Spacetop for lawyers: privileged work, for your eyes only
Review filings, exhibits, and client files on a 100-inch workspace no one can read over your shoulder — on the flight, in the courthouse corridor, anywhere the matter takes you.
The risk
Three places privilege quietly leaks
Confidential work doesn't wait for a private office. Here's where the duty to protect it runs into the way lawyers actually travel.
The 7 a.m. flight
You open a deposition transcript before the cabin doors close. The passenger in 14B has a clear, downward view of every line — names, allegations, the number you're about to recommend. A side-mounted privacy filter does nothing about the seat behind and above you.
The courthouse corridor
Opposing counsel is three feet away on the same bench, waiting for the same calendar call. Your screen is angled toward them while you pull up your argument outline. One glance reveals strategy you spent weeks building.
The hotel lobby
Out-of-town hearing, no quiet room. You redline a settlement agreement at a lobby table while a dozen strangers walk past. With Spacetop, the document lives inside your glasses — there is no screen on the table to read.
The numbers behind visual hacking
A white-hat experiment by the Ponemon Institute (sponsored by 3M, 2016) put real offices to the test.
It almost always works
91% of visual-hacking attempts succeeded
68% of the time, no one stopped the hacker
Nearly half succeeded in under 15 minutes
Privileged work is the target
27% of captured data was sensitive — the study names attorney-client privileged documents specifically
52% of it was read directly off a screen
An average of 3.9 pieces of sensitive data per attempt
Why a filter falls short
Filters darken side angles only — not over-the-shoulder or from above
They shrink and dim the little screen you have
Spacetop removes the visible screen entirely
Spacetop vs. waiting until you're back at the office
The privacy filter was the old workaround. Spacetop is the option that lets the work actually happen on the road.
| Spacetop | Privacy filter | Wait for the office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review privileged docs in public safely | Partial, side angles only | ||
| Get billable work done while traveling | |||
| Hidden from onlookers at every angle | |||
| Cross-reference exhibits side-by-side | 100" canvas | Only at your desk | |
| Works on the laptop you already carry |
The confidentiality the rules expect — on the road
A lawyer's duty of confidentiality doesn't lapse outside the office. It travels with the matter, and the ethics rules increasingly expect reasonable technical safeguards.
Reasonable efforts, in plain sight
ABA Model Rule 1.6(c) requires lawyers to make reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized disclosure of client information. Working on an exposed screen in a crowded cabin is exactly the kind of inadvertent disclosure the rule contemplates. Spacetop is a concrete safeguard: a workspace only the wearer can see.
Built for the whole practice
Partners, associates, and paralegals all carry privileged material out of the building. Because Spacetop for Windows runs on the AI PC each of them already uses, a firm can extend identical visual privacy across the team — without shipping monitors or rewriting how anyone works.
Spacetop for legal teams: FAQ
Can I review privileged documents on a plane?
With Spacetop, yes. Your workspace is rendered inside lightweight AR glasses, so privileged documents are visible only to you — not to the passengers beside, behind, or above you. There is no screen on the tray table for anyone to read.
Is a laptop privacy screen enough to protect attorney-client privilege?
Often not. A privacy filter only darkens side viewing angles; anyone directly behind you or seated higher can still read the screen. The Ponemon/3M visual-hacking study found 91% of attempts succeeded and specifically counted attorney-client privileged documents among the data captured. Spacetop removes the visible screen altogether.
How do remote lawyers meet the duty of confidentiality under ABA Model Rule 1.6?
Model Rule 1.6(c) calls for reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized disclosure. Spacetop supports that obligation by making your screen unreadable to onlookers in public settings. It is a technical safeguard that complements — but does not replace — your firm's policies and your professional judgment.
Can my associates and paralegals use Spacetop too?
Yes. It runs on the AI PC each team member already uses, paired with lightweight AR glasses, so a firm can roll out the same private 100-inch workspace across partners, associates, and paralegals.
Ready to work without boundaries?
Talk to our team about how Spacetop can fit your business or we can partner with you.
