Extract Every Deadline From a Contract or Court Order

Have Claude extract every fixed date, recurring obligation, and triggered deadline from a legal document into a verifiable list you can docket.

The Workflow

1. 1

   Paste the document and state what it is and your role

   Open one Claude conversation and give it the full text of the document plus the context it needs: what kind of document this is, which side you represent, and today's date as an anchor. Context shapes which obligations matter to you and who owes them.

   PromptCopy

   I am a lawyer reviewing the document below. Before we start, here is the context:
   
   - Document type: [CONTRACT / SCHEDULING ORDER / COMMERCIAL LEASE / SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT]
   - I represent: [CLIENT NAME AND ROLE, e.g., the buyer / the defendant / the tenant]
   - Today's date: [DATE]
   - Governing law / court (if stated): [JURISDICTION]
   
   Read the entire document carefully. Do not summarize it yet and do not extract dates yet. Just confirm you have read it and tell me how many sections or articles it contains and whether it has any exhibits, schedules, or attachments that may also contain deadlines.
   
   DOCUMENT:
   [PASTE THE FULL TEXT OF THE DOCUMENT HERE]

   What you get: Claude confirms it has read the document, reports the rough structure (number of sections plus any exhibits or schedules), and flags that attachments may also carry deadlines. This sets up an accurate extraction and reminds you to paste any exhibits you left out.

2. 2

   Extract every date, obligation, and trigger into a table

   Ask Claude to pull everything time-related into a single structured table. Force it to separate fixed calendar dates from conditional deadlines that only fire when something happens, and to quote the language and section for each so you can verify against the source.

   PromptCopy

   Now extract every deadline, time-sensitive obligation, and notice trigger in the document. Include three categories: (1) fixed calendar dates, (2) recurring or ongoing obligations, and (3) conditional or triggered deadlines (anything that runs from an event, e.g., "within 30 days of service" or "upon written notice").
   
   Put everything in one table with these exact columns:
   
   | Item | Date or trigger | Triggering language (section) | Who owes it |
   
   Rules:
   - Quote the operative triggering language verbatim and cite the section, article, or paragraph number.
   - In "Who owes it," name the responsible party from my perspective (me/my client, the other side, or both).
   - Do not skip anything time-related, even if it seems minor. Err on the side of over-inclusion.
   - If a date is ambiguous or you are unsure whether something is a deadline, include it and add the word FLAG in the Item column with a short note.
   - Do not compute any calendar dates yet.

   What you get: A single table covering fixed, recurring, and conditional deadlines, each with the quoted triggering language, its section cite, and the responsible party. Borderline or ambiguous items are marked FLAG so you can review them. No dates are computed yet.

3. 3

   Show the math for relative deadlines, but flag that you must verify

   For every deadline that runs from an event, have Claude lay out its arithmetic transparently so you can check it. The point is not to trust Claude's date; it is to see the raw building blocks and then compute the real date yourself under the governing rules.

   PromptCopy

   For each conditional or triggered deadline in the table (the ones that run from an event), show the raw computation as a draft only. For each one, give me:
   
   - The trigger event and where it is defined
   - The number of days or months stated
   - Whether the document says calendar days or business days (quote it if stated)
   - A simple, naive end date assuming straight calendar counting from today's date or the stated trigger date
   
   Then, for every single computed date, add this exact caution on its own line: "DRAFT DATE — verify against governing rules; do not docket as-is."
   
   Important: I understand you do NOT know my jurisdiction's date-computation rules — court holidays, weekend roll-overs, mailing or service extensions, or whether FRCP or a state counting method applies. Do not try to apply any of those rules. Just show the naive arithmetic so I can compute the real date myself.

   What you get: For each relative deadline, Claude shows the trigger, the day/month count, the calendar-vs-business-day language, and a naive end date, each stamped with the DRAFT DATE caution. It explicitly does not apply holiday, weekend, or mailing rules, leaving the real computation to you.

4. 4

   Produce a clean tickler list to enter into your docketing system

   Have Claude reformat everything into a plain, scannable list you can transfer into your calendar or docketing software. Keep the source cite on each line so that when you verify a date, you can jump straight back to the controlling language.

