Key facts
| Single sign-on | SAML 2.0 / OIDC SSO on Enterprise |
| Provisioning | SCIM user provisioning and deprovisioning on Enterprise |
| Permission model | RBAC with workspace, role and resource-level permissions |
| API keys | Scoped keys per project, environment or tenant; per-key rate limits and quotas |
| Audit logs | Request and admin events export to SIEM (Splunk, Sentinel, QRadar, Datadog) |
| Key custody | BYOK via AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, HashiCorp Vault or an on-prem HSM |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II under NDA, ISO 27001/27017/27018, HIPAA with a BAA; FedRAMP Moderate in process |
| Deployment | Hosted, VPC, on-prem and air-gapped with the same API |
TL;DR
- Collection boundaries must follow confidentiality walls, not folders.
- Issue scoped keys to the team staffed on each matter.
- Audit logs show who queried what, which answers counsel review questions.
- SCIM removes access automatically when staff leave.
- Agree deletion workflows so retention ends with the engagement.
How it works, step by step
- Map matters and confidentiality walls to collections before ingesting anything.
- Create a collection per matter or client and ingest only that content.
- Issue scoped keys to the staffed team and record an owner for each key.
- Federate authentication with SSO and automate lifecycle with SCIM.
- Export audit events to your SIEM with retention aligned to firm policy.
- Define deletion workflows for closed matters, including logs and backups.
- Test wall enforcement on a closed matter before live use.
Try it yourself
Open the AI API key security checklist →
Why legal teams need an access model
Law firms and legal departments already run ethical walls on paper: staffing decisions, conflict checks, restricted files. AI systems that ignore those walls quietly dissolve them, because retrieval is exactly the act of crossing from one matter to another if permissions are not enforced.
The practical rule is that collection boundaries follow confidentiality boundaries, not folder structures. If two matters must never see each other's documents, they must never share a collection, a key or a query surface.
The four layers: identity, permission, keys, evidence
Think in terms of who, what, which and proof. Who is federated identity — SAML 2.0 / OIDC SSO on Enterprise, with SCIM keeping the user list current. What is authorisation — RBAC with workspace, role and resource-level permissions. Which credential is in use — scoped API keys per project, environment or tenant, with per-key rate limits and quotas. Proof is the audit trail — request and admin events exported to your SIEM, retained up to 7 years. For legal teams, attribution turns a confidentiality wall from a policy into a control: the audit trail shows who queried privileged content.
Controls legal teams should configure first
Implement walls at ingestion time, not query time. Create a collection per matter or client, ingest only that matter's documents, and issue scoped keys to the lawyers and paralegals assigned to it. When staffing changes, revoke the key and re-issue to the new team; SCIM removes access automatically if someone leaves the firm.
Audit logs record user, model, region and time for every request, export to your SIEM for retention up to 7 years, and answer the question every general counsel eventually asks: who looked at this file? For privileged material, deploy in your VPC, on-prem or air-gapped with BYOK, and agree deletion workflows for closed matters so retention ends when the engagement does.
A practical rollout order
Pilot on a closed or fictional matter so you can test wall enforcement with no real privilege risk, then extend to live matters one team at a time. Prototype on the free plan and move to Enterprise for SSO, SCIM and private deployment. See the live pricing page for current plans.
Honest comparison
| Control | Plugsky | Shared API keys only | Building in-house |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single sign-on | SAML 2.0 / OIDC on Enterprise | Not available | You integrate the IdP |
| Deprovisioning | SCIM on Enterprise | Manual key deletion | Custom lifecycle jobs |
| Permission granularity | Workspace, role and resource-level | One key for everything | You build the model |
| Key scoping | Per project, environment or tenant, with quotas | Shared key, no attribution | Custom key service |
| Audit evidence | Request and admin events with SIEM export | Limited request logs | You build the pipeline |
| Key custody | BYOK via KMS or on-prem HSM | Provider-managed keys | You operate the HSMs |
Frequently asked questions
How do ethical walls translate into the platform?
One collection per matter, one scoped key per staffed team, and no shared query surface between walls. Access is granted and revoked with staffing, not with folder permissions.
Can we prove who accessed a document?
Audit logs tie each request to a user, model, time and region, so access can be reconstructed during a review or dispute, subject to the retention you configured.
Do we need the OpenAI SDK to change?
No. Authentication and access control sit alongside the same OpenAI-compatible API, so application code keeps working when keys or roles change.
Is there a free plan?
Yes — plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite with 2 API keys and no credit card. A 14-day full-access trial is also available.
How is pricing structured?
Self-serve plans are flat monthly with unlimited fair-use usage and no per-token charges or overage fees. See the live pricing page for current plans.
Can we keep our own identity provider?
Yes on Enterprise: SAML 2.0 / OIDC SSO and SCIM provisioning work with standard identity providers, and RBAC maps your roles to workspace and resource permissions.