Recording of Calls and Meetings Policy

Purpose

This policy explains when NEO, a licensed paralegal firm, records phone calls and video meetings, why, and how recordings are protected. It also sets out what we ask of anyone who records a conversation with us.

When we record

• Phone calls are recorded. Calls to and from our business phone lines are recorded. You are told at the start of the call, by a recorded announcement or by the person you are speaking with. Video meetings are recorded only when we tell everyone at the start.
• Never secretly. We do not record any call or meeting without telling the people on it.
• You can say no. Tell us if you would rather not be recorded. Where our system allows, we will pause the recording; if it doesn't, we will offer another way to talk, such as an in-person or video meeting that is not recorded. Your choice won't affect our service.
• We check who is listening. Before discussing a confidential matter, we confirm who is present, as our Remote and Virtual Services Policy explains, and we may ask whether anyone is recording.

Why we record

We record calls and meetings to keep an accurate note of your instructions, to check and improve our service and train our team, to keep a complete record on your file, to respond to a complaint or dispute about our work, and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations. We don't use recordings for unrelated purposes without your consent, except as the law allows. A recording supports our written notes but doesn't replace them. We confirm important instructions in writing.

AI summaries

Our phone provider, and some video services, can produce AI summaries of recorded calls and meetings, such as highlights and next steps. If we use one, a licensed paralegal reviews it before it is relied on in your matter, under our Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence Policy. A summary is a working aid, not a transcript or advice.

Voicemails, texts and faxes

When you leave us a voicemail, or send us a text or fax, from a number we have for you, a note of it (including the words of a text) may be added to your file, and the people working on your matter may be alerted. Voicemails, texts and faxes are part of our record of your matter and are handled like any other communication with us. Our Electronic Communications and E-Signatures Policy explains how we use texts.

Storage and access

• Recordings are kept by our phone or video provider and, if saved to your file, in our private document storage.
• Access to recordings is limited to the people who need them for your matter or to manage the firm, under our Confidentiality Policy.
• Our providers and their AI features may store or process recordings outside Canada. See our Service Providers and Data Handling Policy and Privacy Policy.
• Recordings on a client's file are kept and destroyed under our File Closing and Retention Policy. Others are kept only as long as they are needed for the purposes above.

Your copy

You can ask for a copy of a recording of you, or a summary made from it, and we will respond as privacy law requires. We may remove information about other people, or information the law lets us withhold. We may not be able to delete a recording that is part of your client file or a record we must keep under the Law Society's rules or other law.

If you record us

Canadian law generally allows a person to record a conversation they take part in. We still ask that you:

• tell us before you record a call or meeting with us, or bring an AI note-taker into it;
• never post, share or edit a recording of our team to embarrass, harass or intimidate anyone (see our policy on respectful conduct toward our team);
• remember that sharing a recording of your discussions with us may cost you the privilege that protects them.

We may end a call or meeting, and offer another way to continue, if a recording is being used to harass or intimidate our team. To the extent permitted by law, NEO is not responsible for how others use recordings they make or share.

Court and tribunal hearings

Ontario's Courts of Justice Act generally prohibits photographing, filming or recording a court hearing, or broadcasting one, without the court's permission, and each tribunal sets its own rules. Treat video and phone hearings the same way: don't record, photograph or screenshot a hearing unless the presiding judge, justice of the peace or adjudicator allows it. Breaking these rules can be an offence or contempt, and can harm your case. If you need a record of what was said, we can explain how to ask for the official transcript or recording, where one exists.

Review

This policy is reviewed at least once a year, and whenever the Law Society's By-Laws or rules change. The principal approves every change.

Questions

Email info@neolegalservices.com, call 647-200-3526 or toll-free 888-519-2435, or write to us at Unit 236, 1099 Kingston Road, Pickering, Ontario L1V 1B5.