A legal research workflow: AI-generated research plan for a legal question, a synthesis prompt for case law summaries, and a research memo template that turns your research into a polished deliverable.
AI Research: What It's Good For
A critical warning first: AI models hallucinate legal citations. They will confidently cite cases that don't exist, or cite real cases for propositions they don't stand for. Never cite AI-generated legal research without verifying every citation in Westlaw, Lexis, or a court database.
That said, AI is genuinely useful for:
- Issue framing: "What legal issues does this fact pattern raise?" AI helps you identify all the relevant questions before you start searching.
- Research planning: "What search terms and legal concepts should I research for this issue?"
- Synthesis drafting: You do the real research, AI helps you structure and draft the memo from your verified findings.
- Explaining concepts: Understanding a complex legal doctrine before diving into the primary sources.
The right workflow: Use AI to plan and frame, do actual research in verified legal databases, then use AI to help you draft the memo from your verified findings. Never skip the middle step.
Research Planning Prompts
AI is excellent at helping you build a complete research plan before you touch a legal database. This saves time by ensuring you start searching for the right issues.
I'm researching this legal question:
[describe the legal question in plain terms]
Jurisdiction: [state/federal/international]
Context: [brief fact pattern]
Help me build a research plan:
1. What are all the legal issues this question raises?
2. What search terms should I use in Westlaw/Lexis?
3. What types of primary sources should I look for?
(statutes, regulations, case law, secondary sources)
4. What are the key legal standards or tests I should
understand before researching?
5. Are there any jurisdictional splits I should look for?This prompt won't give you legal answers — but it gives you a roadmap. Running 15 minutes of AI-assisted planning before starting research often saves 2+ hours of unfocused searching.
Research Memo Drafting
Once you've done the real research and have verified citations and holdings, AI can dramatically accelerate memo drafting. You provide the substance; AI handles the structure and flow.
Draft a legal research memo based on the following:
Issue: [legal question]
Jurisdiction: [state/federal]
Standard format: IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion)
Verified research findings:
[paste your research notes: cases, holdings, statutes]
Use only the cases and sources I've provided.
Do not add any citations I haven't listed.
Flag any areas where my research seems incomplete.The instruction "use only the cases I've provided" is essential — it prevents AI from fabricating citations. The AI's job here is structure and prose, not legal research.
What You Learned Today
- Why AI hallucinations in legal citations make independent verification non-negotiable
- How research planning prompts create a better research strategy before touching Westlaw/Lexis
- The safe workflow: AI frames → databases research → AI drafts from verified sources
- How to use IRAC structure in AI-assisted memo drafting
Go Further on Your Own
- Use AI to generate a research plan for a legal question you're currently working on. Compare the issues it identifies to what you had already identified — did it catch anything?
- Practice the 'synthesis' workflow: research 3-4 real cases on a legal question, then ask AI to synthesize them into a memo using only those cases as sources. Verify the output against your notes.
- Ask AI to explain a complex legal doctrine you work with (in plain English, as if to a client). Does the explanation match your understanding? Where does it diverge?
Nice work. Keep going.
Day 3 is ready when you are.
Continue to Day 3Want live instruction and hands-on projects? Join the AI bootcamp — 3 days, 5 cities.