Last updated: 2026-01-15

For most U.S. lawyers, the simplest path to launching a professional-looking podcast is to record in a browser-based studio like StreamYard, using local multi-track files and light AI clipping to repurpose episodes. If you later find you need plan-level 4K, extra multi-track hours, or specific post-production tools, Riverside is a reasonable alternative to layer into a more editing-heavy workflow.

Summary

• StreamYard offers browser-based recording with local multi-track files, AI-powered clips, and simple guest access via link—ideal for busy lawyers who don’t want to fight software. (StreamYard)
• Paid plans support recording with up to 10 people, making it easy to host co-counsel, clients, and expert guests without complex setup. (StreamYard)
• StreamYard local recordings export as MP4 and uncompressed 48 kHz WAV files per participant, creating high-fidelity masters for legal podcasts and archives. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Riverside can be useful when you specifically want more plan-level multi-track hour controls and 4K recording within a recording-first environment. (Riverside)

Why should lawyers even consider podcast recording software?

If you practice law in the U.S., you’re probably not dreaming about codecs and bitrates. You care about trust, positioning, and how much friction a new initiative will add to your week.

A podcast does three things particularly well for a law practice:

• Builds authority by letting prospects hear how you think through nuanced issues.
• Humanizes your brand in ways a bio page never can.
• Scales client education so you answer common questions once and reuse that content.

Podcast recording software is the engine behind that strategy. The right tool should:

• Capture clean audio and video, reliably.
• Be easy enough that you’ll actually record regularly.
• Let guests join quickly, without IT headaches.
• Give you recordings you can archive, clip, and reuse.

That’s why a browser-based studio like StreamYard works well for legal teams: you open a link, everyone joins, you hit record, and you leave with files that fit neatly into the rest of your tech stack. (StreamYard)

Is browser-based recording secure enough for attorney–client interviews?

Security and confidentiality are non‑negotiable in law. At the same time, most podcast workflows for lawyers are not handling privileged strategy sessions; they’re semi-public educational conversations, firm updates, or thought-leadership interviews.

For that kind of use, browser-based studios are typically appropriate when you follow your firm’s existing policies: use approved devices, secure accounts, and store files inside your normal document management or cloud storage.

StreamYard focuses on being the recording and live-production layer, not the long‑term system of record. You record in the browser, then export MP4 and MP3/WAV files and move them into your firm’s preferred storage, DMS, or case‑management environment. (StreamYard Help Center)

When conversations are sensitive—say, a client intake or a mock witness interview—many firms either:

• Avoid recording altogether, or
• Treat the recording like any other confidential document: limited access, secure storage, and clear retention rules.

In other words, the security story is less about the recording studio and more about your firm’s overall information‑governance practices.

Can guests join without installing software for client or witness interviews?

Lawyers are already juggling enough friction: calendars, portals, e‑signature tools, and court systems. The last thing you want is a podcast guest stuck downloading an app on hotel Wi‑Fi.

On StreamYard, guests join by clicking a link in their browser; they don’t have to sign up or download anything. (StreamYard) That’s a big deal when your “guests” might be general counsel, expert witnesses, or busy partners at another firm.

A typical workflow looks like this:

1. You schedule a recording and copy the invite link.
2. You drop it into a calendar invite with a brief one‑paragraph how‑to.
3. At showtime, guests click the link, grant mic/camera permission, and they’re in.

That low-friction onboarding is one reason many non‑technical professionals gravitate to StreamYard over more complex setups that require dedicated apps, drivers, or separate accounts.

How important is audio and video quality for legal podcasts?

Your future clients might forgive a minor dog bark; they won’t forgive sounding careless or amateurish about their legal issues.

For most legal shows, the practical quality bar is:

• Clear, consistent voices without dropouts.
• Video sharp enough for YouTube and social clips.
• Files that editors can trust as a long‑term reference.

StreamYard approaches this with a “quality plus reliability” mindset:

• All plans support local recordings, capturing each participant directly on their device instead of over the internet, which helps avoid glitches in the final files. (StreamYard)
• Local recordings export as MP4 for video and uncompressed 48 kHz WAV for audio, giving your editor high‑fidelity masters to work with. (StreamYard Help Center)
• StreamYard supports up to 256 kbps audio bitrate and offers color presets and grading controls so your video can match your firm’s visual standards. (StreamYard)

Riverside, as another option, puts more emphasis on 4K recording and describes 48 kHz audio with multi-track capture, particularly on paid plans. (Riverside) For a typical legal show published to podcast apps and 1080p YouTube, the day‑to‑day difference between those specs and StreamYard’s capabilities is usually small compared to the impact of good microphones and quiet rooms.

Unless you are building a highly produced video-first series with a big YouTube strategy, StreamYard’s combination of local recording, WAV exports, and visual controls is more than enough headroom.

How to export separate WAV tracks for editing and archival?

Separate tracks matter when you want fine control: lowering one guest’s volume, cutting coughs, or editing out a sidebar without touching the rest of the conversation.

