Client confidentiality in the digital age
The pathways for breaching client confidentiality -- whether due to simple carelessness or inadequate security -- continue to multiply as technology advances.
"There are many recent cases where lawyers have found themselves in trouble because of their use of client confidential information in settings that might surprise people," says Mary K. Foster, counsel to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) review board and lecturer on legal ethics at Northwestern University School of Law. "They can send unencrypted e-mail. They can use client information gained through conversations with the client, in ways that the client might not anticipate."
Allison Wood, a former ARDC litigator who's now principal with Legal Ethics Consulting, P.C., sees two main concerns around confidentiality. "Attorneys must be mindful in taking the requisite steps to ensure the protection of client information when they utilize social media, and when they engage in advancing technologies to deliver legal services," she says.