Document Version Comparison

When opposing counsel returns a marked-up document and you need to understand what changed before responding.

Compare these two versions of the same document and identify every meaningful change.

Document type: [e.g., contract, lease, settlement agreement, brief]
My client is the: [ROLE]

VERSION 1 (original/our draft):
[PASTE VERSION 1]

VERSION 2 (revised/their markup):
[PASTE VERSION 2]

For each change:
1. **Section/clause** where the change appears
2. **What was removed** (quote the original language)
3. **What was added** (quote the new language)
4. **Significance**: MATERIAL (changes rights/obligations) / CLARIFYING (same meaning, different words) / COSMETIC (formatting only)
5. **Risk assessment** for material changes — how does this affect my client?

At the end, provide:
- Total changes by significance level
- The 3 most important changes to negotiate
- Changes that are acceptable as-is

Example Output

A change log organized by section with significance ratings, risk assessments for material changes, and a prioritized negotiation list.

Tips

• •Paste both full documents — Claude compares them more accurately than if you paste excerpts.
• •Ask Claude to flag changes that look cosmetic but have legal significance (e.g., changing 'shall' to 'may').
• •Follow up with 'Draft a response accepting changes 1, 3, and 5, and rejecting changes 2 and 4 with counter-language.'

Related Prompts