On StreamYard, there are two layers to know:

1. Local multi‑track recording

   • When local recording is enabled, each participant’s feed is captured on their own device.
   • Those local files are exported as MP4 (video) and WAV (audio) for each participant, giving you clean per‑person masters. (StreamYard Help Center)

2. Cloud individual audio tracks

   • On higher tiers, you can also enable individual cloud audio tracks, which create separate WAV files per participant in the cloud. (StreamYard Help Center)

A simple legal‑podcast workflow:

• Record your episode in StreamYard with local recording turned on.
• Download the MP4 and per‑guest WAV files after the session.
• Hand those WAVs to your editor (in‑house or freelance) for mixing, leveling, and light cleanup.
• Store the final WAV masters in your DMS or cloud archive as part of your marketing records.

Riverside also offers per‑participant local multi-track up to plan‑dependent hour caps (e.g., 5 or 15 hours on paid plans), but those hours are tightly metered each month. (Riverside) For long‑form or frequent shows, many legal teams prefer the flexibility of StreamYard’s unlimited local recording on paid plans so they’re not watching a quota.

StreamYard vs Riverside: audio quality and multi‑track recording limits?

Both StreamYard and Riverside are capable of producing high‑quality legal podcasts, but they optimize for slightly different priorities.

StreamYard (live‑first, flexible hours)

• Browser-based with guests joining via link; no installs or sign‑ups needed. (StreamYard)
• Local recordings on all plans, with free limited to 2 hours/month and paid plans offering unlimited local recording, subject to storage. (StreamYard)
• Local exports as MP4 and WAV, plus optional individual cloud audio tracks on higher tiers. (StreamYard Help Center)
• AI Clips for quickly pulling highlights for LinkedIn, short videos, and promotional snippets, without pretending to replace a full editing suite. (StreamYard)

For a U.S. law firm, this usually means you can:

• Record long conversations without worrying about burning through a small monthly multi-track quota.
• Do light, fast repurposing in the same studio, then hand off WAVs to a professional editor when deeper work is needed.

Riverside (recording‑first, more metered hours)

• Emphasizes local recording with up to 4K video and higher sample rates on paid tiers. (Riverside)
• Multi-track hours are capped by plan (for example, 15 hours/month on some Pro tiers), so heavy recording schedules require careful planning or upgrades. (Riverside)
• Includes its own AI editing features and clips, oriented toward creators who want more in‑platform post‑production.

For most legal shows—monthly or weekly episodes, moderate run times, and a mix of live and recorded content—the combination of StreamYard’s unlimited local recording on paid plans, simple guest experience, and clean exports is often the more straightforward fit.

Which plans include individual audio tracks and what are the recording hour limits?

If you’re thinking like a lawyer, you’re probably asking, “Where are the limits—and when do I hit them?”

On StreamYard:

• Local multi-track recording exists on all plans. The free plan allows 2 hours of local recording per month; paid plans do not cap local recording hours, within storage and per‑session constraints. (StreamYard)
• Individual cloud audio tracks (separate WAV files per participant in the cloud) are available on higher tiers only. (StreamYard Help Center)
• You can record with up to 5 guests (6 people total) on the free plan and up to 10 people on paid plans, which is more than enough for most panel‑style legal shows. (StreamYard)

On Riverside:

• Multi-track recording hours are strictly limited per month: for instance, some Pro tiers list 15 hours of multi-track recordings (separate audio and video tracks). (Riverside)
• Higher resolutions and audio sample rates are tied to those paid tiers.

The result: if your firm is planning a steady cadence of long interviews or panel discussions, StreamYard’s approach to hours usually feels less restrictive. If you’re producing a shorter, highly engineered video‑first show and are comfortable managing quotas, Riverside’s more granular recording‑first environment can be worth a look.

How does editing and distribution fit into a law‑firm workflow?

Most lawyers don’t want to turn into editors. At the same time, you probably don’t want to outsource everything either.

StreamYard’s strategy is to handle the recording and light editing, then plug into the tools that already specialize in distribution:

• AI Clips lets you generate highlight moments quickly—ideal for LinkedIn, website embeds, or short explainers pulled from longer conversations. (StreamYard)
• Deep, frame‑level editing or complex multi‑track mixing is intentionally left to dedicated tools (or your podcast agency), not replicated inside the studio.
• For RSS feeds, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and analytics, you pair StreamYard with a podcast host of your choice, rather than using a bundled all‑in‑one that might lock you in.

This separation maps nicely to how law firms operate: StreamYard becomes the repeatable “recording room,” and specialized vendors handle hosting, distribution, and long‑term analytics.

Riverside’s in‑studio editing and AI tools can appeal if you want more post‑production tools in a single interface. But for many firms, the flexibility of using StreamYard with best‑of‑breed hosting and editing tools keeps the tech stack cleaner.

What we recommend

• Start with StreamYard as your primary recording studio: it’s browser-based, easy for guests, and gives you local WAV files that editors love.
• Turn on local multi-track recording and keep simple checklists for mic choice, room quiet, and guest instructions—that alone will elevate your legal podcast.
• Use AI Clips to generate quick highlights for LinkedIn, your firm blog, and email marketing, then store final WAV masters in your DMS.
• Consider Riverside only if you later discover a specific need for its plan-level 4K recording specs or tightly metered multi-track environment and are comfortable managing those quotas.