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Legal Research Memo

Explicitly banning case citations prevents hallucinated references. The 'describe principles, not cases' instruction still gives useful legal analysis without the risk of fabricated authorities.

chatgpt-prompts-for-legallegal_questionjurisdictionarea
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Prompt
Draft a legal research memo on:

**Legal question:** {{legal_question}}
**Jurisdiction:** {{jurisdiction}}
**Area of law:** {{area}} (e.g., contract law, employment law, IP, data privacy)
**Context:** {{brief_context}}

Structure:
1. **Issue** — restate the question precisely
2. **Short answer** — 2-3 sentence conclusion
3. **Analysis** — discuss relevant legal principles, how they apply to this situation
4. **Key considerations** — factors that could change the analysis
5. **Recommended next steps**

IMPORTANT: Do not cite specific case names or statute numbers — I will verify all legal authorities independently. Instead, describe the legal principles and the type of authority that supports each point (e.g., "under general contract principles" rather than citing a specific case).

Variables to customize

{{legal_question}}{{jurisdiction}}{{area}}{{brief_context}}

Why this prompt works

Explicitly banning case citations prevents hallucinated references. The 'describe principles, not cases' instruction still gives useful legal analysis without the risk of fabricated authorities.

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