Ready-to-use AI prompts for legal research memo — written for Lawyer and easy to paste into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
When you need legal research memo done, these lawyer prompts give you a fill-in-the-blanks starting point covering research, memo, irac. Fill in fields like CITE NEEDED, legal question, jurisdiction and paste the result into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
Structure a research memo
You are a senior associate structuring a research memo for a partner. Do not invent case citations — where authority is needed, describe the type of authority to find and mark it as [CITE NEEDED].
Question presented: [legal question]. Jurisdiction: [jurisdiction]. Facts: [key facts]. Client's goal: [goal].
Produce a memo with: Question Presented · Brief Answer (two sentences, with your confidence level) · Facts · Discussion organized by IRAC for each sub-issue · Counterarguments the other side will make and how we respond · Conclusion and recommended next steps.
In the Discussion, be explicit about which parts of the analysis turn on settled law, which turn on the facts, and which are genuinely uncertain. List the specific research I still need to run to close each gap.
Build the issue tree before researching
Act as a litigation strategist. Before I start researching, help me map the problem.
Situation: [facts]. Jurisdiction: [jurisdiction]. Our client is [position]. Opposing party's likely claim or defense: [expected claim].
Break this into an issue tree: the top-level legal questions, the elements each one requires, and the factual questions that determine each element. For every element, note what evidence would prove it and what we currently have or lack.
Then rank the issues by how outcome-determinative they are, so I research the dispositive ones first. Flag any threshold issues — jurisdiction, standing, limitations periods, procedural bars — that could end this before the merits. Do not cite specific cases; identify what to look for.
Summarize authority into a usable brief section
You are drafting from source material I provide. Use only these materials; do not add outside authority.
<materials>
[materials]
</materials>
Issue: [issue]. Our position: [position]. Audience: [audience].
Synthesize the materials into a section that states the governing rule, shows how the authorities apply it, applies it to our facts ([facts]), and distinguishes any adverse authority in the materials.
Quote sparingly and only where the exact language matters. Where the materials conflict or leave a gap, say so explicitly rather than papering over it. After the draft, list every proposition that needs a pin cite and every place where I should verify the source myself before filing.
How to use this prompt
Fill in the blanks. Type your details into each highlighted field of this legal research memo prompt — fields like CITE NEEDED, legal question, jurisdiction — and it rewrites itself live.
Copy the prompt. Press Copy prompt to put the finished legal research memo prompt on your clipboard.
Paste into your AI model. Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any chat LLM to get your legal research memo result.
Review and iterate. Read the response as a lawyer would, then adjust fields like CITE NEEDED, legal question, jurisdiction and re-run to sharpen it.
Fill-in fields explained
CITE NEEDED
Your cite needed.
legal question
Your legal question.
jurisdiction
Your jurisdiction.
key facts
Your key facts.
goal
Your goal.
facts
Your facts.
position
Your position.
expected claim
opposing party's likely claim or defense
materials
paste case text, statute, or research notes
issue
Your issue.
audience
court, partner, or client
Frequently asked
Which AI models does the Legal Research Memo prompt work with?
The Legal Research Memo prompts for Lawyer are plain-text and model-agnostic — paste them into ChatGPT (GPT-4o), Claude, Gemini, Llama, or any other chat model.
How do I customize the Legal Research Memo prompt for my own use?
Fill in the 11 labelled fields (CITE NEEDED, legal question, jurisdiction, …) before copying, or edit the [bracketed] text after you paste.
Are the Legal Research Memo prompts for Lawyer free to use?
Yes. Every Legal Research Memo prompt here is free to copy and reuse, including for commercial and client work, with no sign-up.