For law firms
ABA Formal Opinion 512 and an AI receptionist: the facts
ABA Formal Opinion 512, on generative AI tools, was issued on July 29, 2024. Below, seven Model Rules it names sit beside what Intake Gateway does, each fact linked to the page that states it.
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Call the number we give you from your own phone and hear the agent take an intake — up to 15 minutes of test calls, before you add a card. First month free: a 30-day free trial, every answered call included, one trial per firm. Card on file, nothing charged before day 31. No setup fee. Month to month.
Updated
The rules Opinion 512 names, and what the product does
The left column is the ABA’s. The right column is ours, in the words our other pages use. Neither says what a rule requires of your firm.
Source: ABA Formal Opinion 512, “Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools” (July 29, 2024). The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued it. Each rule title below links to the ABA’s text of that Model Rule.
- An ABA formal opinion reads the Model Rules. It binds no lawyer; each state adopts and enforces its own rules, and its wording may differ from the ABA’s.
- The opinion also discusses Rules 3.1, 3.3 and 8.4(c), on claims and candor toward a tribunal. They are left out here because the agent files nothing with a court.
- Several state bars have published their own guidance on AI. This page does not cover it.
| Model Rule | What Intake Gateway does |
|---|---|
Rule 1.1 Opinion 512 takes up Rule 1.1 in its section on competence. | The AI model that answers your line is named in our code rather than left to a vendor’s default, so it does not change when a default does. (the trust page) The agent never says whether a caller has a case, what it might be worth, whether a deadline has passed, whether an offer is fair, or what they should do. (the pricing page) |
Rule 1.4 Opinion 512 takes up Rule 1.4 in its section on communication. | Every call opens with a fixed disclosure, sent as the agent’s opening line rather than composed on the call: the caller is speaking with an AI assistant and not an attorney, the call is recorded and transcribed, staying on the line is consent, and anyone who would rather not be recorded can hang up. (the AI receptionist page) |
Rule 1.5 Opinion 512 takes up Rule 1.5 in its section on fees. | It does not change with how many callers there are, how many become clients, or what any of those matters is worth. (the pricing page) There is no per-lead price, no per-signed-case price, no percentage, and nothing that rises when your intake goes well. (the pricing page) |
Rule 1.6 Confidentiality of Information Opinion 512 takes up Rule 1.6 in its section on confidentiality. | The recording and the transcript sit behind your sign-in. (the trust page) They are never attached to an email, so a summary you forward to a paralegal cannot carry a recording out with it. (the trust page) A few of our people may open a call to fix a problem, or, from October 7, 2026, to check and improve how the agent handles calls. (the trust page) Your Clio and your calendar are connected with credentials held encrypted in a separate secrets vault, never in the tables that hold the rest of your account. (the trust page) |
Rule 1.18(b) Opinion 512 takes up Rule 1.18(b) in its section on confidentiality. | The per-call email carries the summary and the structured intake — the facts you need to act on tonight — and nothing else. (the trust page) Call audio, transcripts, summaries and the structured intake are removed on a fixed schedule measured from each call, whether or not anyone asks, unless you place a legal hold on the call; our voice provider’s copy is set to expire on the same clock rather than outliving ours. (the trust page) You can delete any call’s recording and transcript yourself, from the call, before that schedule reaches it. (the trust page) |
Rule 5.1 and 5.3 Responsibilities of a Partner or Supervisory Lawyer Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistance Opinion 512 takes up Rules 5.1 and 5.3 in its section on supervisory responsibilities. | The disclosure is the agent’s fixed opening line. (the trust page) After each call we check the transcript for it and keep a record on the call of whether it was spoken as written — a record that stays after the recording and transcript are deleted, and that you can see on the call’s own page. (the trust page) A conflict is a decision for a lawyer, not the agent, so it never declines anyone; it flags the match for you and moves on. (the pricing page) |
This page is not legal advice. It does not say whether the opinion applies to this product, or whether using it meets any rule; that is your judgement under your own state’s rules.
Questions
What a partner asks before an AI answers the firm’s line.
When was ABA Formal Opinion 512 issued, and by whom?
On July 29, 2024, by the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Its title is “Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools”.
Which Model Rules does Opinion 512 discuss?
Among others, Rules 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.18(b), 3.1, 3.3, 5.1, 5.3 and 8.4(c).
Does an ABA formal opinion bind my firm?
No. It binds no lawyer; each state adopts and enforces its own rules.
Does this page say the product meets those rules?
No. It sets facts beside each rule; whether using the product meets any rule is your judgement under your own state’s rules.
Can it give legal advice, or quote fees?
No. It gathers facts, screens and schedules. It does not evaluate the merits, quote a fee of its own, or promise representation, and no engagement letter is sent from a call.
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Try it on your own line
One plan, $149 a month, every answered call included. First month free: a 30-day free trial, every answered call included, one trial per firm. Card on file, nothing charged before day 31.