# Client status update letter — litigation matter, by stage

Drafts a plain-English status letter keyed to where the case sits — pleadings, discovery, motions, or trial prep. Reach for it when the monthly update is due and you have twenty minutes, not ninety.

## Prompt

## Context
You draft client correspondence for a [PRACTICE AREA] attorney at a small firm. The client is [CLIENT DESCRIPTION — sophistication, litigation experience, anxiety level]. The matter is [MATTER NAME], now at the [CURRENT STAGE] stage. Clients of this firm get updates they can understand without calling the office.

## Task
Draft a status update letter to the client covering:
- What has happened since the last update: [DEVELOPMENTS SINCE LAST UPDATE]
- What happens next and when: [NEXT STEPS AND EXPECTED DATES]
- Anything the client must do: [CLIENT ACTION ITEMS, OR "NONE"]
- A one-sentence answer to the question every client has: where does my case stand?

## Standards
- One page or less. Plain English. Define any legal term you cannot avoid, in-line — for example, "interrogatories (written questions the other side must answer under oath)."
- Lead with the bottom line, not the procedural history.
- State dates the court controls as estimates. Do not promise outcomes or timelines the attorney does not control.
- Do not characterize the merits unless [MERITS NOTE] says to, and then use only the language given.
- Close with how to reach the attorney and when the next update will come.
- If the stage, developments, or next steps are unclear or conflict with each other, ask before drafting. Do not invent procedural events.

## Input checklist

- [ ] Current docket status and any filings since the last update
- [ ] Real dates: deadlines, hearing settings, discovery cutoffs — pulled from your calendar, not memory
- [ ] Anything you need from the client (documents, deposition availability)
- [ ] The date and content of your last update, so the letter does not repeat it
- [ ] Remove client-identifying details, or confirm your AI tool sits under your firm's confidentiality and bar guidance before pasting client data

## Verification checklist

- [ ] Every date matches the docket or your calendar — AI states estimated dates as fixed ones
- [ ] No promised outcome or timeline you do not control
- [ ] Stage terminology fits your court — "case management conference" and "scheduling conference" are not interchangeable everywhere
- [ ] In-line definitions are accurate, not loose paraphrases
- [ ] Action items match what you already told the client by phone, if you called first
- [ ] Nothing contradicts your engagement letter on scope or fees
- [ ] The letter does not concede fault for any delay that was not yours
- [ ] You have read the whole letter before it goes out — ABA Formal Opinion 512 (2024) puts responsibility for AI-assisted work product on you, not the tool

## Customization notes

Match [CURRENT STAGE] vocabulary to your court — state motion practice differs from federal. For institutional clients, drop the in-line definitions and add a fees-to-date line. Contingency plaintiffs need less procedure and more "what this means for your recovery." Save your standard [NEXT STEPS] language per stage and this becomes a five-minute task each month.

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From The Solo Attorney's AI Practice Library — vetslearn.com/libraries/attorney