Ruben Hassid · 8 min read · Gen AI Tools
Claude for Legal.
Read the original on ruben.substack.com →
Anthropic has released a free legal plugin for Claude (available on paid plans) that can review contracts, flag risky clauses, and suggest negotiation changes—capabilities previously reserved for expensive legal counsel. Lawyers have become Claude's #1 power users, and the article argues non-lawyers should adopt the same habit to protect themselves from costly contract oversights. The guide walks through setup, teaching the tool your preferences, and knowing when to still consult a human lawyer.
Key Takeaways
- Lawyers became Claude's #1 power users in May, using it 3x more than any other profession—non-lawyers should follow their lead when reviewing contracts.
- Anthropic's commercial-legal plugin is included in existing Claude paid plans ($20/$100/month) and offers tools like contract review, renewal tracking, stakeholder summaries, and escalation flagging.
- The plugin rates NDAs as green, yellow, or red and drafts the specific changes to request—making basic legal review accessible to non-lawyers with a 'Non-lawyer' mode built in.
- Users must actively 'teach' the plugin their rules via a playbook (e.g., preferred usage rights terms, deal-breakers) to get personalized, relevant contract guidance.
- 1 in 4 small business owners sign contracts as-is without negotiating, a risk that AI-assisted contract review can significantly reduce.
Excerpt
Lawyers jumped on Claude way before you. In May, they became its #1 power users: 3x more usage than any other job. Codex (ChatGPT) or Claude Code saw the most adoption from Legal. These people bill $349 an hour, on average, in the US. And they still let AI do the first read (and they should). You sign contracts too. An NDA before a sales call. A tool’s terms. A sponsor’s “standard agreement” (maybe that’s mostly me). 1 in 4 small business owners sign contracts as-is (Rocket Lawyer, 2026). They don’t correct anything. You must jump on it as lawyers…