Meeting & Call Prep Brief
Before any call, meeting, hearing, or deposition when you need to get up to speed quickly.
Between back-to-back matters, lawyers are often walking into a client call, a meet-and-confer, or a hearing with only minutes to reload the context. Skipping preparation is how objectives get muddled, concessions get made by accident, and the other side controls the agenda. A tight one-page brief (where things stand, what you need to accomplish, and what is likely to come at you) is the difference between reacting and steering.
Claude turns scattered case notes into that brief quickly. Paste the recent correspondence or filing along with who will be in the room, and it returns a situation summary, the three to five points you must make, anticipated questions with suggested responses, and the risks to handle carefully. The act of generating it is itself useful: it forces you to articulate what success looks like before you sit down. For routine calls it is a fast, low-cost way to show up sharp.
The brief is a preparation aid, not a script, and its content is a draft you own. Claude works only from what you give it, so it can misjudge strategy, miss a fact outside the notes, or suggest a response that does not fit the relationship. Read it critically, adjust it to your judgment about the people and the matter, and remember it reflects your own work product rather than legal advice in itself.
The Prompt
I have a [MEETING TYPE] on [DATE AND TIME]. Prepare a one-page brief. <background> [PASTE RELEVANT CASE NOTES, RECENT CORRESPONDENCE, OR KEY DOCUMENTS] </background> Meeting type: [e.g., client call, opposing counsel call, deposition, mediation, court hearing] Participants: [WHO WILL BE THERE] Purpose: [WHAT THIS MEETING IS ABOUT] My side: [WHO I REPRESENT] Generate: 1. Situation summary: 3-4 sentences on where things stand 2. Key points to make: the 3-5 things I must communicate or accomplish 3. Anticipated questions, with suggested responses 4. Risks to watch for: topics to avoid or handle carefully 5. Desired outcome: what success looks like 6. Follow-up actions 7. Gaps: facts I will need that are not in <background> Base everything on <background> and quote it where a point depends on specific language. If something I need is missing or ambiguous, say so instead of assuming. Do not invent facts, citations, or quotations; mark anything you are unsure of [VERIFY]. This is a draft for attorney review.
Example Output
A one-page brief with situation summary, talking points, anticipated questions with answers, and follow-up action items.
Illustrative example — names, figures, and facts are fictional.
MEETING PREP BRIEF
Meeting: Opposing counsel call (meet-and-confer) | Time until: 30 minutes
Participants: Me; Renata Calvo (plaintiff's counsel)
Purpose: Resolve a discovery dispute over our ESI production scope before motion practice.
SITUATION SUMMARY
We produced custodial email for three custodians; plaintiff demands six more plus two years of chat messages. We offered to add one custodian. Their motion to compel is due in eight days, so this call is their last step before filing.
KEY POINTS TO MAKE
1. Our production is proportional under Rule 26(b)(1) given a $400k claim.
2. The three additional custodians they want had no decision-making role.
3. We will agree to one more custodian and a targeted chat-message search with agreed terms.
4. Broad chat-message collection imposes disproportionate cost; we'll quantify if pressed.
ANTICIPATED QUESTIONS (with responses)
Q: "Why are you withholding the regional managers?"
A: We are not withholding; their roles are peripheral, and we will revisit if the email shows otherwise.
Q: "Will you agree to chat messages for all custodians?"
A: Targeted search with shared terms, yes; full collection, no. Propose a sample first.
RISKS TO WATCH FOR
- Do not concede relevance of the two-year window; frame any agreement as compromise, not obligation.
- Avoid committing to a production date without checking the vendor timeline.
DESIRED OUTCOME
A narrowed dispute on the record (ideally a stipulation adding one custodian and a chat-message sampling protocol) that avoids or weakens their motion.
FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS
- Send a confirming email summarizing any agreement same day.
- Get a cost estimate from the e-discovery vendor for the chat-message sample.Tips
- •Paste the most recent correspondence or filing; Claude needs current context, not just background.
- •For client calls, ask Claude to include difficult questions the client might ask, with diplomatic responses.
- •Run it early enough to act on the gaps it surfaces (a day before for hearings, depositions, and mediations).
- •Treat the output as a draft for attorney review; verify every citation, quotation, date and figure against the source before relying on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I run the meeting prep brief?
Use it before any call, meeting, hearing, deposition, or mediation where you need to get up to speed. Run it early enough to act on the gaps it surfaces: for routine calls an hour ahead may be enough, but for hearings, depositions, and mediations run it at least a day before so you have time to fill holes in the file.
Can I treat the brief as a reliable plan for the meeting?
Treat it as a starting point you must vet. Claude only knows what you paste in, so it can misread the strategy, overlook a fact outside the notes, or propose a response that does not fit the personalities involved. Review it against your own judgment and the full file before you rely on it; it organizes your thinking rather than replacing it.
How do I get the most useful brief?
Paste the most recent correspondence or filing, not just background: Claude needs current context. State the meeting type, the participants, and the purpose precisely. For client calls, ask it to include the difficult questions the client might raise with diplomatic responses. The more specific your inputs about people and goals, the more tailored the talking points.
What about confidentiality when I paste case notes?
Case notes and correspondence are often privileged, so apply the safeguards ABA Formal Opinion 512 and Model Rule 1.6 call for. Use a business or enterprise tier that does not train on your inputs and offers contractual data protection, rather than a consumer product. Where the prep does not depend on specific identifiers, consider redacting client and third-party names before pasting.
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