Revoking access on the way out is the easy half, and every firm does it. The half that decides whether you have a problem is knowing what was opened in the hours before the revocation — and that is a log, not a permission.
Not documented. Ask what the log records, how long it is retained, and who can read it — a log nobody can export is not evidence.Legal
A law firm phone system built for Rule 1.6
A privileged call is not only the conversation — it is the voicemail, the recording, the transcript, the text and the fax it leaves behind. Here is what reasonable efforts means for the system that creates all five, and which of them a firm has usually not configured for.
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- Rule 1.6 covers every artifact
- Access by matter, not by seniority
- Fax as an add-on, transcription on Professional
Start with the obligation
The rule is broader than most firms configure for
Start here rather than with features, because the obligation is the thing that outlasts whichever vendor a firm picks. It is also broader than the part everyone secures.
The part firms underestimate is scope. It is not only the conversation — it is voicemail, call recordings, transcripts, text messages and fax, every artifact the phone system creates. A transcript naming a client and a matter is confidential information sitting in a database, and it is confidential in exactly the way the call was.
Notice what the rule does not say. It does not name a technology, set a standard, or approve a product. “Reasonable” is measured against five factors in Comment [18], and every one of them is something the firm weighs rather than something a vendor supplies.
- The sensitivity of the informationA recording of an intake call is not a diary invitation, and the rule does not treat them as the same thing.
- The likelihood of disclosure if additional safeguards are not employedWhich is where the second question lives: if everyone in the firm can open every recording, the likelihood is not theoretical.
- The cost of employing additional safeguardsReal, and the rule says so. It is a factor, not an excuse, and it gets weaker every year as the safeguards get cheaper.
- The difficulty of implementing the safeguardsA control nobody can operate is a control nobody operates. This is the factor that argues for defaults over documentation.
- The extent to which the safeguards adversely affect the lawyer’s ability to represent clientsSecurity that stops an attorney reaching their own file at 22:00 is not a win. The test is balance, not maximum lockdown.
That is why no phone system is compliant with Rule 1.6 and none can be. A vendor supplies controls; the firm makes the effort reasonable. The same fact-based analysis runs through ABA Formal Opinion 477R, which applies it to electronic communication rather than to paper.
The two questions
Everyone answers the first one. The second is the exposure
Two questions follow from the rule, and most firms have answered only one of them. The first is a purchasing question and gets asked in every procurement call. The second is an operating question, which is why it gets asked after something has already happened.
- Question oneIs it encrypted?Answered once, for everything
- Question twoWho in the firm can open it?Different answer for every person below
Encryption does not answer this question.A paralegal who can play any recording in the system is a Rule 1.6 exposure even if every byte of it is encrypted. The two safeguards are not substitutes, and only one of them is usually configured.Illustrative. Restriction by matter is the claim this page rests on and it is not documented — ask support for the exact granularity, and for what happens to access when an engagement ends, before you write either into a firm policy.
What that requiresAudit trailsA record of who opened what, which you need most on the day somebody leaves EncryptionBoth halves, not the half vendors advertise Role-based accessAccess that follows the engagement, not the org chart
Four controls, and the one that only matters on a bad day
The technical half of reasonable efforts comes down to four things. Three of them are configuration. The fourth is the one you never think about until you need it to have been running for the last six months.
In transit is the claim the category makes. At rest is where the recording actually spends its life.
Our product facts say “end-to-end encryption” without stating at-rest. Get that in writing.Restricted by matter and by role, so being senior is not by itself a reason to be able to open a file. This is the control the panel above is about, and the one worth pinning down hardest.
Confirm whether restriction can genuinely be set per matter.Retention controlDeleted because the policy says so, not because storage ran out
Confirm that a deletion schedule can be set and enforced, rather than run by hand.A retention schedule is only a schedule if something enforces it. The failure mode is not keeping records too long — it is deleting them on a timetable set by a storage cap instead of by the policy you wrote. Unlimited storage sits on the Enterprise tier, and pricing has what each tier adds.
Recordings and time
A six-minute call, documented as a six-minute call
Full transcription, from Professional up, makes reconstructing time straightforward. The word doing the work in that sentence is reconstructing — the alternative is remembering, on Friday, how long a call on Tuesday took.
It is documentation, not a timekeeping system.Nothing here writes the narrative, exercises judgement about what is billable, or decides how the entry should read. It removes exactly one problem: reconstructing on Friday how long a call on Tuesday actually took.
Before you switch it onWhich rule governsConsent law varies, and interstate practice means the stricter side winsGeneral, and not legal advice. Confirm the rules for every state you practise in — and do it with counsel rather than with a vendor page. What gets recordedDecide the policy first, then configure to it
Two cautions before recording goes firm-wide
Recording is the feature most firms turn on first and think about second. Both of the reasons to slow down are outside the product, and neither of them has a settings page.
Your officeWhere the attorney is sitting
The other partyWhere the person you called is
Recording everything by default is a decision too — it is just one nobody made deliberately. Half of a firm’s policy is usually the half that says no.
- Prospective client intakeRecordWith consent, and the consent is the point rather than a formality.
- Client call on an open matterRecordIf firm policy says so, and if the client has been told it is policy.
- Settlement discussion with opposing counselDo not recordA discoverable artifact you created voluntarily, about the conversation you least want reconstructed.
- Internal case strategyDo not recordWork product, kept as work product, not as a file with a play button on it.
IntakeWithout itThe call that never becomes a matterYou never find out it happened. That is what makes it the expensive one. With the receptionist answeringPick what the caller opens with
Where firms lose matters, at about seven in the evening
A prospective client who reaches voicemail calls the next firm, and most of them do not leave a message. You never learn that it happened, which is what makes it the expensive failure rather than the annoying one.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does ABA Model Rule 1.6 apply to voicemail and call recordings?
Yes. It covers information relating to the representation regardless of format — voicemail, recordings, transcripts, text messages and fax. Your state’s rule governs, and most track the model closely.
Can I restrict who listens to recordings?
Role-based access controls are available. Confirm the exact granularity with support — in particular whether restriction can be set per matter — before you rely on it in a firm policy.
Do I need consent to record client calls?
Consent law varies by state and several require all parties to consent. Where two jurisdictions are on one call, the stricter rule governs. Confirm the rules for every state you practise in, with counsel.
What happens to a departing associate’s access?
Access is revoked, which is the easy half. The half that matters is the audit trail showing what was opened before the revocation — ask what the log records and how long it is kept.
Is fax included?
It is an add-on rather than part of the plan price, on any tier. With it on, faxes arrive as PDFs — see online fax. Some courts and opposing counsel still require it.
Can transcripts help with billing?
Every call is transcribed on Professional and Enterprise, which makes reconstructing time straightforward. It is documentation, not a timekeeping system — the entry is still yours to write.
How long are recordings kept?
Retention follows your plan’s storage, and unlimited storage sits on the Enterprise tier — pricing has what each tier adds. Confirm that a deletion schedule can be enforced rather than run by hand.
What is on the plan, and what is an add-on?
Calls, transcription, fax, video and free porting are on the plan. The AI Receptionist is a separate add-on rather than part of it. Rates are on pricing.
Is DialPhone suitable for a solo practitioner?
Yes — there is no published minimum. A solo may find a number-only service cheaper if intake and recording genuinely do not matter to them, and that is a fair comparison to make.
Ask what your audit log records.
Fourteen days, no card. Ask us — and ask every other vendor on the list — what the log captures, who can read it, and whether access can be restricted by matter. The answers will sort the shortlist faster than the feature grid does.
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