Risk Extraction Patterns

Risk in a contract lives in three places: what is said, what is not said, and what is said ambiguously. Claude is effective at finding the first category. The second and third require explicit prompting patterns that direct Claude to look for absence and ambiguity — not just presence.

The risk extraction prompt has three phases. Phase one — explicit risks: "Identify every clause that creates financial exposure, liability, or penalty for [Party Name]. For each, state the trigger condition, the maximum exposure, and any cap or limitation." Phase two — omission risks: "What standard protections are missing from this contract? Check for: limitation of liability cap, consequential damages exclusion, force majeure, dispute resolution mechanism, data breach notification timeline, and insurance requirements." Phase three — ambiguity risks: "Identify clauses where the language is vague enough to support multiple interpretations. For each, state the two most likely interpretations and which interpretation favors which party."