Encrypted email for lawyers, on your firm’s own domain
Client email carries confidential information. Secria Mail stores every message in your mailbox with zero-access encryption, locked with keys made on your device, and end-to-end encryption is on by default. Use your firm’s domain on Mail Plus or Pro. Below is what ABA Formal Opinion 477R says about when lawyers should encrypt.
- Zero-access encryption
- Custom domain on paid plans
- Web, iPhone and Android
What the ethics rules say
When should a lawyer encrypt email?
Routine email can go unencrypted when basic security is in place. Stronger protection, such as encryption, is warranted when the information is sensitive, or when a client agreement or the law calls for it. That is the position of ABA Formal Opinion 477R.
Reasonable efforts is the standard
ABA Model Rule 1.6(c) says a lawyer “shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client.”2
Routine email is generally acceptable
Opinion 477R says “the use of unencrypted routine email generally remains an acceptable method of lawyer-client communication,” when basic security measures are in place.1
Sensitive matters call for more
The same opinion says “particularly strong protective measures, like encryption, are warranted in some circumstances,” and that the lawyer decides case by case.1
Technology is part of competence
Comment 8 to Model Rule 1.1 says lawyers should keep up with “the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.”3
The reasonable-efforts factors
Five factors from the Model Rules, and where Secria fits
Comment 18 to Model Rule 1.6 lists factors for judging whether a lawyer’s efforts are reasonable. Opinion 477R applies them to email.
| Question | What it asks | With Secria Mail |
|---|---|---|
| Sensitivity of the information | How much harm would disclosure do in this matter?2 | Every message in your mailbox is stored with zero-access encryption, whatever the matter. |
| Likelihood of disclosure | How likely is disclosure if you add no further safeguards?2 | Keys are made on your device and only reach our servers encrypted. |
| Cost of the safeguards | What does added protection cost?2 | Encryption is included on every plan. |
| Difficulty of implementing them | How hard is the safeguard to put in place?2 | On by default. Nothing to configure. |
| Effect on representing clients | Does the safeguard make your tools too hard to use?2 | It works like the email you know, on the web, iPhone and Android. |
- American Bar Association, Formal Opinion 477R: Securing communication of protected client information (May 11, 2017, revised May 22, 2017).
- American Bar Association, Model Rule 1.6: Confidentiality of information, paragraph (c) and Comment 18.
- American Bar Association, Model Rule 1.1: Competence, comment, Comment 8.
Checked October 11, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Your state bar’s rules and ethics opinions decide what applies to you.
What you get with Secria
Email that protects client mail by default
Your firm’s domain
Use you@yourfirm.com on Mail Plus (3 domains) or Pro (10 domains), with aliases and a catch-all address on your domain.
Sealed with your keys
Your mailbox is stored with zero-access encryption, locked with a key made from your password on your device.
End to end by default
End-to-end encryption is on by default, with ML-KEM-1024 and X25519. A client or co-counsel can join on the free plan and get the same encryption.
Private by default
No ads on any plan and no profiling. Tracking pixels are removed automatically, and senders never see your IP address.
Getting started
Move your practice’s email in three steps
Create your account
Pick Mail Plus or Pro. Save your recovery phrase when you sign up, because it is your way back in if you forget your password.
Connect your firm’s domain
Add your domain in Secria and copy the DNS records it shows you. Secria checks them for you.
Bring your archive
Import a PST file from Outlook, or MBOX and EML files, so your existing matters come with you.
Custom domains on Mail Plus and Pro
Same encryption on every plan. Pick the one with the room you need.
Secria Pro
10 custom domains, unlimited aliases, 500 GB, and the full Secria VPN on 5 devices.
Monthly prices shown. Yearly and 2-year plans cost less per month. Compare all plans
30-day money-back on plans bought here. App Store and Google Play purchases follow their own refund rules.
Questions about encrypted email for lawyers
Do lawyers have to encrypt email?
Not every message. ABA Formal Opinion 477R says unencrypted routine email generally remains an acceptable way to communicate with clients when the lawyer has basic security measures in place. It also says stronger protection, such as encryption, is warranted in some circumstances: when the information is sensitive, or when a client agreement or the law calls for it.
What does ABA Formal Opinion 477R say?
It says a lawyer may generally send client information over the internet when the lawyer has made reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized access, and that some matters need special security precautions. It lists seven considerations, including understanding the threat, knowing how client information is sent and stored, using reasonable electronic security measures, labeling confidential information, training lawyers and staff, and vetting technology vendors.
Does encryption protect attorney-client privilege?
Privilege is a legal rule and encryption is a security measure. Encryption does not create privilege, but it helps keep a confidential message from being read by someone it was not meant for. For how privilege applies to your matter, rely on the rules of your jurisdiction.
Can I use my law firm’s domain?
Yes. Secria Mail Plus connects up to 3 custom domains for $3.99 a month on monthly billing, and Secria Pro up to 10. Mail to your domain gets the same protection as any Secria address.
Is there a plan for a whole firm?
Secria Business is opening soon. Join the waitlist to hear when it does. Personal plans are available today.
Can I bring my existing mail?
Yes. Secria imports MBOX files, EML files and Outlook PST files on every plan, free included. MBOX and EML files are read and encrypted in your browser before upload.
Client mail, sealed with your keys.
Your firm’s domain on Mail Plus or Pro.