Firm operations

"Can I get a copy of my file?" - and who is actually asking

Requests for copies of a file, a contract, a court document or correspondence are among the most common things a firm is asked outside a matter, and they are also the point at which an efficient system becomes a disclosure risk. The work splits cleanly: logging the request, establishing what is wanted and setting expectations is clerical and can be automated without argument; deciding that the person asking is entitled to receive it is not, and must not be delegated to anything that only sees a web form.

Identity is the whole problem, and a web chat cannot establish it

An email address that matches the file is not identity - mailboxes are shared, forwarded and compromised, and a former spouse, a business partner or a journalist can all plausibly know enough to sound like the client. An assistant must therefore be configured never to send or link a document, and never to confirm what a file contains. It may confirm that a request has been received and will be verified; everything beyond that belongs to a human who can check.

Confirming existence is already a disclosure

This is the subtle failure worth configuring against explicitly. Telling an unverified caller "yes, we hold a settlement agreement for that matter" has disclosed something, even though nothing was sent. The same applies to "we do not act for that person" - in some contexts that is the sensitive fact. The correct behaviour is to neither confirm nor deny and to route, and that wording should be reviewed by someone who understands the firm's obligations rather than written by whoever configured the bot.

What it can usefully collect, and why that is most of the delay

Document requests stall on vagueness far more than on verification: which document, from which matter, what date range, in what format, and whether a certified copy is needed. An assistant that asks all of that at the moment of the request - and states the firm's standard turnaround and any fee - removes the two or three rounds of clarification that usually consume the first week. This is the unglamorous part and it is where the value is.

Say what happens next, including the part the client will not like

If identity verification requires a signed authority, a passport copy or attendance in person, the assistant should say so immediately rather than leaving the client to discover it after a week of waiting. The same goes for a copying fee. Requests that die quietly usually die because a requirement appeared late, and a requirement stated in the first reply costs nothing to state.

Frequently asked questions

Can an AI assistant send a client their documents?
No. It cannot establish identity from a web conversation, and an email address matching the file is not identity - mailboxes are shared, forwarded and compromised. It should log the request, collect the detail and hand verification to a person.
Can it at least confirm the firm holds a document?
No, and this is the failure most configurations miss. Confirming existence is itself a disclosure, and so is denying a relationship - in some contexts that is the sensitive fact. Neither confirm nor deny, and route.
What should it collect?
Which document, from which matter, the date range, the format wanted and whether a certified copy is required - plus the firm's standard turnaround and any fee. Requests stall on vagueness far more often than on verification.
Should it mention identity requirements straight away?
Yes. If a signed authority, an identity document or attendance in person is needed, saying so in the first reply costs nothing, while discovering it after a week of waiting is what makes requests die quietly.
Who should write the neither-confirm-nor-deny wording?
Someone who understands the firm's professional obligations, not whoever configured the assistant. Ask the vendor to show you that the wording is fixed text a named person can review, rather than generated fresh for each request.

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