Claude for lawyers
Practical legal research and drafting workflows with Claude.
Learn how to use Claude, Claude Cowork, and Claude Code for case law, court dockets, federal and state statutes, legal drafting, PDFs, Word documents, citation checking, and safer source-grounded legal work.
Last reviewed August 18, 2026
Free legal research tools for Claude
Choose the tool that matches your research task. Use the CourtListener extension for cases and federal dockets, or Legal Library plugins for statutes and court rules.
Cases and dockets: CourtListener
Search opinions and RECAP dockets, download public court materials, and keep a reusable research library on your computer.
Setup: Download the extension and enter a free CourtListener API key.
Download courtlistener.mcpbStatutes and rules: Legal Libraries
Search bundled federal and state statutes, constitutions, and court rules with links back to public legal sources.
Setup: Allow our download domain, then add the marketplace. No API key required.
Open the marketplace on GitHub| Tool | Research materials | API key | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| CourtListener | Opinions, RECAP dockets, and available filings | Free CourtListener token | Folder selected on your computer |
| Legal Libraries | Statutes, constitutions, and selected court rules | None | Installed plugin environment |
Install the CourtListener extension
Add your free API key, choose a local research library, and research opinions, dockets, and public court documents.
Install the Legal Library plugins
Configure Claude's domain allowlist, add the marketplace, and ground research in federal and state statutes and court rules.
How lawyers can use Claude
Claude can help with more than generating prose. The strongest workflows give it a defined task, controlled files, and sources an attorney can inspect.
Legal research
Find primary authorities, read the underlying text, and connect conclusions to verifiable sources.
Legal drafting
Develop arguments and language while preserving attorney judgment, templates, and review controls.
Document review
Work through PDFs, Word documents, exhibits, and matter files without losing the question being answered.
Start here
Guides to Claude for legal work
How to Search CourtListener with Claude
Install the free CourtListener extension to search case law, inspect federal dockets, and download full opinions and available RECAP filings.
Read the guideHow to Research the U.S. Code with Claude
Install the free U.S. Code plugin and use Claude to search, retrieve, compare, and analyze federal statutes from primary-source text.
Read the guideHow to Check Legal Citations with Claude
Use full-text opinions to check whether cases exist, quotations are accurate, and cited authorities support the propositions in a brief.
Read the guideCan Lawyers Use Claude? Ethics, Confidentiality, and Client Data
A primary-source analysis of Claude Pro and Team under the ABA rules, including confidentiality, training, consent, supervision, and billing.
Read the guideClaude for Lawyers: Web, Cowork, and Code Explained
A practical guide for lawyers deciding which Claude product to use for legal work.
Read the guideClaude for Lawyers: Tokens and Context Windows Explained
Why long chats and large Word documents can make Claude worse—and how lawyers can manage context deliberately.
Read the guideA safer Claude legal research workflow
Claude can accelerate research, but it does not replace source review or professional judgment.
- 1
Start with a defined legal question and the relevant jurisdiction.
- 2
Locate primary authorities instead of asking Claude to answer from memory.
- 3
Make Claude read the underlying opinion, statute, rule, or record.
- 4
Require source citations for every material legal conclusion.
- 5
Verify quotations, currency, treatment, and procedural posture yourself.
- 6
Apply the authorities to client facts only after reviewing the sources.
Frequently asked questions
Claude legal research FAQ
Can Claude search CourtListener?
Yes. CourtListener by DocketDrafter lets Claude Cowork and Claude Code search opinions and federal RECAP dockets, retrieve full opinions, and download available public filings.
Are the DocketDrafter legal research tools free?
Yes. The CourtListener extension and the statute and court-rule plugins are free and open source. CourtListener requires a free API token; the Legal Library plugins do not.
Can these tools replace Westlaw or Lexis?
No. Coverage differs, and the free tools do not provide commercial annotations, Shepard’s, or KeyCite. They are useful for working with public primary sources directly inside Claude, while attorneys remain responsible for complete research and currentness review.
Where does Claude save the legal materials?
CourtListener opinions and filings are saved in the research-library folder selected during installation. The statute and rules plugins download their legal corpora into the installed plugin environment for local use.
Claude drafts. DocketDrafter controls the document.
Our free plugins help ground legal research in sources. DocketDrafter provides the controlled firm workspace around drafting: templates, formatting rules, approved prior work, citation review, version history, and reliable Word output.
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