The best AI notetakers for law firms (2026)

We make Astrid, so weigh our row accordingly. Every statement about another product comes from that vendor's own pricing page, help center, documentation, security page or privacy policy. Prices were checked on October 22, 2026, and features between October 6 and October 22, 2026. Features and prices change; confirm with the vendor before you buy.

Three questions that sort the field

• Where do your conversations happen? Phone calls on a cell or desk phone, video meetings, or in person in your office. Many tools only cover video meetings.
• Where does the record need to end up? A notetaker that keeps notes in its own app leaves someone to copy them into the matter. A legal tool files to your case management system, and they differ on what they file: a note, a call log, a time entry or a transcript.
• What happens to client content? Whether the vendor trains models on it, how long it keeps recordings, and whether a person reviews the output before it becomes the record. ABA Formal Opinion 512 and the NYC Bar's Formal Opinion 2025-6 both tell lawyers to check these before using a tool.

The comparison

For case management detail, see our guides to notetakers that integrate with Clio, Smokeball and MyCase.

Does it train on your content?

Notes on each

Astrid. Astrid captures the conversation, matches it to a matter by phone number or client name, and drafts a note in your firm's own format. An attorney approves the note before it becomes the record, and each approval is stored with who approved and when. The approved note and follow-up tasks then file to Clio Manage, Smokeball, CasePeer, MyCase or Lawcus (task filing to MyCase is not live yet), and Astrid drafts a recap for the firm to send to the client. A billable hours add-on, $59 per timekeeper per month, drafts time entries for hourly matters. Astrid has no SOC 2 report yet, and its security page says what is and is not in place. It is $40 per person per month, or $400 a year, with a 14-day free trial.

VXT. A legal phone system, so call capture means moving your numbers to VXT. VXT Meet adds a desktop recorder for virtual and in-person meetings. It integrates with more case management systems than any other tool here, and its pricing page says recordings are kept for as long as the account is active.

Querious. A legal notetaker with a visible meeting bot and, on its higher plan, real-time prompts during the conversation. It does not keep audio. Its Clio and Smokeball syncs send a time entry, with the matter picked by hand. It claims a SOC 2 Type II report.

LegalMate. Works on top of the phone system a firm already uses and files calls to Clio or Filevine, with the matter matched automatically. Its own site says meeting capture is now available to all firms and that it has an MCP connector for AI assistants. It describes its best fit as firms of 5 to 25 or more attorneys and staff, and does not publish prices.

Lua Legal. Built around privilege: off-the-record and strike controls during a meeting, privilege tags and retention rules by tag. It claims SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. Its site shows case management logos without describing what syncs, so ask.

Call Connector. A call logger rather than a notetaker. It creates a Clio record for each call, with a transcript and summary on the paid plan, and links a call to a matter only when the contact has exactly one matter.

Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, Read AI, Circleback, Jamie and Granola. Good meeting notetakers at low prices, with free plans. None files to a legal case management system or has an approval step, so someone copies the note into the matter. Several gate consent and compliance features to top plans: Otter's recording disclaimer email and its HIPAA add-on, and the BAAs at Fireflies, Circleback and Read AI, are Enterprise features. Our Otter and Circleback comparisons go into detail.

Teams, Zoom and Google Meet. If your firm already pays for one of these, meeting summaries may cost nothing extra. Each covers its own platform's meetings, files nothing to a matter, and does not capture phone calls on other systems. Zoom's ZoomMate tier extends notes to other platforms and in-person conversations.

Rev and Sonix. Transcription services rather than notetakers. Rev's Clio integration imports files from Clio for transcription; Sonix sends transcripts to Clio.

What the ethics opinions ask of any of these tools

• Read the terms. ABA Formal Opinion 512 says lawyers should read and understand the terms of use and privacy policy of any generative AI tool they use, and that boilerplate in an engagement letter is not enough for informed consent where it is required.
• Tell the client and get consent. The NYC Bar's Formal Opinion 2025-6 says clients must be notified, and their consent obtained, whenever their calls are recorded by an AI system.
• Check storage, training and deletion. The same opinion lists where data is stored and for how long, whether it can be reached in discovery, whether the tool trains on it, and whether you can delete it.
• Review the output. It also says attorneys should independently review any recording, transcript or summary. The State Bar of California's 2026 guidance adds that reasonable efforts take more than reliance on a vendor's marketing.

How to choose

• Most of your client conversations are phone calls: start with tools that capture your phone system. VXT if you want to move your phones, LegalMate or Call Connector if you keep Dialpad or RingCentral and file to Clio, Astrid if you want a note filed without changing phone systems, including from a cell phone through the dial-in bridge.
• You need the note on the matter, approved by an attorney: Astrid. Querious and VXT also have review steps; check what each files to your system.
• You mostly need meeting summaries and do not use a case management system: a general notetaker, or the assistant already in Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, may be enough. Check its training setting.
• Privilege controls during the meeting matter most: look at Lua Legal.
• You are a small firm: see our guide for small law firms, which covers seat minimums and the costs that are not on the price tag.

Sources

• ABA: Formal Opinion 512
• NYC Bar: Formal Opinion 2025-6
• State Bar of California: Practical Guidance for the Use of Generative AI
• VXT: pricing
• Querious: pricing and documentation
• LegalMate: llms.txt and integrations
• Lua Legal: home and pricing
• Call Connector: pricing and help center on Clio Manage
• Otter.ai: pricing and privacy policy
• Fireflies: pricing and security
• Fathom: pricing and privacy policy
• Read AI: pricing
• Circleback: pricing
• Jamie: pricing and security
• Granola: pricing and security
• Microsoft: Teams Premium
• Zoom: pricing and ZoomMate
• Google: Workspace pricing
• Rev: pricing and security
• Sonix: pricing and security

Frequently asked questions