About
Independent, careful, and written for lawyers.
The Redline is an independent publication. We are not a law firm, not a vendor, and not a marketing agency. We help solo and small-firm lawyers in the UK and US use AI without breaching client confidentiality.
We are faceless by design: no fake author, no invented credentials, no pretend barrister. Our credibility comes from the rigour of our methodology, not a persona.
Editorial standard
Confidentiality first. Jurisdiction-aware. Small-firm sized.
Every tool we cover is evaluated against the duty of confidentiality before we look at features, pricing, or user interface. If a tool trains on your inputs by default, that is the first thing we say. If it has a safe tier, we explain exactly how to enable it and what it costs.
We write for two jurisdictions. For UK readers, we check against SRA guidance and the Bar Standards Board Handbook. For US readers, we check against ABA Model Rule 1.6 and the prevailing state-bar positions. We flag where the two diverge.
We only recommend tools a solo or 2–15 lawyer firm can actually buy and deploy this quarter. No enterprise-only stacks, no “contact sales” pricing, no volume discounts that require a hundred seats.
How we review tools
A five-step check, every time.
- 01
Read the data policy
We read the terms of service, privacy policy, and any AI-specific addendum. We look for training opt-outs, enterprise tiers, and data-retention clauses. If the policy is vague, we say so.
- 02
Test the actual workflow
We sign up for the tool, run a realistic legal workflow, and check what data leaves the device, where it goes, and who can access it. We do not review from press releases.
- 03
Check current regulator guidance
We cross-reference the tool against the latest SRA, ABA, and state-bar guidance on AI use. Guidance changes quickly; we note the date we checked.
- 04
Compare the alternatives
We compare the tool against at least two direct competitors on the same workflow, priced for a small firm. Price matters when the bill is coming from your own bank account.
- 05
Write the verdict
If the tool is safe for client work, we explain how to use it safely. If it is not, we say so plainly and suggest a safer alternative. No star ratings, no inflated scores.
Independence
No money from vendors. Full disclosure on links.
We take no money from the tools we cover to change a rating, move a product up a list, or soften a criticism. If a vendor offers us a paid partnership, we decline. Our only revenue is from affiliate links and the paid toolkit.
Some links on this site are affiliate links. When you click one and buy or sign up, we may earn a commission. This never changes our verdict: we link to tools we recommend, and we recommend tools we would use ourselves. If a tool is unsafe, we do not affiliate-link it.
Every affiliate link is marked with rel="sponsored" and disclosed in context. We also list all affiliated relationships in our Terms.
How we work
Research-driven, not opinion-driven.
The Redline is published as a weekly brief. Each issue is built from primary sources: regulator guidance documents, terms of service, vendor security whitepapers, and direct testing. We do not rewrite press releases or aggregate other reviews.
Because AI tool policies and regulator guidance change frequently, we date-stamp every factual claim and review articles at least quarterly. If something changes, we update the article and note the revision date.
We do not offer legal advice. Everything we publish is educational content about software and regulatory guidance. Before you use any tool with client data, evaluate it against your own firm’s obligations and your regulator’s current guidance.
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