Summarize and Organize Discovery Documents with Claude

The free tier of Claude works for quick questions, but reviewing discovery documents at any real volume needs the file upload limits and Project features that come with a paid plan.

1. Go to claude.ai and create an account if you do not have one.
2. Upgrade to Pro.

What you should see: Your account dashboard shows the paid plan active, and an option to create a new Project appears in the sidebar. Troubleshooting: If you already use Claude for personal tasks, consider a separate account for firm work so client-related uploads stay in one place and are easier to track for billing and confidentiality purposes.

Claude's Projects feature keeps a set of uploaded documents and conversation history together under one matter, so you are not re-uploading files every time you have a follow-up question.

1. Click to start a new Project.
2. Name it using your internal matter number rather than the client's full name, consistent with how you would label a physical file in a shared or backed-up system.

What you should see: An empty Project workspace with a place to add files and a chat window. Troubleshooting: If you handle multiple matters, create a separate Project for each one. Mixing documents from different clients in one Project risks confusing which facts belong to which case.

Before uploading anything, screen the batch for content that should not leave your firm's systems in its current form.

1. Remove or redact Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and any third-party personal information that is not relevant to the legal issue.
2. Confirm none of the documents are still covered by a protective order that restricts where they can be stored or processed. If one applies, read its terms before uploading anything.
3. Save the cleaned set as PDFs or the format Claude accepts.

What you should see: A folder of reviewed documents ready to upload, with sensitive identifiers removed where they are not needed for your analysis.

1. Inside the Project, click the option to add files.
2. Select the prepared batch of discovery documents.
3. Wait for the upload and processing to finish before asking your first question.

What you should see: A list of the uploaded files in the Project's file panel, confirming they were received. Troubleshooting: If a file fails to upload, check its size and format. Very large scanned PDFs sometimes need to be split into smaller batches.

In the chat window, describe exactly what you want. Vague requests produce vague summaries, so be specific about the format.

1. Ask for a chronological summary by date.
2. Ask it to flag documents mentioning specific facts you care about (a contract date, a named individual, a dollar figure).
3. Ask for a short list of open questions the documents raise.

What you should see: A structured response, usually with headers or a table, organizing the documents by date or topic with citations to which uploaded file each point came from.

Do not treat the summary as the record. Open the original document for each item Claude flagged as important and confirm it says what the summary claims.

1. Cross-check dates, names, and dollar amounts against the source PDF.
2. Note any discrepancy and correct it in your own working notes.

What you should see: A verified set of notes you can trust to build your case theory or prep a deposition outline from, because you have personally confirmed the key facts.