Write the facts, not the keywords
“What are the rules on termination?” is a search string. Facts, dates, jurisdiction, and the output you want: that is a brief. The assistant handles the second better than the first.
In two lines
- A detailed question confers context. A vague phrase yields a vague summary.
- Name the output: advice, risks, a comparison, a memo, or a draft.
The composer invites brevity. Brevity suits an engine hunting a word. It is weak when the answer will be reviewed as a brief.
State the legal relationship in time order. Give the date from which a deadline runs. Name the court or authority if you know it. Say what should come out: a risk list on a contract, a comparison of two texts, or the skeleton of a memo.
Chat or matter?
A passing question: standalone chat. Parties, documents, deadlines, or work that will last days: open a matter. A matter conversation reads its permitted context, not the whole office.
While an answer is running
Hard research can take time. Do not resend. Queue a follow-up; it runs in order. Sending again does not speed things up. It can split the context.
- Sign in to the right workspace.
- Open a chat or create a matter.
- Write the facts and the output you need.
- Open the references before relying on anything.
Getting started puts the clicks on the screen. This note puts the habit in the first sentence: facts before keywords.