Matter status report for client review

Nothing here is legal advice. A draft is a starting point for a qualified person, not a substitute for one.

Use one fixed reporting structure for every active matter. It lets you turn a defined set of recent material into a client update that identifies what has happened, what needs a decision and what happens next.

This method is for legal teams sending regular matter updates. It produces a draft for review by the responsible qualified person. Nothing here is legal advice, and a draft is not a substitute for professional judgement.

1. Set the reporting period and source pack

Before drafting, decide the exact period the report covers, for example 1 May to 31 May. Put only material relevant to that period into a source pack.

Include:

• Recent client and opponent correspondence
• Court, tribunal or regulatory notices
• Procedural orders and hearing notices
• Internal attendance notes and task notes
• The last client status report, if there is one
• A current deadline list or case-management timetable

For each item, record its source, date and author or sender. Use a simple cover sheet at the top of the pack:

Field	Example
Matter	Smith v Northside Ltd
Reporting period	1 May to 31 May
Source pack prepared by	Initials and date
Items excluded	Privileged strategy note dated 12 May
Known deadlines	Defence due 14 June; directions hearing 20 June

Exclude material that the client should not receive, such as internal strategy discussions, unapproved advice or information concerning another client. Keep the source pack in the matter workspace under the same access controls as the original documents.

2. Use the same report headings each time

Create a report template with five headings. Keep the headings even when a section is short. Clients learn where to find the information they need.

1. Period covered and current position: one short paragraph stating the matter and its present stage.
2. Work completed: dated actions taken during the period.
3. Developments and implications: material events, without overstating what they mean.
4. Decisions or information needed from you: a separate, numbered list.
5. Deadlines and next steps: owner, action and date.

Use plain language in the client-facing draft. Replace internal shorthand such as CFR or PTR unless you define it. Do not turn uncertainty into certainty. Write “we are reviewing the implications of the order” rather than “the order improves our position” unless the qualified reviewer has approved that conclusion.

3. Ask for extraction before asking for prose

First ask the model to extract the factual record. This is easier to check than a polished report and exposes missing dates early.

Use a prompt like this, replacing the bracketed text:

You are preparing a factual extraction for a client matter update.

Use only the source pack below. Do not add facts, legal conclusions, dates or commitments that are not stated. Where sources conflict, list the conflict rather than resolving it.

Return five sections:
1. completed actions, with date and source
2. incoming developments, with date and source
3. decisions or information requested from the client
4. deadlines, with date, action, owner if stated, and source
5. open points or ambiguities

Reporting period: [period]
Matter: [matter name]

SOURCE PACK
[paste or attach the controlled source pack]

Read the extraction alongside the source pack. Correct it before moving on. If your source pack is large, process it in labelled batches, such as Correspondence 1 to 10 and Procedural documents. Then combine only the checked extractions. The available document and input limits vary by the model you are using, so check the current guidance in the xAI documentation overview.

4. Draft the client report from the checked extraction

Once the factual extraction is checked, provide it with the report template and give clear drafting limits. Do not send the raw pack again unless you need to verify a point.

Draft a client status report from the checked factual extraction below.

Audience: [client name or client role]
Tone: clear, neutral and concise.

Use these headings exactly:
- Period covered and current position
- Work completed
- Developments and implications
- Decisions or information needed from you
- Deadlines and next steps

Rules:
- State dates in [your preferred date format].
- Separate confirmed facts from matters still under review.
- Do not give legal advice or make legal conclusions.
- Do not include internal strategy, privileged discussion or unapproved recommendations.
- Put each client decision in a numbered list, stating what is needed and by when if known.
- Put deadlines in a table with action, date, owner and source.
- If a required detail is absent, write “Not confirmed from the material provided”.

CHECKED FACTUAL EXTRACTION
[paste checked extraction]

The responsible lawyer or qualified reviewer should decide whether the “implications” section needs legal analysis, and should add or amend it. The draft should make that review quicker, not bypass it.

5. Check the draft against the record

Review the draft in this order. Start with deadlines, because an attractive summary is of little use if it gives the wrong date or owner.

If you see this	Check this	Do this if it is wrong
A deadline	Date, action, owner and source notice	Correct it from the source, then update the deadline list
A completed action	It occurred in the reporting period	Move it to background or remove it
A client request	It is genuinely for the client to decide or provide	Rewrite it as an internal next step if it is not
A conclusion	It is approved and supported by the record	Qualify, remove or send to the reviewer
A missing development	The correspondence and procedural notices	Add it with its date and source

Also compare the new report with the last one. Repeated open actions should either show progress, have a revised date or be explained. This comparison stops a stale action from appearing as if it were new work each month.

6. Make it a repeatable matter routine

Assign one person to prepare the source pack and one qualified reviewer to approve the final report. Save three items in the matter workspace: the source-pack cover sheet, the checked extraction and the sent report. Name each with the matter reference and reporting period.

After sending, add any client decision, query or changed deadline to the matter task list. At the next reporting cycle, start from the previous approved report and the updated deadline list, not from memory.

When the process does not work

If the draft is vague, the source pack probably lacks dated facts or the prompt does not require sources. Return to the extraction step and add the missing correspondence, notice or attendance note.

If the draft contains invented detail, reduce the material to a checked factual extraction and require “Not confirmed from the material provided” for gaps. If deadlines conflict, do not choose one in the draft. Flag the conflict to the responsible reviewer, verify the controlling document and correct the matter record before sending the client update.