AI for law students: case analysis and prompts

🛡️ Safety net: what AI doesn't do in law

How universities handle AI and what doesn't belong in it in general is on the university page. Here's what applies on top of that in law.

⚠️ Watch out for this

AI makes up sections of statutes, case numbers and quotes from judgments, and they look convincing. Check every provision in its current version and look up every judgment in the court's database.
AI often knows an older version of the law. In a case, it also matters which version was in force on the day it happened.
Files and documents from practice (a job at a law firm, a court, a legal clinic) don't belong in AI. They're confidential and contain personal data.
AI has no place in closed-book written exams and written final exams. That's the rule at the Faculty of Law at Charles University, for example.

📚 Where to check

Legislation: your country's official legislation database. In the Czech Republic that's e-Sbírka, the official Collection of Laws with consolidated versions for free, and Zákony pro lidi.
Case law: the courts' own databases. In the Czech Republic that's the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, the Constitutional Court (NALUS) and decisions of other courts at rozhodnuti.justice.cz.
Commentaries and legal literature in the legal databases your faculty library gives you access to.

⚖️ Cases

AI first asks what you think. Only then does it correct you.

Analysing a case step by step ClaudeChatGPTGemini

<case>
[paste the facts from the assignment]
</case>

You're a seminar tutor in [civil law]. Go through this case with me step by step: what the legal issue is, which rule applies, how it applies to this case and what the conclusion is.
At each step, first ask me what I think. Then correct me or add what's missing.
Give sections of statutes with a note that I have to check them in the current version. Don't make up case numbers of judgments. If you don't know a specific judgment, say so.

Checking my answer to a case ClaudeChatGPT

<assignment>
[paste the case assignment]
</assignment>

<my_answer>
[paste your answer]
</my_answer>

You're a teacher marking a written answer to a case in [criminal law]. Assess my answer:
- Which legal issues I spotted correctly and which I missed.
- Where the argument falters or a step is missing.
- What the other side would object.
Don't rewrite my answer, I want to learn this. Mark any provisions you mention to be checked in the current version.

Counsel for the other side ClaudeChatGPTGrok

For a moot court, a mock hearing or an oral exam.

<case>
[paste the case and your main arguments]
</case>

I represent [the claimant]. Play counsel for the other side. Answer each of my arguments with the strongest counterargument that would be heard in court. Then ask me how I'd respond, and grade my response.
If a counterargument relies on case law, describe only the idea. I'll look up the specific decision myself.

📖 Studying

The safest way is to put the text of the law straight into the prompt. Then AI explains what applies, not what it remembers.

Explain a provision from the pasted text ClaudeChatGPTGemini

<text>
[paste the text of the provision from the official legislation database, including the date it took effect]
</text>

Explain this provision to me like a seminar tutor:
1. What it says, in simple words.
2. When it applies and when it doesn't, with 2 everyday examples.
3. What students most often get wrong about it in exams.
4. Which other provisions it's connected to. Just list them, I'll look up their text.
Work only from the pasted text. If you're not sure how the provision is interpreted in practice, say so.

Comparing concepts that get mixed up ClaudeChatGPTGemini Notebook

<notes>
[paste your notes or text from the textbook]
</notes>

Compare [acquisitive prescription and acquisition from a non-owner / unjust enrichment and damages] in a table: requirements, legal consequences and typical situations where they get mixed up.
Under the table, add 2 short cases where I have to tell which concept applies. Show the answer only after I respond.
Work from the notes. Mark anything you add yourself as [added by AI]. Give sections of statutes only with the note "check the current version".

Flashcards from terms and definitions ClaudeGemini Notebook

<materials>
[paste notes, course notes or the text of the law]
</materials>

Turn the materials into revision flashcards on [the general part of criminal law].
- One card = one term and its definition or requirements, as they are in the materials.
- For each term, one card "example: which term is it?" with a short case.
- Format: question;answer on each line, for importing into Anki.
Take the definitions from the materials, don't rewrite them in your own words. At the end, list what's missing from the materials.

🎤 Exams and judgments

A mock oral exam and reading a decision your teacher gives you or that you find in a court database.

A mock oral exam ClaudeChatGPTGemini Notebook

In voice mode in ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok you can take it out loud.

<topics>
[paste the exam questions or your notes]
</topics>

You're the examiner at an oral exam in [constitutional law]. Pick a question from the topics.
Let me talk without interruption first. Then follow up: on definitions, on how it relates to other concepts and with a short case ("A client comes in and says…").
At the end, tell me roughly how I'd do, what was strong and what the examiner would pick out as a gap.
Stay within the topics. Where interpretation differs between textbooks or authors, say so.

Reading a judgment ClaudeGemini NotebookGemini

<decision>
[paste the text of the decision from the court's database]
</decision>

Help me understand this decision:
1. The facts in 5 sentences.
2. The legal issue the court dealt with.
3. How the court decided and its main arguments.
4. The legal principle: the general rule that follows from the decision.
5. Why the decision matters or is controversial.
Work only from the pasted text. Refer to other decisions only if they're cited in the text.

✍️ Writing

Seminar papers, a thesis and a contract for a class exercise. AI looks for the weak spots, you write the text.

Counterarguments to my thesis ClaudeChatGPTGemini

The Faculty of Law at Charles University gives this kind of use as an example and recommends mentioning it in the methodology of your work.

<thesis>
[paste your thesis statement and arguments]
</thesis>

I'm writing a [master's thesis] on [topic]. Find the strongest counterargument to each of my arguments.
For each one, say what type of literature to look for it in (commentary, monograph, journal article, case law) and which search terms to use.
Name specific authors and works only if you're sure they exist, and mark them "check". Otherwise write "I don't know, search by the terms".

Checking a contract for a class exercise ClaudeChatGPT

If your teacher wants to know how the contract was made, tell them about this use of AI too.

<assignment>
[paste the contract parameters from your teacher]
</assignment>

<draft>
[paste your draft contract]
</draft>

Check my draft [licence] agreement against the assignment, like a teacher in a class exercise:
- Are any essential terms or anything from the assignment missing?
- Which wording is unclear or could be interpreted against my client?
- What would cause problems in practice?
Don't rewrite the whole draft. For each comment, just suggest better wording. Mark any provisions to be checked.

← University: all fields Architecture Students