061913 CTEO, Informal 2013-08

Case DateJune 19, 2013
CourtConnecticut
Informal 2013-08
Informal Opinion 2013-08
Connecticut Ethics Opinions
June 19, 2013
         USE OF A CALL RECORDING SERVICE           John R. Logan, Chair          We have been asked to determine whether an attorney may, consistent with the attorney's confidentiality obligations under Rules 1.6 and 1.18 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, use a pay-per-call advertising service that records incoming calls from potential clients.          Based on information provided by the requestor, as well as by the provider of the service, Yellow Pages, it is the Committee's understanding that the service works in the following way: A customer who wishes to advertise in Yellow Pages may pay on a monthly basis or on a "pay-per-call" basis, where the customer pays Yellow Pages based on the number of calls generated by the advertisement. If the customer elects the pay-per-call program, Yellow Pages will assign a unique phone number (distinct from the customer's existing business phone number) to be used in conjunction with the customer's advertisement. Typically, customers who use the pay-per-call program have the calls forwarded to their existing business number. Thus, their telephone rings just the same as it would if the client were calling the existing business number directly. However, because the call comes through the unique phone number connected to the advertisement, Yellow Pages is able to track the number of calls coming in and to determine the amount to charge the customer.          As an optional feature, the customer can elect to have the incoming calls recorded.[1] The recordings can be used by the customer to assess how well employees are handling the calls. The recordings are electronically stored on a Yellow Pages server. However, the customer can access and review the recordings by using a unique code. According to Yellow Pages, it does not access the recordings unless asked to do so by a customer. However, the requestor indicated that the Yellow Pages representative that contacted him stated that "he had listened to these telephone calls with another attorney and that they were surprised about how the staff handled the telephone calls."          We do not have a copy of the specific contract, privacy policy, data security policy, or terms of use governing this specific service. Accordingly, this Opinion provides general guidance on the permissibility of this type of arrangement.          This service is similar to other so-called...

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