LLMs and AI tools for Lawyers: A Guide for General Counsels and Perfect Prompting 

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) is by now not just a buzzword but a transformative force across industries, including the legal sector. For General Counsels at startups, staying ahead of this trend is crucial and can help to dramatically increase operational speed. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others offer a powerful combination to strengthen efficiency, accuracy, and insight, enabling legal professionals to handle complex regulatory environments and operational challenges with greater ease. This guide dives into how these tools can be leveraged effectively, ensuring that you maintain compliance while optimizing your legal operations.

Navigating Legal AI in Europe

The adoption of AI within startups has become increasingly relevant, providing innovative solutions to traditional legal challenges. LLMs and similar technologies can automate repetitive tasks such as document analysis, contract reviews, or agreement drafting. However, the deployment of these technologies must be carefully managed under the strict data protection and privacy laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when based in Europe.

Legal Considerations

As a General Counsel, you must ensure that any tool, including AI tools, are used in compliance with local and international laws. Key considerations include:

• Data Privacy: Ensure that the AI tools employed adhere to GDPR guidelines e.g. in Europe, which protect personal data. This involves evaluating how AI interacts with data, understanding the data flow, and implementing appropriate safeguards.
• Transparency and Accountability: AI systems should be transparent and their decisions accountable. This means being able to trace the logic or reasoning provided by AI in case its conclusions need to be explained or justified, especially in legal disputes.
• Bias and Fairness: AI technologies must be free from biases that could lead to unfair treatment or discrimination. Regular audits and updates should be conducted to ensure the AI’s algorithms remain impartial and equitable.

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Download the full list of 240+ professional legal prompts for every general counsel now:

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Use Cases for LLMs and AI Tools

With ChatGPT, you can:

• Research and write legal documents more efficiently.
• Summarize complex legal cases and concepts in plain language for clients. 
• Answer common legal questions and provide general legal information. 
• Automate legal tasks such as contract drafting or document review.

Mastering ChatGPT for Legal Efficiency

To truly benefit from ChatGPT, General Counsels must master prompt engineering—crafting questions that guide the AI to produce the most relevant and accurate answers. Here are some refined strategies:

1. Assign a role: Tell ChatGPT what point of view, expertise, or perspective it should take. For example: “Act as my opposing counsel.”
   
   
2. Provide context: Give as much information as possible and ask for your desired outcome or result. For example, “Act as my opposing counsel and provide counter arguments to [legal case].”
   
   
3. Follow up with questions: Ask additional questions to get more information. You can also rephrase questions if you do not like you do not like your initial answer.
   
   
4. Ask for sources: You can specify that you want sources cited.
   
   
5. Modify your output: Remember to always proofread, edit, and verify your responses; NEVER copy and paste.

Prompts to help get you started

If you’re not sure where to start, here are five ChatGPT / Gemini prompts to use as a jumping off point. This will help you begin to experiment in your legal practice.

Remember: These are hypothetical and illustrative examples only. They may not work as expected in every situation. Always exercise caution when inputting any prompts, and remember to always verify and edit the outputs of ChatGPT or Gemini before using them for any legal purposes.

1. Draft a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

Prompt: "Generate an NDA tailored for discussions with potential investors in [Industry, e.g., tech, biotech], protecting sensitive information such as [specific business ideas or technology] under the laws of [Country/Region]."

2. Review a Sales Contract

Prompt: "Review the sales contract for [Product/Service] provided by [Startup Name] to [Client Name]. Ensure that all terms, including warranties, liabilities, and dispute resolution methods, are clearly defined and protect our interests under [Country/Region]'s trade laws."

3. Analyze Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs)

Prompt: "Analyze the NDAs currently in use by [Startup Name] with external consultants and partners. Ensure that confidentiality clauses are robust and enforceable under [Country/Region]'s legal framework."

4. Create a Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Prompt: "Draft a service level agreement for cloud services provided by [Startup Name], including key performance indicators, responsibilities of the service provider, penalties for non-compliance, and mechanisms for dispute resolution under the laws of [Country/Region]."

5. Create a Partnership Agreement

Prompt: "Generate a partnership agreement for a joint venture between [Startup Name] and [Partner Company Name], defining the structure of governance, profit sharing, and operational roles, ensuring alignment with EU competition laws and the specific regulations of [Country/Region]."

Conclusion

Integrating AI and LLM tools into the legal practices of startups offers not just an opportunity for growth and efficiency, but a necessary step towards future-proofing your any legal inhouse operations. As AI continues to evolve, staying informed and adaptable will be key. Subscribe to our newsletter below to always stay up-to-date whenever any changes happen in the space of AI in legal practices. 

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Download the full list of 240+ professional legal prompts for every general counsel now:

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