AI notetaking tools join video calls, record or transcribe the conversation, and produce summaries and action items. For busy lawyers they look like an obvious time-saver. But a client call is exactly where privilege and confidentiality matter most, and these tools create new copies of sensitive conversations in places the firm may not control.
Before anyone at your firm enables a notetaker, run through the questions below. This post is general information, not legal advice. ABA Formal Opinion 512 on generative AI (July 2024) is a useful starting point, and your state bar may have additional guidance.
Why notetakers deserve special scrutiny
They create new records
Every transcript, summary and recording is a new document that may need to be protected, retained, produced in discovery or deleted. A casual client conversation that once left only a few handwritten notes can now exist as a complete verbatim record.
They involve a third party
The service provider processes the audio and text. Depending on the contract and settings, vendor staff or systems may access it, and it may be stored on servers outside your control. Model Rule 1.6(c) addresses reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access, and Rules 5.1 and 5.3 address supervising lawyers and vendors.
They may be attended by others
Some tools join as visible bots and some record silently through a participant's account. Others on the call may not realize recording is occurring.
Questions to ask
Privilege and confidentiality
- Will the vendor's access to the content raise any concern about waiver? Ask counsel to evaluate your jurisdiction's treatment of third-party service providers.
- Is content used to train models? It should not be for client matters without clear contractual protection.
- Who at the vendor can view transcripts?
- Where are recordings and transcripts stored, and for how long?
- Can you delete them completely, and does deletion cover backups?
Consent and notice
- What do the recording and consent laws in the relevant states require? Some jurisdictions require consent from all parties, others only one, and clients and participants may be in different states.
- Does the client know and agree? Opinion 512 discusses client communication and consent in the context of AI tools. Consider adding language to your engagement letter and announcing the tool at the start of the call.
- What about opposing counsel, experts, witnesses or other third parties on the call?
Security
- Does the tool support single sign-on and multi-factor authentication?
- Can administrators control who may use it and which meetings it may join?
- Are audit logs available?
- Does it integrate with calendars or contacts in ways that expand access?
Accuracy
- How are errors handled? Transcripts and summaries can misattribute statements or omit nuance.
- Who reviews summaries before they are filed in the matter?
Retention and discovery
- Does your retention policy cover these new records?
- How would you place them on a legal hold?
Controls to consider
- Approve one tool for firm use and block unapproved bots from joining calls. Meeting platforms often let administrators restrict third-party apps.
- Set rules by call type. Many firms prohibit AI notetaking on privileged client calls unless the client has agreed, while allowing it for internal administrative meetings.
- Announce use at the start of any recorded call.
- Check outside parties' bots. Clients or other attendees may bring their own notetaker, which could create copies you do not control. Decide in advance how you will respond.
- Train staff on when to enable and disable the tool.
Common mistakes
- Letting individuals connect personal notetaker accounts to firm calendars
- Assuming the meeting platform's built-in feature has no privacy implications
- Forgetting that summaries may be emailed automatically to participants
- Not updating the retention schedule
A hypothetical example
Consider a hypothetical associate who connects a free notetaker to her firm calendar. The tool joins every call automatically, including a privileged strategy discussion, and emails a summary to all attendees, including a client's outside consultant. A policy restricting third-party bots would have caught the problem.
How we help
Counsel Cyber helps law firms evaluate AI notetaking products, configure meeting platform controls and write simple rules for when recording is appropriate. If you want to review your current settings, we can start with a short audit of your meeting platform.