Trial workflow
Use Claude to draft daily trial recaps
A short prompt for turning a rough daily trial transcript into a concise internal update, followed by lawyer review and editing.
Practice note
Review the draft—and the data path—before sending.
Daily trial recap workflow
| Factor | Manual end-of-day recap | Prompt-assisted draft and lawyer review |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Reconstruct the day from notes and the rough transcript. | Provide the approved rough transcript and a constrained summary prompt. |
| Draft | Write a narrative recap from scratch. | Create a short draft with a fixed limit for each witness. |
| Final step | Edit before circulation. | Personally review, edit, and then decide whether to send. |
Example conversion prompt
Draft a daily trial recap
Draft a short summary of today's events for the attorneys back at the office.
Include no more than three sentences per witness.
Tell them what went well, but don't oversell.Edited transcript
Transcript
Hey lawyers, next time you're in trial, try using Claude to help with your daily recap summaries.
1. Start With the Approved Rough Transcript
I just finished a six-day bench trial, and every day after I got the rough transcript from the reporter, I would upload it to Claude and run this prompt:
Draft a short summary of today's events for the attorneys back at the office.
Include no more than three sentences per witness.
Tell them what went well, but don't oversell.
2. Review and Edit the Draft Before Sending
Claude would then put together a summary that I could copy, paste into an email, edit, and send.
Daily recap summaries—if they ever got done—normally took anywhere from five to 15 minutes. Now they can be done in less than five minutes with a rough transcript, this prompt, and Claude.
If you have any questions, drop them in the comments below, and follow me for more tips on how to use AI in your legal practice.