Leveraging Knowledge to Manage Your Data Risks
On July 29, 2024, the American Bar Association issued ABA Formal Opinion 512 titled “Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools.”
The opinion addresses the ethical considerations lawyers are required to consider when using generative AI (GenAI) tools in the practice of law.
The opinion sets forth the ethical rules to consider, including the duties of competence, confidentiality…
We all know data breaches can impact all of us, regardless of whether we are a Fortune 500 company or a small business. Lawyers, of course, are not immune from data attacks and recent guidance from the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility illustrates how critical it is for lawyers and law firms to be aware of cybersecurity issues and accompanying ethical considerations. See a copy of Formal Opinion 483 here. (Opinion).
Continue Reading New Ethics Guidance for Lawyers from the American Bar Association (ABA) Regarding Data Breach and Cyber-attack
On May 11, 2017, The American Bar Association (ABA) updated its 1999 opinion regarding lawyers’ use of email for communication. Although many state bar associations have issued opinions on electronic communications and the use of cloud computing services, the ABA has now provided clear guidance for lawyers on their ethical responsibilities of competence, confidentiality and communication in an electronic age.
Formal Opinion 477, “Securing Communication of Protected Client Information,” which is considered a professional rule of conduct for attorneys, provides that attorneys must take “reasonable measures” to keep client information safe from cyber threats. This means that lawyers must implement basic and reasonable electronic security methods in communicating via email.
The text of the Preamble, which is the crux of the opinion, states:
Continue Reading ABA Issues Opinion on Use of Email for Lawyers
The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) has issued its first-ever data security guidelines, which outline basic data security measures that in-house counsel can use to evaluate their outside counsel.
Most companies these days are auditing their law firms’ data security measures, but since data breaches occurred at some of the largest U.S. based law firms…
