Regulatory Analysis
When a new regulation is enacted, a client enters a regulated industry, or you need to assess compliance risk.
When a new rule lands or a client moves into a regulated space, the threshold questions are deceptively hard: Does this regulation even apply to us? What exactly must we do, by when, and what happens if we miss it? Regulations bury coverage thresholds, phase-in schedules, exemptions, and overlapping requirements across hundreds of pages, and the cost of misreading scope is real exposure to civil, administrative, or criminal penalties.
Claude is a strong tool for translating a regulation into an actionable compliance picture. Give it the regulation, the client's industry, size, and current practices, and it returns a summary of requirements, a scope determination, the specific obligations and deadlines, applicable penalties, exemptions and safe harbors, interactions with related rules, and a prioritized compliance checklist. It turns a dense rule into a structured memo your compliance plan can build on.
Treat that memo as a first-pass assessment for the attorney to test, not a compliance opinion. Claude can misjudge a coverage threshold, overlook a state analog that imposes stricter duties, or rely on a superseded version of the rule, and it can fabricate citations. Confirm scope, deadlines, and every requirement against the official regulation and current guidance before advising. The output is an attorney-supervised draft to verify, not legal advice.
The Prompt
Analyze the following regulation and its compliance implications: Regulation: [CITE OR PASTE THE REGULATION] Industry: [CLIENT'S INDUSTRY] Company size: [APPROXIMATE EMPLOYEES AND REVENUE] Current practices: [DESCRIBE RELEVANT CURRENT OPERATIONS] Provide: 1. Summary of the regulation's requirements 2. Who is covered — does this client fall within scope? 3. Specific obligations (reporting, recordkeeping, disclosures, operational changes) 4. Compliance deadlines and phase-in periods 5. Penalties for non-compliance (civil, criminal, administrative) 6. Exemptions or safe harbors that may apply 7. Interaction with other regulations on the same topic 8. Practical compliance steps — prioritized checklist for the client 9. Open questions requiring further analysis
Example Output
A compliance memo identifying applicable requirements, assessing the client's current state, and providing a prioritized action plan.
Illustrative example — names, figures, and facts are fictional.
REGULATORY ANALYSIS MEMO (DRAFT — VERIFY AGAINST OFFICIAL RULE) Regulation: Model Consumer Disclosure Rule, 16 C.F.R. Pt. 940 (illustrative placeholder) Client: Mid-market e-commerce retailer, ~180 employees, ~$60M revenue. 1. REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY: Mandates clear pre-checkout disclosure of recurring-charge terms and a one-click cancellation mechanism. 2. SCOPE / COVERAGE: Applies to "negative option" sellers; client's subscription box is covered. No small-business exemption above $5M revenue — client is in scope. 3. SPECIFIC OBLIGATIONS - Disclose price, frequency, and renewal terms before payment; - Obtain express informed consent; - Provide cancellation as simple as sign-up; - Retain consent records for 3 years. 4. DEADLINES: Compliance required by July 1, 2026; recordkeeping obligations begin at first enrollment thereafter. 5. PENALTIES: Civil penalties up to $50,120 per violation; potential injunctive relief. 6. EXEMPTIONS / SAFE HARBORS: Good-faith compliance defense if a documented compliance program exists. 7. INTERACTION: State auto-renewal statutes may impose shorter notice windows — check client's top-three states. 8. PRIORITIZED CHECKLIST: (1) Audit checkout flow; (2) build one-click cancel; (3) implement consent logging; (4) train CS team. 9. OPEN QUESTIONS: Confirm whether mobile-app flow is separately covered.
Tips
- •Include the client's industry and size — many regulations have small-business exemptions.
- •Ask about enforcement trends, not just the text of the regulation.
- •Check for state-level analogs that may impose stricter requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the regulatory analysis prompt most useful?
Use it when a new regulation is enacted, when a client enters a regulated industry, or when you need a fast assessment of compliance risk. It is best for producing a structured first-pass memo that determines scope, maps obligations and deadlines, and generates a prioritized action plan you then verify and refine into formal advice.
Can the client rely on this analysis as a compliance opinion?
No. AI can misjudge coverage thresholds, miss stricter state analogs, rely on outdated rule text, or invent citations. Confirm scope, deadlines, and each obligation against the official regulation and current agency guidance, and check for state-level requirements, before issuing advice. The memo is an internal analytical draft, not a verified compliance opinion.
How do I get the most accurate regulatory analysis?
Include the client's industry, employee count, and revenue, since many rules turn on size thresholds and exemptions. Paste or precisely cite the regulation, describe current practices, and ask about enforcement trends rather than just the text. Then independently verify the scope determination, which is where errors do the most damage.
What are the accuracy and ethics obligations here?
ABA Formal Opinion 512 and the duty of competence require you to understand the tool's limits and verify its output. Regulatory advice carries direct penalty exposure for the client, so a wrong scope or deadline is consequential. Independent confirmation against the official rule and current guidance is part of competently using AI for this work.
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