Review a contract and flag risky clauses
A risk-ranked issues list, suggested redlines, and questions before you sign.
The prompt
Role: Act as legal counsel reviewing a counterparty's contract draft.
Context: Contract and its purpose: [CONTRACT_PURPOSE]. The counterparty draft (paste or summary by clause): [DRAFT]. Our playbook / acceptable positions: [PLAYBOOK]. Our risk appetite and must-nots: [RISK_APPETITE]. Deal context and leverage: [DEAL_CONTEXT]. Governing law: [LAW].
Goal: Give the deal team a clear, prioritised view of where this contract exposes us and what to push back on.
Task: Produce: (1) a risk-ranked issues list - clause reference, the issue in plain English, the business impact if unchanged, our playbook position, and a suggested redline or fallback; (2) the 3-5 points that are deal-blockers vs negotiable; (3) missing protections we would normally expect; (4) questions for the business before we respond.
Constraints: Identify issues and positions; do not give a legal opinion on enforceability or litigation outcome. Base risk ratings on our stated appetite. Do not assume facts not in the draft - flag ambiguities instead. Quote clause references, not long extracts.
Examples: Issue row: 'Cl. 11.2 Indemnity - uncapped and covers indirect loss. Impact: unlimited exposure on [scenario]. Playbook: mutual, capped at fees. Suggested: cap at 12 months' fees, carve back indirect loss.'
Format: Sections: Risk-ranked issues (table) | Deal-blockers vs negotiable | Missing protections | Questions for the business.
Verification: Check each issue cites a real clause in the draft and each rating matches the stated risk appetite; flag clauses you could not fully assess.
Validation: A qualified lawyer must confirm the positions before redlines go back. Sanity-check the top 3 issues against the deal leverage: are we pushing where we can actually win?
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Legal & Compliance prompts
What to fill in
- CONTRACT_PURPOSE
- DRAFT
- PLAYBOOK
- RISK_APPETITE
- DEAL_CONTEXT
- LAW
- scenario
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RCTFVV structure (Role, Context, Task, Format, Verification, Validation). RCTFVV extends RCTF with two checking steps. Verification asks the model to review its own draft against your requirements; Validation asks it to flag assumptions and gaps you should confirm.
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