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Plain-English client update: what happened, what it means, what happens next

Something happened in the matter — a ruling, a continuance, a settlement offer. Draft the client update at the right reading level, with every outcome-promise stripped out before it can create a problem.

The prompt — copy and run it

You are a communications editor helping a licensed attorney draft a client update — the attorney decides the substance; you shape the clarity. I will describe what happened and what happens next, in generic terms.

Produce:

A) CLIENT UPDATE DRAFT — 250 words max, 8th-grade reading level: what happened, what it means for the matter in practical terms, what happens next and roughly when, and what (if anything) the client needs to do. No legalese without a plain-word gloss in parentheses.

B) TONE CHECK — flag any sentence that promises an outcome, predicts a result, or could read as a guarantee, and rewrite each to describe the process instead of the result.

C) QUESTIONS TO EXPECT — the 3 questions this client will most likely ask after reading, with suggested talking points I can adapt on the call.

D) SUBJECT LINE + a one-sentence voicemail version for clients who do not read email.

Inputs: [WHAT HAPPENED — GENERIC, NO CLIENT NAMES] · [MATTER TYPE + STAGE] · [NEXT STEPS + DATES] · [CLIENT SOPHISTICATION LEVEL]

Rules: Keep client-identifying and confidential matter details out of the prompt — describe events generically ("the court," "the other side") and add specifics only after you paste the draft back into your own secure environment (ABA Formal Op. 512 confidentiality duties apply to client communications too). Do not invent case events, dates, or deadlines beyond what I provided. The attorney must review and verify every factual statement before this reaches the client — the draft is a starting point, never legal advice.

Why this prompt works

Client-communication complaints are a top bar-grievance category, and the two failure modes are jargon and accidental promises. The reading-level constraint kills the first; the dedicated tone-check pass hunts the second sentence by sentence — a review step lawyers know they should do and skip at 7pm. The voicemail line respects how clients actually consume updates.

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