--- title: "Give AI your practice patterns so legal drafts start in your format" description: "Write a practice context file with jurisdiction rules, go-to authorities, formats, and objection language, and keep client confidences out of it." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-memory-for-legal" date: "2026-01-28" modified: "2026-09-25" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Real estate - Real estate - [Real estate](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - Work - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Prepare your six-question brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prepare-your-six-question-brief) - Build - [Site build, content library with SEO, signal desk](https://scalewithsearch.com/work) - For your business - Trades and home services - [Auto body and collision shops](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/auto-body-and-collision-shops) - [Foundation and home repair contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/foundation-and-home-repair) - 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You draft a motion for summary judgment. You have written 30 of these in two years, most of them employment discrimination cases in federal court. You have a preferred structure, authorities you cite again and again, and argument patterns that work with the judge on your current case. You open ChatGPT. It does not know the judge. It does not know your district. It does not know that you lead with the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework because that approach works in your jurisdiction. So you spend 20 minutes on context, or you get generic legal writing that does not match your practice. Then you rewrite it anyway. Legal work is detail-heavy: case names, filing deadlines, procedural history, opposing counsel habits, judge preferences, and local rules. A chat assistant forgets all of it when you close the window. You also cannot paste client confidences into an AI tool without an ethics analysis. This page shows how to write your practice knowledge into one file and keep confidences out of it. ## What the assistant must know about your practice Law is pattern work. You have seen this fact pattern before. You have argued this issue in three earlier cases. You know which authorities the judge finds persuasive. The assistant needs these facts: - your practice areas and jurisdiction-specific procedural rules; - the authorities you cite repeatedly; - judge preferences, drawn from public rulings and your own observation; - opposing counsel habits in negotiation and litigation; - your firm's brief format and argument structure; - client communication and billing rules; - statutes and regulations for your specialty. This is professional knowledge, not privileged client information. Today it sits in your head, in filing cabinets, and in scattered Word documents. ## How `CLAUDE.md` holds your practice context `CLAUDE.md` is a Markdown file on your computer. You write your practice context once: jurisdiction rules, citation preferences, court procedures, and argument patterns. Claude Code reads the file at the start of each session in that folder. The file stays on your disk. The model does not run there. When Claude Code reads the file and your request, that text goes to the provider for processing. That fact decides what may go in the file and in each session. Here is an example for an employment litigation practice: ```markdown ## Practice context - Jurisdiction: federal district court and state trial courts - Practice: employment discrimination (70%), wrongful termination (20%), wage and hour (10%) - Format: 12-point Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing - Citation: Bluebook (the edition the firm has adopted); full case names on first reference ## Judges (public rulings and our observations, dated) - JUDGE-A: prefers burden-shifting analysis; skeptical of emotional appeals; strict on page limits - JUDGE-B: values efficiency; open to oral argument on discovery disputes - JUDGE-C: former plaintiff's attorney ## Authorities we use often - Prima facie discrimination: McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green (1973) - Hostile work environment: Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. (1993) - Retaliation: Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White (2006) - New York at-will doctrine: Murphy v. American Home Products Corp. (1983) - Pleading standard: Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly (2007); Ashcroft v. Iqbal (2009) ## Opposing counsel - FIRM-A: aggressive discovery; rarely settles before mediation - FIRM-B: prefers early settlement talks - FIRM-C: slow to respond; calendar motions to compel ## Client communication - Initial consult: fee structure in writing within 24 hours - Case updates: monthly unless a significant event occurs - Settlement: client approval before any offer discussion ``` Use placeholders for judges and firms in any file that leaves your control. Keep the real names in your internal notes system. Now ask Claude for a draft motion to dismiss in an employment case. It structures the argument around your authorities, uses your format, and anticipates your judge's analytical preferences. You do not teach it your practice again. ## Four practice jobs the file supports ### Brief drafts with jurisdiction context You oppose a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). You have written this response 15 times. You know the standard. The court accepts well-pleaded factual allegations as true and draws reasonable