Legal Tech in the Blogosphere - Technology and Ethics

At its recent annual meeting, the ABA revised its Model Rules on Professional Conduct. Particularly, it adopted Revised Rule 105A   dealing with client confidentiality and technology and Revised Rule 105B on lawyers' use of technology for client development or marketing. Sean Doherty describes the significant changes in his article posted at Law.com, ABA Adopts Ethics Rules on Lawyers' Use of Technology. The changes to the Model Rules dealing with the use of internet for marketing is described in Internet Marketing Tools for Lawyers Addressed by ABA by Gyi Tsakalakis at Lawyerist.com.

One of the most significant changes is the ABA's expectation that lawyers will take time to educate themselves on the uses and potential risks of technology. Applauding this new acknowledgement of the need for lawyers to educate themselves about technology, Sharon Nelson posted at Ride the Lightning, "No more Lawyer Luddites."

Many states have already had occasion to address the ethical requirements for lawyers with regard to technology. The ABA Law Practice Management Section has posted a helpful resource, Cloud Ethics Opinions Around the U.S. Naturally, the evolution of rules and opinions have inspired criticism and comment. For example, Richard Granat critiques the current state of opinions and guidelines in his e-Lawyering Blog, Law Firms and Cloud Computing Ethics Guidelines.

"Legal Tech in the Blogosphere" is written by members of the ISBA's Standing Committee on Legal Technology (COLT).