Claude Prompt: California Confidentiality and Restrictive Covenant Clauses
Drafts a confidentiality clause and any restrictive covenant clause for an agreement with a California-based counterparty. Every California rule comes from the statute or decision text you paste; a restraint the pasted text does not clear is held back for you.
The Prompt
Variables (8)
| Variable | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| {{client_name}} | Client Name | TechVenture Inc. |
| {{client_role}} | Client Role | Company |
| {{counterparty_description}} | Counterparty and Relationship | Dana Whitfield, an independent contractor engaged for product design |
| {{current_date}} | Today's Date | 2026-10-02 |
| {{agreed_terms}} | Agreed Terms | Protected: product roadmaps and source code. Duration of confidentiality: 3 years from end of engagement. Return within the period in Section 7. |
| {{requested_restraints}} | Requested Restraints | Client asks for a 12-month restriction on working for competing design studios. |
| {{california_text}} | California Statute or Decision Text | Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 16600(a): "Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void." |
| {{drafting_instructions}} | Drafting Instructions | Severability: "If any provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions continue in effect." |
Expected Output
A reasoning pass inside analysis tags, then Part 1, attorney-only: registers of terms, requested restraints and pasted provisions, conflicts, California map quoting only the pasted words, cleared and held-back lists, questions for California counsel, declined requests, missing information. Part 2: the confidentiality clause and the restrictive covenant clause for cleared restraints. Ends with a Verification list.
Usage Notes
Use for agreements with a California-based contractor or employee. Paste the California statutes or decisions you rely on, in full, with citations; the prompt states no California rule from memory and will hold back any restraint your pasted text does not clearly address. Watch for a restraint drafted despite the pasted words pointing the other way, and for any California rule stated without a quoted source. Read the document part line by line before it leaves the office. Not legal advice. The attorney remains responsible for verifying every fact, figure and authority before use.
Legal Sources Referenced
- California Business and Professions Code § 16600
Originally featured in: Claude vs Gemini for Lawyers: Which AI Is Better for Legal Work in 2026?
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* These prompts are drafting and analysis aids for licensed attorneys. They are not legal advice and do not replace professional judgment. AI output can contain errors, including invented citations and incorrect deadlines: verify every fact, figure, authority and deadline against primary sources before relying on it. Rules vary by jurisdiction, and you remain responsible for the final work product.