Inhouse launches Fortress to keep legal AI chats private

Inhouse said Tuesday it launched Fortress, a proprietary system inside its legal AI platform that keeps chats and documents private and under attorney-client privilege. The move targets growing concern that AI-generated legal questions can surface in court and exposes a new model for consumer legal advice.

Why it matters: - Inhouse is pitching Fortress as a way for consumers and small businesses to get AI-assisted legal help without creating a paper trail that could later be subpoenaed. - The launch comes as more people use AI for legal questions while privacy risks around chatbot conversations keep growing. - A recent Washington Post review found chatbot conversations used against people in at least 12 civil and criminal cases over the past two years.

What happened: - Inhouse announced Fortress, its proprietary system designed to keep communications and AI documents completely private and out of court. - The launch is part of the Inhouse Counsel subscription. - Inhouse said all AI chats under that subscription are protected by attorney-client privilege. - Ryan Wenger, co-founder and CEO of Inhouse and a licensed California attorney, said users can get advice discreetly and quickly without creating a record that could be used against them.

The details: - Inhouse said its privacy model relies on the firm's legal structure, technology and personnel controls. - Inhouse Counsel, PC, the company’s MSO law firm, places an Inhouse attorney inside the customer-AI relationship and uses the AI as an agent assisting counsel. - The large language models and conversations stay on Inhouse’s private AWS servers. - Inhouse said the data is never shared with third-party AI models. - Internal access is limited to personnel bound by law firm confidentiality obligations. - Wenger said licensed lawyers review AI advice and add legal expertise. - Ken Friedman, an advisor to Inhouse and former deputy general counsel of LegalZoom, called the Fortress placement inside the law firm “game changing.” - Friedman said combining advanced tools with professional lawyers is the future and that privilege protection is vital for affordable access to the law. - More information is available here.

Between the lines: - Inhouse is trying to distinguish its product from general-purpose AI chatbots by wrapping the technology in a law-firm structure. - That approach is meant to turn privacy from a product feature into a legal protection. - The strategy also positions Inhouse against a broader trust problem in consumer AI: users may assume chats are private when they are not.

What's next: - Inhouse will likely use Fortress and the Inhouse Counsel subscription to deepen its pitch to SMBs and consumers who need affordable legal help. - The company’s next challenge is proving that a privilege-backed AI model can scale while keeping both legal protections and practical usability intact. - The launch also sets up a wider test for whether AI legal services can win users by offering confidentiality that mainstream chatbots do not provide.