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Hello TLSers,

I am a 3L who works at a law firm during the semester. I have a habit of turning on my audio recorder on my iPhone when I meet with a lawyer for a new project to assure that I don’t misunderstand any of his or her instructions and to avoid having to email follow-up questions. The other day, at a firm luncheon, one of my fellow law clerks became a little loose-lipped and mentioned to a paralegal (for some reason or another) that I am a genius for using this technique, but a few of the lawyers overheard and seemed amused/weirded out

Should I not be doing this? Or should I at least be asking the attorney if I can record their instructions?

I’d be really weirded out by this.

Also would worry about disclosure.

Unless in a very formal setting--such as a courtroom for a scheduled hearing--most folks don't want to be tape recorded.

Long ago as a young attorney, during depositions when I was alone facing multiple attorneys from very aggressive law firms, I placed a recording device on the table in open view to intimidate/control the opposition's tone.

In my opinion, recording conversations is okay for a court reporter or a secretary in order to produce an accurate transcript or letter, but it seems unprofessional for an associate lawyer to record his or her supervising attorney's instructions.

P.S. Seems like a good idea if taking numerous lunch orders or going on a coffee run to Starbucks.

This is definitely weird and possibly a crime

A partner here records his instructions during meetings where we discuss new assignments and then I get a word copy later after his secretary transcribes it. It's actually really helpful. Obviously a completely different context than secretly recording partners without a heads up. I think they'd probably be fine with it if they know about it first. Find out later? NAGL

So, hopefully you were not in a two-party consent state. That said, there's still a whole host of issues from trust, through privilege. Even if your intentions were good, I'd stop this right away.

Depending on the sensitivity of the client information discussed, you may have opened up a whole host of ethics questions. If you were secretly recording, you probably couldn't easily turn it off if the information became particularly sensitive. I'm guessing you haven't had your firm perform any security review of the app/device you used.

In many states it’s unlawful to make an audio recording of a conversation without disclosure or consent TK tbe other party.

SmokeytheBear wrote:In many states it’s unlawful to make an audio recording of a conversation without disclosure or consent TK tbe other party.

***Not legal advice

Two party consent states according to lifehacker:

California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington

https://lifehacker.com/what-you-need-to ... 1795226719

Stop doing this.

Not even kidding, you could get fired. Stop doing this.

Even aside from the legal and ethical issues, you'll probably have difficulty developing working relationships and getting people to give candid assessments/instructions/feedback if it gets out that you're recording people without telling them (which it sounds like is already happening).

I bring my laptop and transcribe the conversation. Just as effective, not as illegal/creepy!

What's wrong with a pad and pen?

This is very much not a good idea. You should stop immediately.

I think this might be made up

Anonymous User wrote:Hello TLSers,

I am a 3L who works at a law firm during the semester. I have a habit of turning on my audio recorder on my iPhone when I meet with a lawyer for a new project to assure that I don’t misunderstand any of his or her instructions and to avoid having to email follow-up questions. The other day, at a firm luncheon, one of my fellow law clerks became a little loose-lipped and mentioned to a paralegal (for some reason or another) that I am a genius for using this technique, but a few of the lawyers overheard and seemed amused/weirded out

Should I not be doing this? Or should I at least be asking the attorney if I can record their instructions?

I'm actually shocked that you were allowed to get away with this. But good on you!

Damn. Luckily I am not in a two-party state. I did this because I was working in practice areas in which I had no prior experience and the attorneys would often have a round-about way of explaining a newly assigned project. However, I embarrassingly neglected to consider the security concerns involved and will stop this immediately. Thank you to all the commenters who have been so candid and helpful.

Anonymous User wrote:Damn. Luckily I am not in a two-party state. I did this because I was working in practice areas in which I had no prior experience and the attorneys would often have a round-about way of explaining a newly assigned project. However, I embarrassingly neglected to consider the security concerns involved and will stop this immediately. Thank you to all the commenters who have been so candid and helpful.

Ya, just stop. Also, from a personal perspective, never tell anyone you work with that you were doing this. Vv weird.

RaceJudicata wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Damn. Luckily I am not in a two-party state. I did this because I was working in practice areas in which I had no prior experience and the attorneys would often have a round-about way of explaining a newly assigned project. However, I embarrassingly neglected to consider the security concerns involved and will stop this immediately. Thank you to all the commenters who have been so candid and helpful.

Ya, just stop. Also, from a personal perspective, never tell anyone you work with that you were doing this. Vv weird.

The dynamics of the working relationship with the specific co-worker involved are not touched on in this post, nor was I seeking advice as to what I should and should not say to certain co-workers.

Anonymous User wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Damn. Luckily I am not in a two-party state. I did this because I was working in practice areas in which I had no prior experience and the attorneys would often have a round-about way of explaining a newly assigned project. However, I embarrassingly neglected to consider the security concerns involved and will stop this immediately. Thank you to all the commenters who have been so candid and helpful.

Ya, just stop. Also, from a personal perspective, never tell anyone you work with that you were doing this. Vv weird.

The dynamics of the working relationship with the specific co-worker involved are not touched on in this post, nor was I seeking advice as to what I should and should not say to certain co-workers.

Aye aye, captain.