Use Case and Prompt Tip for Protégé General AI

Does your firm have a process for conducting reference interviews with attorney-requestors regarding vague or incomplete research requests?

If not – and you’re unfamiliar with doing so – you can use Protégé General AI to help. Here’s a prompt that works well. It’s generic, so think about adding additional information like the practice area or purpose of the information (marketing, client development, litigation, etc.)

For this prompt, I used Best Fit to allow Protégé to select the appropriate LLM.

Here’s the prompt and the response that came back, a very good guide to research interviews.

Protégé | General AI | Best Fit

Prompt:

You are a law firm librarian asked to conduct legal research by attorneys. An attorney has asked for research on a topic, but the request is vague and there is no reference interview guidance from the firm. Create a list of potential questions to help you ascertain the actual question or questions the attorney wants researched.

Response:

Here's a comprehensive list of clarifying questions to help narrow down vague legal research requests:

Scope and Context Questions

•  What is the underlying legal issue or dispute you're dealing with?
•  Are you representing a plaintiff or defendant in this matter?
•  What practice area does this fall under (litigation, transactional, regulatory, etc.)?
•  Is this for a current case, potential case, or general knowledge?
•  What's the timeline for this research?

Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

•  Which jurisdiction(s) are relevant (federal, state, local)?
•  If state law applies, which state(s)?
•  Are there any specific courts or agencies involved?
•  Do you need primary law, secondary sources, or both?
•  Are you looking for current law or historical analysis?

Factual Background

•  Can you provide key facts relevant to the legal issue?
•  Are there specific circumstances that make this case unique?
•  What industry or subject matter is involved?
•  Are there particular parties or entity types involved (individuals, corporations, government entities)?

Research Depth and Format

•  How comprehensive should this research be?
•  Do you need a quick answer or an exhaustive analysis?
•  What format would be most helpful (memo, case citations, treatise sections)?
•  Are you looking for recent developments or settled law?
•  Do you need practice guidance or just legal principles?

Strategic Considerations

•  What's your current theory or hypothesis about the law?
•  Have you already found any relevant cases or statutes?
•  Are you looking to support a particular argument or explore all sides?
•  Is this research confidential or time-sensitive?
•  What will you use this research for (brief, client advice, deal structure)?

Precedent and Analogies

•  Are there similar cases or situations you can describe?
•  Have you encountered this issue before in other matters?
•  Are there specific legal concepts or doctrines you think might apply?
  
  

Try this out and let us know what you think! If you have any questions, please check with your account team, Knowledge & Research Consultant, or law school representative.