LEGAL
There are lots of "then and now" comparisons and a whole subsection of Internet memes on the subject of comparisons. Let's start with one of the legal world:
If you Google "lawyers ethics technology," in 0.59 seconds you get 19,800,000 articles. The website of the State Bar of California has 66 entries on its page, Ethics Opinions Related to Technology.
The world of technology has changed so much that the American Bar Association added Comment 8 to Rule 1.1.
"To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, engage in continuing study and education and comply with all continuing legal education requirements to which the lawyer is subject."
To date, seventeen states have approved or added similar language. Those states include: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Despite the fact that the codes of professional conduct in Canada do not explicitly require the use of technology, The Canadian Bar Association issued a 27 page paper entitled, Legal Ethics in a Digital World with the intention of helping lawyers "navigate the intersection between the use of technology and your ethical and professional obligations."
I think we can all agree that basic technological competence is intertwined with professional competence. So where do the attorneys ethical obligations begin and where do they end? The good news I don't think any of the Bars expect lawyers to turn into CIOs, Microsoft Exchange administrators or experts in nanotechnology. The bad news is I think it's a little more involved than knowing the top legal apps for the iPhone or iPad. Sharon D. Nelson and John W. Simek had an article in Slaw on why lawyers resist ethical rules. They said, "The change does not require a lawyer to become an IT professional - indeed, for most lawyers, dabbling in IT would be dangerous. They need outside or inside IT help in most cases - the small firms generally contract IT work to an outside IT service company. But all lawyers should be aware of the benefits and risks of technology to be a competent lawyer in the digital era." For corporate law departments, getting corporate IT resources can be difficult. For them an internal (to the department) person or an outside services vendor is required.
A good place to start might be with the Legal Tech Assessment. Developed by Casey Flaherty and picked up and enhanced by Andrew Perman and the Suffolk Law School Institute on Law Practice Technology & Innovation. It is designed to assess how lawyers "use basic law practice technology, such as word processing and spreadsheets, to complete commonly encountered legal tasks." This is something that after you take it yourself, you want all your outside counsel to take. Depending on how well you do you might want to spend a little more time with the department's trainers to bring yourself up to speed.
Some of the best educated lawyers I know use an "opportunities-based approach" to their technology education. Have a new matter going into an outside counsel’s extranet? Take the opportunity to sit down with them and get an overview of how it works, what technologies it uses and what security precautions are in place. Are you having issues with production of electronically stored information from backup tapes? Visit the IT department and find out how they approach the issues.
Your outside counsel are chomping at the bit to distinguish themselves from their competition. Why not call on them and their expertise to deliver educational and CLE classes to you and the lawyers in your department?
There are reasons to become more tech savvy, not the least of which is NOT doing so could be construed as malpractice. In today's legal market, your clients/business customers have high expectations and you owe it to them to do work as efficiently as possible. The cost and proliferation of more advanced technology are such that it is the common industry standard, and thus you need to be more aware of it. In addition, you don't want to be embarrassed by being unable to pass that technology skills assessment. And who knows, it may also give you something new to talk about with your teenager.
Change is hard enough without added pressures. You need to acknowledge the digital age and acknowledge commoditization. There are better ways of doing things and not everything you're doing is lawyer work. Invest in the education, workflows and technology that allow you to do the work most efficiently and at the right level - including effective use of outside counsel. Unless you are a one-person law department, you have a culture that needs changed or tweaked. The culture must emphasize and reward technology competency.
With a desire, you can engage in change. With the right knowledge, you know how to change. With new abilities, you can implement skills and new behaviors. And with the right reinforcement from your peers and company, you can sustain that change.
This article originally published in Practice Innovations, which communicates best practices and innovations in law firm information and knowledge management, published by Thomson Reuters as a service to the legal profession.
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