---
title: "Keep case, attorney, and deadline files so AI drafts with case continuity"
description: "Record case facts, discovery status, attorney preferences, and deadline chains so AI drafts motions and memos that build on the file, for attorney review."
canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-for-paralegals"
date: "2026-01-28"
modified: "2026-09-25"
---
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# Keep case, attorney, and deadline files so AI drafts with case continuity.

A paralegal manages 23 active cases for four attorneys. Each attorney wants discovery responses in a different format. Each case has its own procedural history, key evidence, and strategy. The paralegal knows all of it. The AI assistant knows none of it.

Each request for help with a document starts the same way. The paralegal explains the case facts, the attorney's preferences, and the procedural context. That explanation takes longer than writing the document.

Case, attorney, and deadline files move that explanation into a record the assistant reads before it drafts. The supervising attorney still reviews every draft, and the sections below keep that review in place.

## Why legal drafts break without the record

Legal documents do not stand alone. The interrogatory response refers to the complaint. The motion to compel cites earlier discovery disputes. The settlement demand draws on medical records, depositions, and expert reports.

Take a premises liability case. You ask a general assistant to draft interrogatory responses. It gives generic answers about the incident. You explain that this is a slip and fall at a grocery store and that notice is disputed. You add that the store's prior incident reports are key evidence. The draft improves.

Three weeks later, you need a motion to compel the store's maintenance logs. The assistant has forgotten the facts, the notice dispute, and why the logs matter. You start over.

## What the files hold

Legal work is continuity work. Each document builds on the last. Each deadline sits in a procedural calendar. Each strategy choice limits what you can argue later.

| File | Contents |
|---|---|
| Case summary | Facts, procedural history, key evidence, strategic positions, sensitive issues in client communication |
| Discovery tracker | Requests served, dates, responses received, deficiencies, objections, related testimony |
| Deadline chain | Each court deadline and the tasks that must finish before it, with the rule behind each interval |
| Attorney profiles | Each attorney's format and argument preferences |
| Authority by issue | Cases the firm relies on for recurring issues, with when to use each one |

## Inspect a discovery tracker

This is a synthetic entry.

```markdown
# Case 2024-CV-4521 (synthetic): discovery tracker

updated:: 2026.09.25

## Interrogatories, set 1
served:: 2025-12-15
responses_received:: 2026-01-05
incomplete:
- Nos. 8 to 12 (financial records): objected as overbroad; no documents produced.
- No. 15 (prior incidents): answered "none"; deposition testimony of the
  store manager (p. 42) describes incident reports.
- Nos. 18 and 19 (employee training): objected as proprietary.
next_step:: motion to compel, pending attorney decision
```

Ask: "Draft the motion to compel for case 2024-CV-4521." The assistant knows which answers are deficient, what the objections were, and which testimony contradicts the "none" answer. It drafts an argument for each deficiency. Whether an objection holds is the attorney's decision. The draft presents the argument for the attorney to accept or change.

## Draft in each attorney's format

Attorney profiles end the reminders. Three synthetic profiles:

- Attorney W: IRAC format for memos; strongest authority first; a procedural history section; block quotes rather than parentheticals for key language.
- Attorney C: narrative structure with citations woven into the analysis; facts before law; no bullet points in client communications.
- Attorney M: executive summary in bullets first, detailed analysis after; procedural and substantive arguments in separate sections; action items highlighted.

You ask for a status memo for Attorney M on a contract case. The assistant opens with a bullet summary and separates procedural status from substantive argument. It highlights the approaching response deadline as an action item, then gives the detailed analysis. The same case for Attorney C produces a narrative memo.

## Keep case continuity in a motion

Take an employment discrimination case. The defense moves for summary judgment and argues that the client cannot establish a prima facie case. The case summary holds:

- Facts: the client was terminated after announcing her pregnancy and replaced by a male employee. She had positive reviews before.
- Evidence: a supervisor's email that mentions "team stability concerns", the client's personnel file, and the replacement's qualifications.
- Authority: two circuit cases with similar facts that survived summary judgment, and the burden-shifting framework case the attorney relies on. The file holds the full citations.
- Attorney preference: strongest facts first, the closest case cited prominently, numbered statements of fact.

