What you'll accomplish
Instead of staring at a blank Word document for 4 hours, you'll have a complete court report draft in 45 minutes. This guide sets up Claude as a dedicated writing assistant that understands child welfare terminology, your document formats, and the legal standards you write to.
What you'll need
- A computer or phone with internet access
- A Claude account at claude.ai (free works; Claude Pro at $20/month is faster and better for long documents)
- One court report or service plan to use as a practice document
- Time needed: 30 minutes to set up; 2 minutes per use after that
- Cost: Free (Claude.ai free tier); $20/month for Claude Pro (optional but recommended for long court reports)
Set Up Claude as Your Court Documentation Writing Partner
Step 1: Create your Claude account
Go to claude.ai in your browser. Click Sign up and create an account with your personal email address. Use your personal email — not your work email — since this is a personal productivity tool, not an official agency system.
- Click "Sign up" on the homepage
- Enter your email and create a password
- Verify your email address
- You're in — you'll see the main conversation window
What you should see: A white chat interface with a text box at the bottom, similar to a text message conversation. Troubleshooting: If you get an error, try a different browser (Chrome or Firefox work best).