Solicitors and barristers
Applies to: United Kingdom
Encrypted file exchange for law firms and chambers
Documents for clients, the other side 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
Keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential.
The firm remains accountable for work done through others; information held by providers of critical functions must be available for inspection by the SRA.
Protect the confidentiality of each client’s affairs; outsourcing contracts must impose similar confidentiality and allow the BSB access.
Solicitors in Scotland must maintain client confidentiality.
We cannot read the contents, so privileged material is not disclosed to us.
How TEPHIA SECURE meets them
Contractual confidentiality and regulator access
In clause 5b, our data processing agreement commits us to confidentiality, binds everyone involved in writing and gives your regulator the access to information its rules require (SRA Code for Firms 3.3(b), BSB Handbook rC86). You conclude it electronically and receive a copy as a PDF.
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. 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; Art. 24A UK 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; Art. 24A UK 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.