You ask for a draft opposition. The assistant opens with the timing and replacement facts. It compares the facts of the closest case side by side and uses numbered statements in the attorney's style. It cites the supervisor's email as direct evidence. You check legal accuracy and add case detail. The structure no longer starts from zero.

## Build deadline chains from the rules

A deadline is a chain of tasks, and each link has a rule. Record the rule, not only the date.

Here is a synthetic chain for a federal case. Discovery closes on Friday 2026-03-13. The team wants responses in hand by 2026-02-27, so there are two weeks for follow-up. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 33(b)(2), responses are due 30 days after service.

| Task | Date | Rule or reason |
|---|---|---|
| Client interview for interrogatory content | 2026-01-12 (Mon) | Input for the draft |
| Draft to client for review | 2026-01-16 (Fri) | Two business days for client review |
| Attorney approval | 2026-01-23 (Fri) | Firm practice |
| Serve interrogatories | 2026-01-28 (Wed) | 30 days before 2026-02-27 (FRCP 33(b)(2)) |
| Responses due | 2026-02-27 (Fri) | Two weeks before discovery closes |

Add three days under FRCP 6(d) when service is by mail. When a period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, FRCP 6(a)(1)(C) moves the end to the next business day. A chain that aims at a weekend date loses that day, so check the weekday of every date. State courts and local rules differ. The attorney confirms each interval before the chain goes on the calendar.

Ask: "What deadlines do I have this week?" The assistant answers with the dates and the reasons. It shows that Monday's client interview feeds Friday's draft, which feeds service on 2026-01-28.

## Keep authority by issue

You researched the standard for a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Two months later, a different case raises the same issue. Without a record, you search old memos for the case names.

Keep authority by issue:

```markdown
## Motion to dismiss: failure to state a claim
- Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007): plausibility standard.
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009): threadbare recitals are not enough.
- <state case>: whether the state standard tracks the federal one.
use:: Iqbal when the complaint relies on conclusory allegations;
      Twombly when factual plausibility is the question.
verified:: 2026-09-01, citator check
```

The `verified::` line matters. Check each authority with a citator before each filing, because law changes.

## Protect confidences and verify every citation

The files stay on your computer, but the text Claude Code reads goes to Anthropic for processing. Retention and training terms depend on your plan. Client confidences follow the firm's policy for AI tools, which the supervising attorney sets. Keep each case in its own folder, and never let facts from one client reach another client's draft. The guide to [separate client context before an agent touches the work](/articles/separate-client-context-before-agent-work) shows how to test that boundary.

A court sanctioned lawyers in Mata v. Avianca (S.D.N.Y., 2023-06-22) for a brief with made-up citations from a chat assistant. Set these rules:

1. Check every citation against the reporter or a citator before a draft goes to the attorney.
2. Check every fact statement against the record cite in the case file.
3. Stop when a draft needs a fact or authority the files do not hold.
4. Never file, serve, or send. The attorney approves, and the firm's process sends.

For each draft, record which files the assistant read and what it proposed. The article [the receipt is part of the output](/articles/receipt-is-part-of-the-output) shows the format.

## A working setup

A paralegal at a plaintiff-side injury firm with 18 active cases might keep:

- case summaries with injury type, liability theory, and key evidence;
- profiles for three attorneys: one favors aggressive discovery, one favors settlement, one wants detailed medical chronologies;
- discovery status for each case;
- notes on which medical records support which damages claims;
- authority by injury type and liability theory.

With those files, the assistant drafts discovery from case evidence and settlement demands from the medical chronology. It also drafts status memos in each attorney's format and deadline reports with dependencies. For a tested example of this kind of job, see [AI agent for a personal injury law office](/articles/ai-agent-personal-injury-discovery-response-prep). The attorney side of the same setup is in [AI for lawyers](/articles/ai-for-lawyers).

----

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```