ShiFt Answer Bank
What does Rule 1.18 mean for AI intake?
A plain answer on prospective-client duties when an AI handles the first call.
Rule 1.18 protects a “prospective client” — anyone who talks to your firm about possibly hiring you, even if you decline them. For AI intake, that means the tool should capture only what it needs to screen, flag the record as prospective, retain it under your firm’s rule, and delete it on request. The information cannot be shared or reused, and it can create a conflict that blocks you from the other side of the matter. The AI captures; a person at the firm decides.
- •A declined caller can still be a prospective client under Rule 1.18.
- •Capture the minimum, flag it prospective, retain per firm rule, delete on request.
- •That information can conflict you out of the opposing side — capture parties carefully.
Who Rule 1.18 protects
Rule 1.18 covers a prospective client: someone who consults your firm about forming a relationship, whether or not you take the case. The duty is narrower than the duty to a client, but it is real — you owe confidentiality to what they told you, and what they disclosed can disqualify your firm from representing someone adverse to them. Intake is exactly where that first conversation happens, which is why an AI answering the phone sits squarely inside this rule. A tool that vacuums up detail from every caller, or that stores it in a shared pool you cannot control, creates the exposure rather than reducing it.
What the AI should do with a declined prospect
The safe pattern is minimal capture: enough to screen and route, not a full case file from a stranger. The record should be flagged as prospective so it is handled differently from a client file, retained on your firm’s clock rather than a vendor’s default, and deletable on request. Nothing should be shared with third parties or used to train a model. Crucially, the AI should capture the names of parties and the matter so a person at the firm can run the conflict check — the AI never makes that call itself. Get those answers from your vendor in writing; “we’ll look into it” is not a retention policy.
Check it in two minutes
The Supervised Intake Standard makes Rule 1.18 one of its seven tests, and the Bar-Safe AI Check scores whether your vendor has answered it in writing. If the tool cannot tell you what happens to a declined caller’s information, that “Don’t know” is the finding — and the vendor letter gives you the exact question to send.
Questions answered
Full answers
- Is a caller the firm declines still protected?
- Yes. Under Rule 1.18 a prospective client is anyone who consults your firm about hiring you, even if you decline. You owe confidentiality to what they shared, and it can conflict you out of representing an adverse party.
- What should AI intake do with a declined prospect’s data?
- Capture the minimum needed to screen, flag the record as prospective, retain it under the firm’s rule, and delete on request. Nothing is shared or used to train a model, and parties are captured so a person can run conflicts.
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