The problem
After a hearing the client wants to know what was ordered and what happens next, and the email gets written in the evening. If you attend 14 hearings a month and each email takes 25 minutes, that's 350 minutes, about 5.8 hours a month.
What the AI does
After the hearing you write your usual short note of the order and next steps, without names. You paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini with a standing instruction and ask for a calm, plain-English email with a placeholder for the client's name. You check every date, order and deadline against the sealed order or your note and send it from your case system. It does not interpret the order beyond what you wrote, and it does not predict outcomes.
A worked example
A family solicitor in Exeter attends about 14 hearings a month. After each, she types a few bullet points of what was ordered and the deadlines, with no names, and uses her assistant to turn them into a client email she checks.
Before
25 minutes to write each client email: 5.8 hours a month
After
About 12 minutes to type the bullets and check the draft: 2.8 hours a month
What it's worth
About 3 hours a month saved (13 minutes x 14 hearings = 182 minutes), worth around £212 if solicitor time is worth £70 an hour. Plans run from free to about £20 a month for one person.
How to set it up
- Write a standing instruction: plain English, calm, never speculate about outcomes, never add dates you did not give.
- Write your attendance note as a short bullet list with no names, addresses or children's details.
- Paste the bullets in and ask for an email with [CLIENT] as the name.
- Check dates, orders, deadlines and every sentence against the sealed order or your note.
- Add the client's name inside your case system and send it from there.
What goes wrong
- A draft can misstate an order or a deadline. The client may act on it, so verify each against the order itself.
- Family proceedings often involve restrictions on what can be shared. Check what your note and email contain before pasting anything.
- Consumer plans are not suitable for identifiable client data, so use placeholders and keep case details in your case system.
- Do not let tone drift into reassurance. The assistant must not promise or predict results.