   PromptCopy

   Now produce a clean tickler/calendar list I can enter into a docketing system. Format each entry as a single line:
   
   DEADLINE: [item] | DATE: [fixed date OR "trigger + N days, TO BE COMPUTED"] | OWNER: [who] | SOURCE: [section cite]
   
   Group the list in three parts: (1) Fixed dates, (2) Triggered deadlines to be computed, and (3) Recurring obligations. Keep the DRAFT DATE caution on any computed entry. At the very top, add a one-line reminder that every date must be verified against the governing rules before it is docketed.

   What you get: A grouped, one-line-per-item list (fixed dates, triggered deadlines to compute, recurring obligations) with owner and section cite on each line, ready to paste into your calendar or docketing software, topped by a verify-before-docketing reminder.

5. 5

   Verify every date and obligation before docketing

   This is the step you own. Open the document alongside Claude's list and confirm each entry against the source. Re-compute every relative deadline yourself under the actual governing rules — your jurisdiction's counting method, court holidays, weekend roll-overs, and any mailing or service extensions. Check that nothing was missed (skim the exhibits and any incorporated documents) and that Claude did not invent a deadline that is not in the text. Treat the entire output as a draft: missed deadlines are a top malpractice claim, and the calendar is your responsibility, not the AI's. Only after you confirm a date should it go into your docketing system.

   What you get: A docket you can stand behind: every fixed date checked against the document, every triggered deadline independently computed under the governing rules, exhibits reviewed, and any phantom or missing items corrected. The verified list is what you docket — never Claude's raw dates.

Example Output

Illustrative example — names, facts, and figures are fictional.

VERIFY EVERY DATE BELOW AGAINST THE GOVERNING RULES BEFORE DOCKETING.

--- FIXED DATES ---
DEADLINE: Closing date | DATE: 2026-08-14 | OWNER: Both parties | SOURCE: § 2.1
DEADLINE: Buyer's earnest money deposit due | DATE: 2026-06-19 | OWNER: My client (buyer) | SOURCE: § 3.2
DEADLINE: Seller delivers title commitment | DATE: 2026-07-01 | OWNER: Other side (seller) | SOURCE: § 5.1

--- TRIGGERED DEADLINES (TO BE COMPUTED) ---
DEADLINE: Buyer's objection to title defects | DATE: title commitment receipt + 10 business days, TO BE COMPUTED — DRAFT DATE, verify | OWNER: My client | SOURCE: § 5.2
DEADLINE: Seller's cure of noticed defects | DATE: objection notice + 30 calendar days, TO BE COMPUTED — DRAFT DATE, verify | OWNER: Other side | SOURCE: § 5.3
DEADLINE: Inspection contingency expires | DATE: effective date + 21 days, TO BE COMPUTED — DRAFT DATE, verify | OWNER: My client | SOURCE: § 6.1
DEADLINE [FLAG]: Notice of financing denial — clause says "promptly," no day count | DATE: ambiguous, confirm intended period | OWNER: My client | SOURCE: § 7.4

--- RECURRING OBLIGATIONS ---
DEADLINE: Maintain hazard insurance through closing | DATE: ongoing until 2026-08-14 | OWNER: Other side (seller) | SOURCE: § 8.2
DEADLINE: Monthly property condition report | DATE: 1st of each month until closing | OWNER: Other side | SOURCE: § 8.3

Note: Exhibit B was referenced in § 5.1 but not included in the text I reviewed — paste it so I can check it for additional deadlines.

Tips

• •Always paste the exhibits, schedules, and any incorporated documents too. Deadlines love to hide in attachments, and Claude can only extract from what you give it.
• •Treat business days versus calendar days as a trap. Have Claude quote the exact language, then apply your jurisdiction's counting method yourself — the two can differ by a week or more.
• •Re-run the extraction in a fresh conversation for a critical document and compare the two tables. A second pass often surfaces a stray obligation the first one glossed over.
• •Never docket a Claude-computed date as-is. Use its arithmetic as a worksheet, then confirm the real date against court holidays, weekend roll-overs, and mailing or service rules before it touches your calendar.

Prompts used in this workflow

Related Reading

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• How to Use Claude for Legal Work
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