By Antti Innanen.
Lawyers are famously allergic to buzzwords. So, when someone mentions ‘vibing’ with AI, red pens come out fast.
But Vibe Drafting, a term borrowed from AI researcher Andrej Karpathy’s vibe coding, offers more than a catchy label. It introduces a practical mental model for how lawyers can work with AI while keeping human expertise at the centre.
The Real Problem: Outdated Mental Models
Many lawyers treat AI like a glorified database or a search engine. They issue commands to the machine: ‘Fetch this, get that, search this.’ But this is not how AI works.
That kind of prompting leads to hallucinations, inconsistencies, and generic results.
As lawyers, we’re used to structured workflows and giving clear instructions to tools. But AI responds better to guidance than commands. A prompt like ‘Draft agreement X’ doesn’t give the tool much to work with.
AI thrives on clear direction, stylistic cues, and contextual nuance. Without those, it can’t determine key provisions or client-specific needs. These are judgment calls. And that’s where lawyers still matter.
What Vibe Drafting Actually Is
Vibe Drafting means guiding the AI with mood, tone, and reference. You describe how something should feel, not exactly how it should work. The AI then fills in the gaps.
Vibe Drafting isn’t about issuing one perfect prompt. Instead, you give the model small pieces of guidance and iterate the results. Think 100 light prompts instead of one heavy one.
You suggest something, see if it works, and either build on it or discard it. You stay in control, nudging the model and breaking the process into smaller, manageable steps.
At no point should you feel like you’ve outsourced your thinking to AI.
‘The parties are friendly. Keep the tone collaborative.’
‘This indemnity clause feels too aggressive for the situation.’
‘Do a readability check and remove jargon.’
‘Check that the cross-references work and the numbering is correct.’
You’re not commanding the machine. You’re in a dialogue with it. The workflow becomes a genuine partnership.
That said, vibing usually needs structure. Without it, you fall into the ’almost ready’ trap, endlessly tweaking and never shipping.
You might try something like this:
Plan the document with the help of AI
Provide contextual grounding from reliable sources
Create the first version
Refine section by section with focused prompts
Test for usability and readability
Switch AI tools or modes to refine the draft
Do a good, old-fashioned human review
It’s not a rigid formula. You can come up with your own. But a little structure helps you avoid getting stuck in the loop.
This kind of work is closer to sculpting or composing music than searching a database. Little by little, you shape the result you want. And the method keeps you engaged in the thinking process, not removed from it.
(Check out the video/post below to see how Vibe Drafting actually works.)
Why It Works So Well
So, what’s the theory behind Vibe Drafting?
Language models map patterns from billions of examples. Your iterative, specific prompts guide the model toward the right ones. Each adjustment helps it better understand your intent. It’s a feedback loop that builds clarity and precision.
This works because of how large language models function. They operate in a massive latent space, a kind of conceptual map built from language patterns. When your prompt carries tone, reference, or stylistic intent, you are pointing the model toward a region of that space. It fills in the direction with plausible, relevant content.
AI doesn’t just follow instructions. It infers meaning. It works with ambiguity, incomplete inputs, and stylistic intent. Most importantly, it mirrors how humans already communicate: through impressions, mood, and story.
That’s why Vibe Drafting feels natural. And that’s why it works.
More Responsible Than One-Shot Prompting
One common criticism of AI is that it makes us dumber. That we outsource too much of our thinking and lose touch with our skills.
Despite the dumb name, Vibe Drafting is the opposite of that.
This method keeps you involved. You stay on top of the work. You never lose sight of what’s happening. You catch issues early, before they become embedded in a draft.
You’re not feeding prompts into a black box and hoping for the best. You’re shaping, adjusting, and guiding at every step. And if it doesn’t work, you go back, refine, and try again.
You’re not outsourcing your thinking.
Not Everything Needs to Be Vibed
If you’re on your fifteenth identical NDA this month, use the template. Vibe Drafting is most valuable when a document needs customization and nuance.
Legal fundamentals still matter. Your understanding of law and business gives you the judgment to guide the AI. Vibe Drafting supports expertise. It doesn’t magically turn unskilled lawyers into great ones. You still need to know what good looks like.
The Future of Legal Drafting
Vibe Drafting blurs the line between thinking and doing. You think out loud and the model keeps up.
And yes, the term ’vibe’ probably won’t last. Next year, it might sound as dated as NFTs or the metaverse. But this way of working with AI is here to stay.
If the term makes partners uneasy or juniors cringe, rename it. Iterative prompting or structured collaboration works just as well. The name is flexible. The mindset shift is what matters.
And that shift is already underway. The first lawyers to adopt this approach won’t just save time. They’ll redefine expectations, cut costs, and lead the market, while others are still debating whether AI belongs in legal work at all.
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About the Author: Antti Innanen is a tech lawyer, legal design enthusiast, and an AI geek. His book ’Prompted: How to Create and Communicate with AI’ will be published by Routledge in 2025.
You can find more about Antti and his work here: Dot Legal: www.dot.legal and Legal Design School: www.legaldesignschool.com
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