pulled and read yourself, or "none yet".
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Reply Faster to a Client Asking for a Case Update: ChatGPT for Small Law Firms. Harbor Street Law is the made-up small law firm from the case-update lesson. In the lesson, Lakeshore Event Hall's answer is due Oct 2, and Attorney Rachel Hale may need to talk with Carla Mendes about a default judgment if it doesn't arrive. Here she asks for a research memo outline on that process.
Role: You are a law clerk at Harbor Street Law building an outline for a research memo that Attorney Rachel Hale has asked for. Context: The question the attorney wants answered: if Lakeshore Event Hall does not file an answer by Oct 2, what steps and timing apply to asking for a default judgment, and what could let Lakeshore set one aside. The court or jurisdiction: Franklin County Court. The facts we know: complaint filed Aug 18 for $8,400 unpaid on a signed contract, Lakeshore served Aug 27, answer due date extended by agreement from Sep 18 to Oct 2, a case management conference is set for Nov 17. Sources I already have and have checked: the court's local rules page on default (provided by the attorney). Task: Write an outline with these sections: Question presented, Short answer (leave as "TO BE WRITTEN AFTER RESEARCH"), Key facts, Issues, Research plan, Open factual questions. Under Issues, break the question into the separate points that need an answer. Under Research plan, describe for each issue the kind of authority to look for and search terms to try. Do not name any case, statute, rule or citation I didn't give you. Where you would, write "FIND:" and describe what it would need to say. Do not state what the law is. Format: A numbered outline with the section names as headings and short bullet points. No emoji. Mark every source I gave you as "provided by user".
What a good answer looks like
- Separate issues, such as the steps to request default, whether the agreed extension affects timing, and grounds to set a default aside.
- "FIND:" lines in place of case names, such as "FIND: authority on setting aside a default after an agreed extension".
- Open factual questions worth asking, such as whether the extension agreement was put in writing.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Search the outline for anything that looks like a citation: "v.", a section symbol, a rule number. If you didn't supply it, delete it.
- Look up and read every source yourself in a trusted research tool before it goes into the memo.
- Let the attorney approve the outline before you spend hours on research.
Practice it in the free lesson
Reply Faster to a Client Asking for a Case Update: ChatGPT for Small Law Firms: A client wants a court date and a promise she'll win. Give ChatGPT the thread and your firm's facts, catch the lines that predict an outcome, and send a clear, kind case update from Gmail. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format
Terms used here
Related prompts
- Deposition transcript summary prompt: Turn a long deposition transcript into a topic-by-topic summary with page and line cites, exact quotes and flagged gaps, ready…
- Executive summary from a report prompt: Turn a long report into a one-page executive summary: the bottom line first, key findings, decisions needed and risks, using…
- Client case update email prompt: A four-part prompt for law firm staff: turn a worried client's emails and your firm's facts into a clear case update with no…
More reports and planning prompts
- NDA key terms summary prompt: Pull the key terms out of a nondisclosure agreement into one table with clause numbers, and flag anything beyond confidentiality…
- Plain-English document summary prompt: Paste a contract, lease or policy and get a plain-English summary with section numbers, every date and dollar amount, and…
- Presentation outline prompt: Plan a short talk or slide deck: one point per slide, a headline and visual for each, minutes that fit your time, and a list of…