inferences for the plaintiff. The complaint survives when it states a plausible claim under Twombly and Iqbal. You know how your circuit applies that plausibility standard. Your file includes: - the Rule 12(b)(6) standard in your jurisdiction's language; - your go-to authorities with parentheticals; - the argument structure that works with your judges; - firm format requirements. You outline the key facts and legal issues. Claude drafts the opposition with your citation style, argument structure, and procedural standards. You review and refine instead of a first draft from scratch. Check every citation in a citator before filing. In Mata v. Avianca, Inc. (S.D.N.Y. 2023), a court sanctioned lawyers who filed AI-generated citations to cases that did not exist. The file reduces that risk because it names real authorities. It does not remove the duty to verify. ### Discovery responses You receive 40 interrogatories and 20 document requests. Half are standard defense requests you have seen in every employment case for five years. Your file stores your standard objection language: - your "overly broad and unduly burdensome" wording; - scope limits for personnel files and internal communications; - privilege assertions for attorney-client communications and work product; - your response structure: objection first, then the substantive response. You mark which requests need case-specific answers and which take standard objections. Claude drafts the responses in your format. Your own hours go to the requests that need case-specific answers. [Discovery response preparation for a law office](/articles/ai-agent-personal-injury-discovery-response-prep) shows how to test this job with synthetic matter files. ### Case strategy memos Three months into discovery on a wrongful termination case, you have depositions, document productions, and expert reports. Your partner wants a litigation strategy memo. A case-specific project file with deposition summaries, key documents, and a timeline lets Claude draft the memo in your firm's format. It can combine the case record with your jurisdiction's authorities and opposing counsel's usual approach. That project file holds client confidences. Create it only under the confidentiality analysis in the next section, and keep each matter in its own folder. [Separate client context before an agent touches the work](/articles/separate-client-context-before-agent-work) describes the matter boundary. ### Client status updates A client asks what happens next, when the next deadline falls, and whether the defendant's latest filing changes anything. Your file records your communication rules: professional but accessible tone, status first, then next steps, then the timeline. It also holds standard explanations for common procedural questions. You give Claude the procedural posture. It drafts the email in plain language with your usual closing. You add the client's name and send it from your own system. ## Keep client confidences out of the file Do not put these items in `CLAUDE.md`: - client names tied to case facts; - privileged communications; - confidential settlement terms; - work product for active matters. These items belong in the file: standard arguments, jurisdiction rules, public case citations, court preferences, opposing counsel patterns, and format standards. That is professional expertise. [What client data belongs in AI agent memory](/articles/client-data-in-ai-agent-memory) gives a general test for the line. Session content is a separate question. Anything you type or let Claude read goes to the provider. The American Bar Association addressed this in Formal Opinion 512 (July 2024) on generative AI tools. It ties AI use to the duties of competence, confidentiality, client communication, and reasonable fees. Before any client information enters a session, read that opinion and your state bar's guidance. Check the provider's retention and training terms for your plan, and decide whether the matter needs the client's informed consent. Local controls still matter. Encrypt the disk and review every line in the file. They protect the record at rest. They do not change what the provider receives. ## Test the file with a closed matter 1. Start a new Claude Code session in the practice folder. 2. Ask for the pleading standard for a Rule 12(b)(6) opposition. 3. Confirm that the answer cites Twombly and Iqbal, not the retired "no set of facts" language. 4. Ask for standard objections to a request for all personnel files, and compare them with your language. 5. Search the file for client names and settlement figures, and remove each one. The test passes when the answers match your file, every authority is real, and no confidence appears in the file. ## What changes when the assistant knows your practice Without a practice file, you write the same objections by hand for the five-hundredth time. You cite authorities from memory. You reformat briefs because the tool does not know your firm standards. Research that should take 20 minutes takes two hours because each session starts cold. With the file, the assistant starts each session with your jurisdiction, authorities, formats, and objection language. The first draft arrives in your format, and your review time goes to the merits. ## Approval and stopping boundary The assistant drafts briefs, discovery responses, memos, and client updates. The responsible attorney approves every filing, citation, objection, and client message. The assistant does not file, serve, send, or give advice to a client. 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