Ride the Lightning
Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
ABA Resolution Addresses Lawyers' and Technology
August 7, 2012
No more lawyer Luddites – not if you are to abide by Resolution 105A, proposed by the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 and passed yesterday by the House of Delegates. The Resolutions requires lawyers to act competently in securing their clients' data.
Lawyers have a duty to keep abreast of the benefits and risks associated with technology, according to new commentary language added to Rule 1.1 (Competence).
Another change requires that lawyers who receive metadata notify the sender if they know or reasonably should know that the metadata was inadvertently sent.
Also of interest to many is Resolution 105C which addresses a lawyer's obligation when outsourcing. The changes impact only the commentary to the Rules, not the black letter model rules.
Consideration of a resolution asking the ABA House of Delegates to reaffirm its stance against non-lawyer ownership of law firms was so controversial that it was postponed. 92 people filed "salmon slips" asking to speak for or against the Resolution.
John and I are really happy about that first change – we've seen too many lawyers who refused to deal with technology, particularly with respect to securing client data. Hopefully, the changes in the rule will aid us in spreading the gospel!
Listen to the Podcast
