The AI meeting assistant is the quiet arrival in many offices. It joins a video call, records, transcribes and emails a tidy summary with action items. For a law firm, that convenience raises questions that a typical business user never considers. Who else can see the transcript? Does the vendor keep it? Was everyone on the call aware they were being recorded? And what happens to attorney-client privilege when a third-party service is listening?
This post lays out the issues and practical rules. It is general information and not legal advice, and recording laws and privilege rules vary by state, so confirm the specifics with ethics counsel.
The risks to think through
Confidentiality and privilege
A recording or transcript of a client call is highly sensitive. ABA Formal Opinion 512 discusses confidentiality in connection with generative AI tools, noting that lawyers should evaluate how a tool handles information. Questions to ask include whether the vendor's personnel can access content, whether recordings are used to improve models and where data is stored. Whether use of a third-party service affects privilege is a legal question that depends on the circumstances and jurisdiction, and a good reason to ask counsel before using such tools with clients.
Consent and recording laws
Some states require all parties to consent to recording; others require only one. Clients, co-counsel, witnesses and opposing parties may be in different states. Many meeting platforms announce recording, but bots added by individual participants may behave differently. A firm should have a clear consent practice.
Uninvited bots
A client, vendor or opposing party may bring their own AI note-taker to your call. Your side may not know where that transcript goes. Policy should say what to do when an unfamiliar bot joins.
Accuracy
Summaries may omit nuance, mishear names or attribute statements to the wrong person. A transcript can also become a discoverable document, and an inaccurate one can cause trouble.
Retention and discovery
Recordings and transcripts may be records the firm must retain, or documents requested in discovery. Uncontrolled copies in personal accounts complicate both.
Personal and sensitive content
Calls sometimes include medical, financial or family information. Storing it casually in a third-party platform increases exposure.
Questions to ask about any recording tool
- Is it an enterprise product under business terms, or a consumer app?
- Does the vendor use content to train models? Can that be disabled by contract?
- Where are recordings and transcripts stored, and for how long?
- Who at the vendor may access them?
- Can administrators control who may enable it, and delete content centrally?
- Does it integrate with our meeting platform's own recording and compliance features?
- How does it announce recording to participants?
- Can we export or delete everything on request?
Practical rules for a firm policy
- No unapproved recorders on calls involving client information.
- Approved tools only, configured with administrator controls and company accounts.
- Announce and obtain consent at the start of any recorded call, and document it.
- Default to off for privileged strategy discussions, unless a partner approves.
- Handle outside bots by pausing, asking the host to remove them or switching to a non-recorded format.
- Store transcripts in the DMS, attached to the matter, rather than in personal accounts or the vendor's cloud alone.
- Verify summaries before relying on or sharing them.
- Apply retention rules to recordings the same way as other matter documents.
- Tell clients how the firm uses such tools, and respect requests not to record.
Settings to review now
- Meeting platform options that let participants add third-party apps or bots.
- Calendar integrations that auto-join meetings for individual users.
- Whether staff have installed browser extensions or desktop apps that record audio.
- Transcription features built into your meeting and phone systems.
Train and communicate
Brief attorneys and staff in a short session. Provide a script for the start of calls, such as "This call may be recorded for note-taking purposes. Does anyone object?" Practice handling a surprise bot.
Balance benefits and risk
Meeting recorders can reduce note-taking burdens and improve accuracy of action items. For internal, non-privileged administrative meetings, risk may be modest. For client strategy calls, depositions prep and sensitive negotiations, the bar for use should be higher. Many firms decide on a tiered rule by meeting type.
How Counsel Cyber can help
Counsel Cyber helps law firms evaluate AI meeting tools, configure meeting platforms to control bots and recording, and write clear policies. If you would like help reviewing what is enabled in your environment, we are glad to assist.