Tutorial 12: Practice Area Deep Dives for Legal Professionals
Master Claude's capabilities across M&A, real estate, banking, employment, and IP practice areas with specialized prompting techniques
Practice Area Deep Dives for Legal Professionals
Intermediate Level
Basic Claude experience required | Time: 75 minutes
Learning Objectives
By the end of this tutorial, you will:
- Master Claude's capabilities in M&A/Private Equity document analysis
- Develop expertise in real estate transaction document review
- Understand banking and finance agreement analysis workflows
- Apply Claude to employment law matters efficiently
- Navigate intellectual property assessment and portfolio analysis
Part 1: M&A/Private Equity Deep Dive
Understanding M&A Document Complexity
M&A transactions involve multiple interconnected documents. Claude excels at this complexity:
| Document Type | Analysis Challenge | Claude's Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) | Warranties/conditions/covenants layers | Extracts all provisions systematically |
| Limited Partnership Agreement (LPA) | Fee structures across tiers | Creates comparison tables automatically |
| Due Diligence Reports | Volume of documents (500+) | Summarizes key risks across all docs |
| Term Sheets | Multiple conditions precedent | Maps contingencies and interdependencies |
Exercise 1: Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) Analysis
Scenario: Your client is acquiring a tech startup. You've received a 50-page SPA and need to assess warranty and indemnification provisions.
Prompt Template:
Always Specify Perspective
Specify whether you represent BUYER or SELLER early in the prompt to get tailored risk analysis.
Exercise 2: Limited Partnership Agreement (LPA) Review
Scenario: Your fund is investing in a new fund. You need to understand fee structures and distribution waterfall.
Prompt:
Exercise 3: Due Diligence Document Compilation
Scenario: Managing a 450-document data room for acquisition due diligence.
Workflow:
Claude vs. Harvey vs. Legora for M&A
| Capability | Claude | Harvey | Legora |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPA Analysis | Customizable criteria | Template-based | Not focused |
| LPA Economics | Waterfall visualization | Limited | Good for comparisons |
| Bulk DD Review | 450+ docs, custom priorities | Structured workflow | Tabular extraction |
| Cost per deal | $50-200 (Claude credits) | $2,000-5,000 | $3,000-10,000 |
| Customization | Complete | Moderate | Moderate |
| Speed (450 docs) | 2-3 hours | 1-2 hours (set-up heavy) | 2-3 hours |
Part 2: Real Estate Transactions
Exercise 4: Commercial Lease Analysis & Abstraction
Scenario: Your client is the landlord reviewing a 40-page triple-net lease. You need to extract operative terms.
Comprehensive Prompt:
Exercise 5: Title and Survey Review
Scenario: Real estate closing tomorrow. Reviewing title commitment and survey.
Prompt:
Real Estate Comparison: Claude vs. Competitors
| Task | Claude | Legora | iManage RE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lease abstraction | Full-featured | Not designed | Automated |
| Title review | Risk identification | No capability | No capability |
| Multi-document comparison | Portfolio view | Portfolio view | Full suite |
| Cost per transaction | $20-50 | $500-1,000 | $2,000+ |
| Custom criteria | Full | Limited | Limited |
Request Year 10 Projections
For rent escalation clauses, ask Claude to calculate Year 10 rent to visualize long-term impact.
Part 3: Banking & Finance Agreements
Exercise 6: Facility Agreement Analysis
Scenario: Your client is borrowing $50M. You need to understand the credit agreement structure.
Prompt:
Verify Rate Calculations
For SOFR/LIBOR rates, ask Claude to show the formula step-by-step and verify independently.
Exercise 7: ISDA Master Agreement Review
Scenario: Your client is a financial institution executing derivatives. Reviewing ISDA for counterparty.
Prompt:
Part 4: Employment Law
Exercise 8: Dismissal and Discrimination Claims Analysis
Scenario: Your client company received notice of an employment discrimination claim. Assess exposure.
Prompt:
Provide Comparator Lists Upfront
Include a list of comparable employees with demographics to get accurate comparator analysis.
Exercise 9: Employment Contract Review
Scenario: Executive hire. Review offer letter and employment agreement.
Prompt:
Exercise 10: Non-Compete Enforceability Assessment
Scenario: Your company wants to enforce a non-compete. Assess likelihood of success.
Prompt:
Part 5: Intellectual Property
Exercise 11: Patent Application Review
Scenario: Technical team developed new software process. Assess patentability before application.
Prompt:
Verify Prior Art Searches
Request USPTO prior art search results before relying on patentability analysis.
Exercise 12: Trademark Analysis
Scenario: Company wants to protect brand. Analyze registration options and risks.
Prompt:
Exercise 13: IP Portfolio Assessment
Scenario: Company acquired by PE firm. Assess IP value and gaps.
Prompt:
Part 6: Quality Control & Best Practices
The Practice Area Verification Framework
PACE Checklist for each practice area deep dive:
- P - Provision Accuracy: Verify Claude referenced actual contract language
- A - Assumption Check: Confirm jurisdictional law assumptions (state, country, industry)
- C - Comparator Validation: For employment/discrimination, verify you identified true comparators
- E - Economic Analysis: For finance/M&A, verify math on waterfall calculations
Common Errors by Practice Area
| Practice Area | Common Error | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| M&A | Misunderstood warranty basket mechanism | Request specific section references |
| Real Estate | Missed ground lease implications | Ask "Are there any ground leases?" |
| Banking | Wrong SOFR/LIBOR rate calculation | Verify rate formulas with Claude |
| Employment | Insufficient comparator analysis | Require names and detailed comparison |
| IP | Patentability overconfidence | Require USPTO search results verification |
Quality Control Template
Red Flag Triggers
Any risk marked HIGH requires attorney review before action. Any numerical analysis should be recalculated independently. Any citation to specific case law must be Shepardized/KeyCited before relying on it.
Part 7: Practice-Area Specific Prompting Tips
M&A Specific
- Always specify BUYER or SELLER perspective
- Request side-by-side market comparison tables
- Ask for waterfall visualizations (easier to verify than text)
- Request specific survival periods and baskets in dollar amounts, not percentages
Real Estate Specific
- Specify tenant/landlord perspective early
- Request lease abstracts in consistent format for portfolio analysis
- For rent escalation, ask Claude to calculate Year 10 rent
- Request specific state law analysis for enforceability
Banking Specific
- Request step-by-step covenant calculation examples
- For SOFR/LIBOR, ask Claude to show rate formula
- Request comparison to syndicated loan market data (Loan Pricing Corporation)
- Specify bilateral vs. unilateral for termination provisions
Employment Specific
- Provide comparable employee list upfront
- Ask for specific state law analysis (non-compete rules vary widely)
- Request draft demand letter/response
- Ask for detailed investigation checklist
IP Specific
- Request USPTO prior art search before patentability analysis
- Ask Claude to draft claim language, not just assess
- For trademark, request clearance search results review
- Request cost-benefit analysis for enforcement
Homework Before Tutorial 13
- Complete 2 practice-area analyses (pick different practice areas)
- Apply the PACE framework to verify Claude's output
- Create practice-area templates for documents you work with regularly
- Document lessons learned from each analysis
- Update your SOP with Claude integration points
Sources
- Legal AI Practice Area Benchmarking
- M&A Best Practices in Commercial Transactions
- Real Estate Industry Standards
- Banking & Finance Standards
- EEOC Enforcement Standards
- USPTO Patent & Trademark Resources