AI and privilege after United States v. Heppner: what legal teams should know. Read the analysis →
Industries · 04 · Legal Services & Law Firms

The privileged workspace, for the people whose job is privilege.

Associates and paralegals use AI for research, chronologies, and discovery review. Clients ask whether their files went into a chatbot. Privilege AI is built for firms: every conversation belongs to a client matter, counsel directs the AI use, and the record supports the claim of privilege — for your own work, and for the corporate clients whose sessions you join as their attorney.

Data at riskPrivileged client files · discovery · strategy
ObligationsProfessional confidentiality · engagement terms · protective orders
BuyersManaging Partner · CISO / CIO · Head of Litigation
Governed by01 Privilege AI · 02 Watch · 03 Agent
Who buys, and why

Three offices, three reasons.

Managing Partner / General CounselProtects client trust and reduces liability.

Prevents disclosure of privileged or confidential client information while meeting professional confidentiality and client engagement obligations to protect client trust and reduce liability.

01 Privilege AI
CISO / CIOSees every staff member's AI use, centrally.

Stops unauthorized transfers of case files, discovery materials, and legal documents. Applies information classification, access controls, and secure AI policies for centralized visibility into staff members' AI tool usage.

03 Agent · 02 Watch
Head of LitigationKeeps court-restricted evidence inside the order.

Protects court-restricted evidence and sensitive litigation strategy. Supports compliance with protective orders and evidence-handling rules to avoid disruption, sanctions, and review costs.

01 Privilege AI · 03 Agent
Built for firms

Two ways a firm uses Privilege AI.

As the firm's own workspace, and as the attorney seat inside a corporate client's workspace.

Mode 01 · The firm's own workEvery conversation belongs to a client matter.

Associates, paralegals, and partners research, draft, and build chronologies with Claude and ChatGPT on the firm's own keys. Matters are isolated per client; retention and legal hold follow the matter; the ledger records model, citations, and who was present. Protective-order restrictions are enforced at the matter level.

→ Per-client matter isolation→ Protective-order routing by matter→ Firm-wide reporting for the CISO and Managing Partner
Mode 02 · Counsel in the client's sessionBe the attorney in your client's Privilege AI.

Corporate clients give their executives, managers, and HR a workspace where counsel directs the AI use. Outside counsel takes the attorney seat: you authorize the use, you are present in the session, and the record that supports privilege names your firm. A standing engagement, not a phone call after the fact.

→ Attorney seats across client tenants→ Detections from the client's Watch routed to you→ The Heppner fact pattern, with counsel directing the work
Threat vectors

Where it happens in a firm.

Litigation · Counsel / ParalegalBuilds chronologies and reviews discovery or witness evidence.Protected discovery or work product is sent to an unapproved AI provider. Very high risk of protective-order sanctions, confidentiality disputes, and litigation harm.Sponsor: Head of Litigation · Decides: GC with CISO / CIO
Transactional · AssociateReviews client agreements and drafts redlines with AI.A confidential agreement or negotiating position is uploaded to unapproved AI. Very high risk of client confidentiality claims and privilege implications.Sponsor: Practice Group Leader · Decides: Managing Partner
Legal Operations · ManagerSets and reviews permitted AI workflows and exceptions.AI use has no owner, approval record, or restriction catalogue by client. High risk of uncontrolled confidentiality and professional-duty exposure.Sponsor: GC + Head of Legal Ops · Decides: CIO
United States v. Heppner · AI & legal privilege

Give clients a better first step than an unsupervised AI chat.

Clients may arrive with AI-generated analysis they created before contacting your firm. Heppner illustrates the limits of relying on a later handoff to counsel. Establish the matter, legal purpose, and rules for AI-assisted work earlier, with a record your team can review when assessing confidentiality and protection.

The platform, applied

Three systems, for a firm.

01 · Privilege AIMatters, clients, attorney seats.

Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Opus 5.5, and ChatGPT Astra 6 on the firm's keys, isolated per client matter, with attorney seats that extend into client tenants. 0 matters trained on.

Privilege AI
02 · Privilege WatchCentralized visibility of staff AI use.

Detections from Claude, ChatGPT, and the Agent across the firm, plus detections routed from clients whose attorney seat you hold.

Privilege Watch
03 · Privilege AI AgentCase files stay inside the order.

Unauthorized transfers of case files, discovery, and legal documents detected on the workstation and alerted to the CISO and General Counsel.

Privilege AI Agent
Professional confidentialityEngagement termsProtective ordersOutside counsel guidelinesSOC 2 · ISO 27001

Be the counsel in the session
for every client you have.