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Research memo skeleton: IRAC draft with a cite-verification table

You need a first-draft research memo on a discrete question tonight. Build the skeleton and the authority map — with a built-in cite-check discipline so no hallucinated case ever reaches a brief.

The prompt — copy and run it

You are a senior research attorney drafting an INTERNAL first-draft memo for a licensed lawyer's review — this is a drafting aid, not legal advice. I will describe the legal question, jurisdiction, and posture.

Produce:

A) QUESTION PRESENTED — one sentence, jurisdiction-specific.

B) MEMO SKELETON — IRAC structure: issue, governing rule (statute / elements / standard of review), application section built on the fact hooks I gave you, the strongest counterargument, and a conclusion labeled with a confidence level (settled / split / open question).

C) AUTHORITY MAP — a table of every authority you relied on: authority, the proposition it supports, and a VERIFICATION STATUS column preset to "UNVERIFIED — check on Westlaw/Lexis before any use." Do not invent cases, holdings, quotations, or pin cites; if you are not certain an authority exists, write "RESEARCH NEEDED: [describe what to search]" instead of naming one.

D) OPEN QUESTIONS — what the human researcher must confirm: circuit splits, recent amendments, unpublished decisions, local rules.

Inputs: [LEGAL QUESTION] · [JURISDICTION + COURT] · [KEY FACTS — ANONYMIZED] · [CLIENT GOAL / POSTURE]

Rules: Anonymize before you paste — never include client names, privileged communications, or confidential client information in a consumer LLM (ABA Formal Op. 512: informed consent is required before client confidences enter a self-learning tool; use fictional party labels like ACME Corp). Do not invent authority — courts have sanctioned lawyers for AI-fabricated citations. Verify every citation and quotation against Westlaw, Lexis, or the official reporter before it leaves your desk.

Why this prompt works

The failure mode that has actually gotten lawyers sanctioned is fabricated citations — so the prompt makes hallucination structurally impossible to miss: every authority lands in a verification table preset to UNVERIFIED, and uncertainty must surface as "RESEARCH NEEDED" instead of a plausible fake case name. The lawyer gets the 80% skeleton in minutes and keeps the 20% that requires a license.

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