Advocates and attorneys-at-law
Applies to: Poland
Encrypted file exchange for law firms
Documents for clients, the other party or experts – sent encrypted, with proof of when they were downloaded.
- Developed & operated in Germany
- End-to-end encrypted
- Contractual confidentiality obligations
- Signed proofs of delivery
What your professional rules require
Advocates keep secret everything they learn in connection with providing legal assistance; the duty is not limited in time.
The same duty for attorneys-at-law; they cannot be released from it as to facts learned while providing legal assistance.
All information covered by professional secrecy must be secured against unauthorised disclosure.
Non-binding recommendations: providers based in the EEA that process the data there; a data processing agreement covering data location and encryption; your own encryption, so that the provider cannot read the data; passwords sent through a separate channel. For information covered by defence secrecy (tajemnica obrończa), the guidelines advise against email, messaging apps and online transfer services.
How TEPHIA SECURE meets them
Contractual confidentiality
In clause 5b, our data processing agreement commits us to secrecy and limits access to what the service requires. Everyone involved is bound in writing in the same way before starting work. You conclude the agreement electronically and receive a copy as a PDF. If an authority demands your data, we inform you immediately so that you can invoke professional secrecy.
State of the art
AES-256-GCM encryption in the sender’s browser, with the key derived from the password using Argon2id. The server holds no key and cannot read the contents.
No account needed for recipients
Recipients do not need an account. The link and password travel separately; you can pass on the password through a different channel, as the NRA guidelines recommend. Clients and third parties can send you documents through an upload box, with the same protection and the same proof of delivery.
Verifiable proof of delivery
Each entry is cryptographically chained to the previous one. The proof of delivery is a signed PDF/A with a timestamp from an independent time-stamping authority.
How your proofs are secured
| In every planSignature with our certificate | Add-on · coming soonQualified electronic seal | |
|---|---|---|
| Any change to the PDF invalidates the signature | included | included |
| Timestamp from an independent authority | included | included |
| Hash chain with daily chain seal | included | included |
| Checksum (SHA-256) of every file, confirmed by the recipient | included | included |
| Verifiable online, without an account | included | included |
| Display in Adobe Reader | “Validity unknown”1 | Valid |
| Legal presumption of authenticity (Art. 35(2) eIDAS) | not included | included |
| Useful for | Your records, clients | Courts, authorities, the other party |
1 Not an error: our certificate is not on the EU trust list that Reader recognises. You can check integrity online or using the certificate fingerprint.
- Signature: any change is detected
- Timestamp from an independent authority
- Hash chain with daily chain seal
- Checksum of every file, confirmed by the recipient
- Verifiable online, without an account
- Adobe Reader shows “Valid” instead of “Validity unknown”
- Legal presumption of authenticity (Art. 35(2) eIDAS)
- Useful for courts, authorities, the other party
There is no certification of services like this by a professional body, and carefully selecting a service provider remains your responsibility under your professional rules.
The information on the legal position on this page is general information, without any warranty as to completeness or currency, and does not constitute legal advice. Only our contracts are binding.