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Run a two-person law firm on Claude skills that review redlines, draft contracts and check every cited authority
Zack Shapiro, managing partner of Rains, a two-person boutique law firm handling startup formation, venture capital transactions and regulatory work, in his own article on X
Custom Claude skills, bundled as a Cowork plugin, hold his own frameworks and formats for contract review, tracked-changes edits, drafting, client emails and research. Claude does the first pass and he applies his judgment to what it flags.
Claude $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) (Pro); Cowork plugins and skills need a paid plan
Medium · or we set it up for $197
Claude, Claude Cowork
The problem
A two-person transactional firm takes on deals where a bigger firm would put a team of associates on first-pass review, research and drafting.
What happened
The night before a closing, he says he had the core of an analysis of a buyer's demand letter in under two hours, where three associates at a mid-size firm would have needed until morning. He says he had Claude analyze months of his work to suggest the skills, then refined six of them over a couple of hours. Self-reported.
Quoted in the source: Zack Shapiro, managing partner, Rains. Source: Zack Shapiro on X: The Claude-Native Law Firm: How I Actually Practice Law with AI in 2026 (2026-02-27) · Added 2026-10-24.
How to set it up yourself
- What Rains uses: Claude with six custom skills, bundled as a Cowork plugin, instead of a legal-specific AI tool. The article covers contract review, tracked-changes editing, contract drafting, client communications and legal research with a self-review step that checks every cited authority.
- Start smaller: in Claude, create a Project for one job you repeat (for example reviewing the other side's redlines). Paste the prompt below into the project instructions, with your own review checklist and preferred clause positions.
- Upload two or three past matters with your final markups (client names removed) so Claude sees how you actually decide, then run the project on a closed deal and compare its notes with what you did.
- Add a rule that every case, statute or clause Claude cites must be quoted from the documents or flagged as unverified, and check each one yourself before anything goes to a client.
- Once one project works, repeat it for drafting, client emails and research. Shapiro packaged his as skills; your bar's confidentiality rules decide which documents you can upload.
Copy-paste prompt
You are the first-pass reviewer for {FIRM NAME}, a {NUMBER}-lawyer firm that represents {CLIENT TYPE} in {PRACTICE AREA}. Review the attached {DOCUMENT TYPE} from the other side against our standard positions: {LIST YOUR POSITIONS}. For each change: quote the clause, say what it does to our client in one plain sentence, rate it accept / push back / reject, and draft our tracked-change language. Then list anything missing that our standard form includes. Quote the exact text for every point. If you cite any law, mark it UNVERIFIED unless it appears in the documents I gave you. End with the three points I should call the client about first.We set up one AI automation in your tools, live within 48 hours of getting access, for $197. No call needed. Founding price for our first 10 customers (regular $297).
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Tools used
Claude
AI assistant for writing, long documents, analysis and coding help.
From $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) (checked 2026-10-24)
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Checked prices: Claude: from $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) (verified 2026-10-24)
Rather not do it yourself?
The $197 Quick-Win: we set up one AI automation that saves you hours each week, in accounts you own, live within 48 hours of getting access. No call needed. Refund if it isn't live in 48 hours or isn't doing its job in the first 14 days. Founding price for our first 10 customers (regular $297). Terms.
See the $197 Quick-WinNeed more than one automation or ongoing care? Bigger setups: $149/mo with setup included (6-month minimum), or $497 pay-once. Satisfaction guarantee: we'll fix it until it works. Pay-once setups: or we refund your setup fee. $149/mo plan: cancel in the first 30 days and we refund your first month. We reply within 1 business day.
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