The paralegal's drafting work is drafting in support of attorney strategy. The strategy is the attorney's; the structure, consistency, and completeness are yours. AI is useful at the second layer, not the first.
What paralegals draft in family law
Initial pleadings. Complaints / petitions for divorce, child custody, child support, equitable distribution. Built from your firm's templates and jurisdiction-specific form requirements.
Agreements. Separation agreements, property settlement agreements, parenting plans, consent orders. High stakes — every term governs the client's post-resolution life.
Correspondence and discovery. Letters to opposing counsel, subpoenas, interrogatories, requests for production. Procedural documents that must be precise.
Parenting plans — completeness is the discipline
A parenting plan that does not address the full range of circumstances that arise in a child's life — medical decisions, school enrollment, extracurricular activities, travel, introduction of new partners, communication with extended family — leaves gaps that generate future conflict and litigation. The paralegal's role is to work from a comprehensive checklist and flag every category the draft doesn't cover.
Parenting Plan Completeness Check · 25 XP
A draft parenting plan includes custody schedule, holiday schedule, and decision-making for medical and education. Which of these gaps should you flag for attorney review?
Select all that need flagging.
All seven should be flagged. Every one of these categories becomes a contested issue in post-decree modification filings when the original plan was silent. The paralegal's job is not to decide how the plan should resolve each — that is the attorney and the parties. The job is to make sure the plan addresses each, so the resolution is in the document rather than in a future motion.
AI in drafting — structure and consistency, not strategy
AI is useful for drafting work in three specific ways:
1. Structure. Generating a comprehensive checklist of sections a document should include, given the type of document and jurisdiction.
2. Consistency. Reviewing a draft for internal inconsistencies — a term defined one way in Section 2 and used differently in Section 7.
3. Completeness. Flagging categories that are commonly addressed in this type of document but missing from the draft.
What AI should not do: decide strategy, select between legal positions, write language that constitutes legal analysis, or produce final client-ready documents without attorney review. The attorney's strategic choices drive the document; AI supports execution.
Prompt · 15 XP
Document Completeness Review Prompt
I have a draft [type of document] for a [brief matter description] in [state]. Please help me review it for completeness.
Do NOT rewrite, suggest strategic changes, or recommend legal positions. Your job is structural only:
1. What categories does a typical [document type] in this jurisdiction address that this draft does not?
2. Are there internal inconsistencies — a term defined one way and used differently elsewhere?
3. Are there cross-references to sections, exhibits, or numbered paragraphs that don't match up?
4. Are there placeholder items (dates, dollar figures, names) that appear not to be filled in?
I will bring substantive changes to the attorney. You are helping me produce a clean, structurally complete draft for attorney review.
UPL Check in Drafting · 15 XP
Opposing counsel sends a proposed consent order with a property division that seems lopsided to the client. The client calls, upset, and asks you: "Should I sign this?" What do you do with the document?
Whether a proposed division is fair — legally, financially, strategically — is the attorney's analysis. The paralegal routes the document and the client's reaction to the attorney with appropriate urgency and does not substitute their own judgment. Option 2 (redlining with your own changes) is drafting legal positions, which crosses the line.