In today’s legal and business environments, artificial intelligence tools can assist significantly with document review, contract analysis, and legal research preparation. One practical use is having AI generate a list of terms to define—helping you build a contract glossary or develop a thorough research checklist. However, it’s crucial to understand the delicate balance between using AI for information gathering and avoiding unauthorized practice of law (UPL) pitfalls.
Why Use AI to Generate a List of Definitions?
Legal documents are dense, and contracts often contain specialized terminology, obscure references, and jurisdiction-dependent language. You might:
- Want to identify unfamiliar terms and concepts before deeper research
- Seek to build a clear glossary to speed up internal review processes
- Need a checklist for follow-up research and double-checking definitions
AI excels at scanning text for patterns and keywords rapidly. It can highlight terms or phrases worth investigating without replacing the nuanced analysis a qualified lawyer can provide.
Key Considerations When Asking AI for Definitions
1. Clarify Your Request Without Overstepping Legal Advice
The most common AI misstep is asking for legal advice or specific interpretations. Instead, phrase prompts to focus on information gathering. For example:
- Good: “Generate a list of terms in this contract that I should consider defining or researching.”
- Bad: “Explain the legal effect of the indemnity clause in this contract.”
This distinction matters because AI tools do not practice law and cannot replace licensed professionals. Avoid asking AI to render conclusions about laws, cases, or obligations.
2. Provide Clear Source Documents or Text for Analysis
AI needs meaningful input to generate accurate term lists. Simply saying “Give me terms to define” without any underlying context leads to generic or incomplete outputs. Share the contract excerpt or key sections you want analyzed. That way, the AI can pinpoint terms within your specific protopage.com document.
3. Ask for a Structured Output
Request outputs in a checklist or glossary format. For example:
– Term 1: [Why look it up?] – Term 2: [Context or section reference] – Term 3: [Suggested questions to research]
A structured list helps you organize follow-up research systematically.
Common Mistake: No Body Content Was Captured
A repeating error when using AI to generate definitions is neglecting to include the contract or text body. If you feed the AI only a title or summary without the actual content, it cannot identify terms from your document. The result may be a meaningless list or generic legal terms not tied to your case.
Always double-check you provide the core body text before generating your contract glossary or research checklist. Remember, AI reflects what it processes, and incomplete input yields incomplete output.
Focus on Legal Information, Not Legal Advice
It cannot be overstated: AI-generated lists of definitions are for educational or preparatory purposes only. These resources help build awareness but do not substitute for legal advice.
Legal Information: Objective facts, definitions of terms, references to statutes and concepts.
Legal Advice: Applying legal principles to your specific situation or making recommendations.
By focusing your AI prompt on compiling terms or concepts to explore further, you’re staying safely in the realm of legal information.
Be Aware of Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) Risks
Using AI tools improperly can raise UPL concerns, particularly if you or an unlicensed person rely on AI to interpret or draft legally binding language. Avoid these red flags:
- Letting AI explain the legal consequences of a clause
- Asking AI to draft or revise contract terms without attorney review
- Presenting AI-generated content as final legal advice or an opinion
Your best practice is to use AI to assist in data collection or document summarization, then have licensed lawyers review and validate before relying.
AI as a Drafting and Summarizing Assistant
Think of AI as a paralegal on steroids, not a lawyer. It’s great at:
- Highlighting unusual or legalese-heavy terms
- Extracting clauses or key phrases
- Preparing checklists for attorneys or teams to address
But the ultimate interpretation and risk assessment require human legal judgment.
Use Source Checking and Citations
When AI provides definitions or references, validate each item using trusted legal databases or primary sources. If your AI tool does not cite its sources, do not rely solely on it. Always:
Good AI prompts encourage the tool to note where terms are found in your document and suggest types of sources for further checks.
Sample Prompt to Generate a List of Terms to Define
Here’s an example of a balanced prompt you can use with any AI text tool:
“Please read the following contract excerpt and generate a list of key terms and phrases that might require definition or further research. For each term, include the section and a brief note on why it is important to understand. Do not provide any legal advice or interpretation, only objective identification.”
Summary Checklist
Conclusion
Using AI to generate a contract glossary or list of terms to define can be an invaluable step in document review and legal research preparation. However, to maximize usefulness and avoid common pitfalls, always provide meaningful text input, ask AI only for legal information rather than advice, and verify all outputs with reliable sources. Combine AI’s strengths as a drafting assistant with your or your lawyer’s expertise to create an effective and compliant workflow.
Remember my go-to question: “What would a judge ask next?” This mindset helps ensure your workflows and research meet professional standards and limit risk.