Using Claude in a browser is a conversation. You type, it writes back, you copy what it gave you and go do something with it yourself. Cowork is different.
Cowork is the desktop version of Claude that actually interacts with the programs on my computer. It opens Word, edits documents, organizes files on my hard drive, drafts emails in Outlook, and talks to Clio. Skills are individual tools. Cowork is the employee that uses them.
In Episode 2 of David’s Corner, I walk through what that looks like in practice:
- The difference between skills and Cowork, and why that distinction matters
- A real example: turning a recorded client meeting into a post-meeting letter on firm letterhead, saved to the correct client folder, edited back and forth with Cowork instead of opening Word
- Why I will never use Claude for legal research, no matter how good the models get
- Where the actual time savings come from, which is not where most lawyers think
Next episode covers how I use skills and Cowork together to take a matter from first phone call to signed engagement letter and paid retainer with most of the administrative work automated.