I almost signed a contract last month that would have cost me $4,200.
Auto-renewal clause buried on page 7. Termination fee structured as "service continuation." Indemnification language that shifted every risk to me.
I caught none of it on my first read.
Claude caught all of it in 90 seconds.
Why most people get legal documents wrong:
They skim. They sign. They hope.
Or they pay a lawyer $400 an hour to read 12 pages they could read themselves with the right system.
Both are bad options.
The real move: use Claude to surface the traps, translate the language, and draft the documents you'd otherwise pay someone to draft. Then bring a lawyer in only when the stakes are real.
Here are the 7 prompts that do it.
This is not legal advice. Claude is not a lawyer. But these prompts will save you from signing dumb things and writing weak ones.
1. Red Flag Scanner (finds the traps before you sign)
Every contract has 3 to 5 clauses that could cost you. Claude finds them in seconds.
The prompt:
You are my contract risk analyst. I'll paste a contract or upload it as a file
[CONTRACT TEXT OR PDF].
Do this:
1. Identify every clause that could cost me money, time, or rights
2. Rate each one: low risk, medium risk, high risk
3. For each high-risk clause, explain in plain English what it actually means
and what could go wrong
4. Flag any auto-renewal, indemnification, non-compete, IP assignment, or
limitation of liability language
5. Tell me what's missing that should be in this contract for my protection
Don't soften it. If something is bad, say it's bad.
The contract is for [BRIEFLY DESCRIBE: SaaS subscription, freelance work,
employment, lease, etc.]Run this before you sign anything that has more than 2 pages.
2. Plain English Translator (turns legalese into actual sentences)
You shouldn't have to Google what "joint and several liability" means at 11pm.
The prompt:
You are my legal translator. I'll paste a section of a legal document
[PASTE SECTION].
Do this:
1. Rewrite it in plain English a 12-year-old could understand
2. Show me the original sentence next to the plain version side by side
3. Define every legal term in 10 words or less
4. Tell me which sentence in this section is the most important to understand
5. Flag any word that has a specific legal meaning different from its everyday
meaning (like "shall," "material," "reasonable," "best efforts")
Don't summarize. Translate. I want to understand every line, not skip them.You'll never sign anything you didn't actually understand again.
3. Negotiation Pack (writes the redlines a lawyer would charge $500 to write)
Most people accept contracts as-is because they don't know what to push back on.
The prompt:
You are my contract negotiator. Use the red flag scan from prompt 1.
Build me a negotiation package:
1. List the top 5 clauses I should push back on, ranked by importance
2. For each one, write the exact redline edit I should request
(strike-through plus replacement language)
3. Write the email I should send proposing the changes, in a tone that's
firm but not adversarial
4. Predict how the other side will respond to each change
5. Tell me which 2 changes are worth holding firm on if they push back,
and which 3 I can drop as a goodwill concession
Sound like someone who has done this 100 times. Not someone asking for a favor.You walk into the negotiation with a plan instead of vibes.
4. Contract Drafter (writes the contract you've been putting off)
You've needed a freelance agreement, NDA, or service agreement for 6 months.
You haven't written one because writing one feels impossible.
The prompt:
You are my contract drafter. I need a [CONTRACT TYPE: freelance services
agreement, NDA, independent contractor agreement, partnership agreement, etc.]
Context:
1. My role: [WHO I AM IN THE DEAL]
2. Their role: [WHO THE OTHER PARTY IS]
3. The deliverable or arrangement: [WHAT'S BEING EXCHANGED]
4. The price or compensation: [AMOUNT AND PAYMENT TERMS]
5. The timeline: [DURATION OR DEADLINES]
6. Special concerns: [IP, CONFIDENTIALITY, EXCLUSIVITY, ETC.]
Draft the full contract following these rules:
1. Use plain English wherever legal precision allows
2. Include sections for: parties, scope, payment, timeline, IP, confidentiality,
termination, liability, governing law
3. Protect my interests aggressively in the termination and IP sections
4. Flag any 3 sections where I should consider getting a lawyer's eyes on it
before sending
5. Add a one-paragraph summary at the top that states the deal in plain English
This is a starting draft. I'll review and edit before sending.You go from "I need a contract" to "I have a contract" in 5 minutes.
5. Demand Letter Builder (writes the letter that gets people to pay you)
Someone owes you money. Or broke an agreement. Or won't return your deposit.
A real demand letter changes the conversation.
The prompt:
You are my demand letter writer. The situation:
1. The other party: [WHO THEY ARE]
2. What they did or didn't do: [SPECIFIC FACTS]
3. The agreement they violated: [CONTRACT, INVOICE, PROMISE]
4. Dates and amounts: [TIMELINE WITH NUMBERS]
5. What I want: [PAYMENT, ACTION, REFUND]
6. My deadline for them to comply: [DATE]
Write 2 versions of the demand letter:
1. The professional version: firm, factual, leaves room for resolution
2. The escalation version: makes clear what happens if they don't comply
(small claims, mediation, public review, attorney involvement)
Both versions should:
1. State the facts in chronological order
2. Reference the specific agreement violated
3. Make a clear demand with a clear deadline
4. Sound like a person who is done being patient
Don't threaten anything I can't actually do.Most people pay within 7 days when they receive a real demand letter.
6. Lease and Rental Reviewer (catches landlord traps before you move in)
Leases are written by landlord lawyers. They're not on your side.
The prompt:
You are my lease analyst. I'll paste my lease or upload it
[LEASE TEXT OR PDF].
Do this:
1. Identify every clause that gives the landlord more rights than is standard
2. Flag every fee, penalty, or charge I could be hit with during the lease
or at move-out
3. Find the rules around: security deposit return, rent increases, early
termination, repairs, guest policies, pets, alterations
4. Tell me what protections are missing that I should request
5. Compare the lease to typical tenant protection laws for [YOUR STATE OR COUNTRY]
and flag any clauses that may be unenforceable
Then write me a list of the 5 questions I should ask the landlord before signing.You'll find at least 2 things you'd have missed on your own.
7. Document Comparison (spots what changed between two versions)
Lawyers send revised contracts and "highlight the changes." They miss things.
The prompt:
You are my version comparison analyst. I'll paste 2 versions of the same document
[VERSION 1 AND VERSION 2].
Do this:
1. List every change between the two versions, no matter how small
2. Categorize each change: wording only, scope change, financial change,
risk shift, deadline change, rights change
3. For each change, tell me who benefits: me, them, or neutral
4. Flag any change that looks small but has big consequences
5. Tell me which changes I should accept, push back on, or counter
Be paranoid. Lawyers slip in changes hoping the other side won't read carefully.Use this every time someone sends you a "small revision."
Setup (10 minutes):
Open Claude.ai. Create a new project called "Legal Desk"
Upload any contracts you've already signed as project knowledge for reference
Save these 7 prompts as a note inside the project
Use prompts 1, 2, 6, and 7 to read documents
Use prompts 3, 4, and 5 to write or push back on documents
When the stakes are high (over $10,000, employment terms, equity, anything criminal), still get a lawyer. Use Claude to walk in prepared.
The compound effect:
Document 1: You catch one trap you would have signed.
Month 1: You stop avoiding contracts you needed to write. Three deals you've been delaying get done this week.
Month 6: You've saved 5 figures in legal fees and dodged at least one deal that would have cost you.
Year 1: You read contracts faster than most lawyers and write your own first drafts. You bring lawyers in for the 10% that actually needs them.
That's the shift.
Most people sign things they don't understand. You sign things you've audited.
Cheers, Matas Jonaitis Founder, Daily Prompter