For lawyers
Privileged calls
stay privileged.
Mac Note Taker records, transcribes, and summarizes client conversations entirely on your Mac. No bot joins the call. No transcript visits our servers. Your client never has to ask who else is on the line.
The problem
Why lawyers can't just use cloud notetakers.
A cloud notetaker like Otter, Fireflies, or Read joins the call as a bot, uploads the audio to a third-party processor, and stores a transcript in a vendor tenant. For a normal team that is a vendor-list line item. For a law firm it is a possible waiver of privilege, a new processor on every engagement letter, and a discovery exposure you did not need to create.
- A third-party processor with access to client confidences expands the privilege boundary.
- Cross-border data residency (US, EU, UK) becomes a checklist on every new client.
- Discovery and litigation hold rules now reach into a vendor you do not control.
- Many corporate counterparties simply refuse to be on a call with a recording bot.
Privacy posture
On the Mac. Off the wire.
We do not claim to be your bar association's rule-1.6 compliance officer. We do claim that the path the audio takes is short, auditable, and stays inside the Mac sitting on your desk. That is a meaningfully easier story to tell your IT, your malpractice carrier, and your clients than a cloud notetaker.
Audio never leaves the Mac
Capture, ASR, and diarization run on Apple Silicon. The audio file lives in your SwiftData store on disk.
No vendor processor
Mac Note Taker the company never receives audio or transcripts. There is nothing for us to subpoena.
Summaries are your choice
Use a local Ollama model and the transcript also stays on the Mac. Use your own OpenAI key and the call goes from your Mac to your tenant - not through us.
Bring-your-own export
Markdown, JSON, or plain text into iManage, NetDocuments, Clio, or a file share. Open formats, no API lock-in.
In practice
What lawyers use it for.
Client intakes
- Both sides recorded via system audio capture, no virtual cable.
- Speaker labels mapped to Counsel / Client by hand or by calendar attendees.
- Markdown export drops straight into your matter folder.
Witness prep
- Long sessions with mixed speakers diarized cleanly across multiple meetings.
- Action items pulled out so the follow-up memo writes itself.
- Audio stays on the laptop running the prep - never the carrier cloud.
Internal matter syncs
- Partner / associate calls recorded for the matter file.
- Topical sections so a 60-minute call is re-readable in 60 seconds.
- Voice fingerprints recognize the same associate across every matter.
Side by side
Cloud notetaker vs Mac Note Taker for a law practice.
| Concern | Cloud notetaker | Mac Note Taker |
|---|---|---|
| Bot joins the call | Yes - visible to client | No bot, system audio capture |
| Audio leaves your device | Yes - to vendor cloud | No - stays on the Mac |
| New processor on engagement letter | Yes | No |
| Discovery surface | Vendor tenant | Your laptop |
| Per-seat monthly bill | $10-30 / user / month | $149 lifetime, 3 Macs |
Compliance is your call. We just remove the cloud vendor from the diagram.
A meeting recorder your IT will sign off on.
$149 lifetime - 3 Macs - first 100 buyers use code FOUDNER for $79.