For Court Clerks ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll be able to paste or upload any legal document into Claude and get a plain-English summary in under 2 minutes — useful for quickly understanding what a lengthy motion or filing is requesting before processing it, preparing materials for judges, or drafting responses to complex correspondence.
What you'll need
Important: Do not input case-specific personally identifiable information or confidential case data into commercial AI services. Use this tool for documents where you control the content, or redact identifying information before uploading.
What you should see: The Claude chat interface with a text input bar and a paperclip icon for file uploads.
Before uploading, decide if you need to redact anything:
For short documents (under 2 pages): Copy and paste the text directly into the Claude chat
For longer documents (PDF):
What you should see: Either the text in your message or the filename with a checkmark indicating it's uploaded.
Type your request:
For a general summary:
Summarize this document in plain language. Include: (1) what is being requested or decided, (2) the key facts or arguments, (3) what action is required. Use bullet points. Keep it under 150 words.
For preparing materials for a judge:
Summarize this [motion/brief/petition] for a judge's review. Cover: what the party is requesting, the primary legal basis for the request, and what court action is needed. Do not express any opinion on the merits. Under 100 words.
What you should see: A structured, readable summary with the sections you requested.
With the document still in the conversation, you can ask specific questions:
For a motion summary:
Summarize this motion in 3 bullets: (1) what is requested, (2) the legal basis, (3) what the court needs to do.
For a lengthy complaint:
Summarize this complaint: who is suing whom, what are the allegations, what relief is requested. Under 100 words.
For a procedural document:
Explain what this court rule requires in plain language. Give a concrete example of how it applies in practice.
For checking required attachments:
List all documents and attachments that this filing says are included or required.