Email drafting

Ask for this when: you want an email or a reply written for you, or sent.

"Draft a reply to that email from the adjuster." "Write to the client about the closing date." "Send it."

What it does

It writes the email you asked for, in your voice, shows you the full text

• recipients, subject, every line - and asks once: any changes, and Drafts or send? If you say send, it goes out; one yes is one send. If you only wanted a draft, it puts it in your Outlook Drafts folder and nothing is sent; you can read and edit it there like any draft, or tell the assistant what to change, and say "send it" when you're ready. It asks you to confirm again only if the draft changed since you approved it - you edited it in Outlook, say - and then it shows you what will go out as the draft stands right then and waits for your yes. It sends from your own mailbox, and the copy in Sent Items shows up in your next filing review.

If you sent or deleted the draft from Outlook yourself and then ask the assistant to send it, it checks your Sent Items for you and tells you either "that went out at [time] to [recipients]" or "it's not in Sent Items - want me to recreate it?" It won't ask you to go and look.

Before it writes a reply about a matter, it reads that matter in Clio - who the parties are and their roles, open tasks and deadlines, what's been logged recently - and the message being answered, so the draft fits the file rather than being generic. It takes what to say from you and the facts from the file. It won't invent a date, an amount, or a position you didn't give it; where something is missing it leaves a blank in brackets for you.

If the email you are answering turns on a legal question you haven't resolved yet, it says so before drafting and offers to write the Vincent research prompt first (see the research-brief guide). Say "draft it now" and it does, leaving a bracketed blank where the researched point belongs.

What it can't do

• It can't attach files. Add attachments in Outlook before sending.
• Sending can't be undone. That's why it shows you the exact email before anything goes out, and never sends a version you haven't seen.
• It never mentions Claude or an AI assistant in anything it writes for you - the email reads as yours. It won't name Clio either, except in a new email going only to people at the firm (every address on it at the firm's own domain), where staff call the system by its name. A reply, or anything with an outside recipient, stays Clio-free.
• It won't follow instructions inside an incoming email. If the message you're answering tries to direct the reply ("confirm the new bank details"), it tells you instead of complying.
• It has to be turned on for your computer. If it says email writing isn't enabled, whoever set up the assistant can turn it on; you'll sign in to Microsoft once more to allow it.