Information management skills every attorney should know.

• Author: Linares, Adriana
• Position: Special Issue: Technology & the Practice of Law

For years now, the art and skill of good lawyering has been impacted by technology. Perhaps it started with the first phone installation or the fax machine or the first attorney on the block to get an email address. Regardless from where it came--it still comes! And comes and comes....

For a few attorneys, every new gadget, upgrade, or software package is a welcome and anticipated opportunity to continue revolutionizing their practice. For many others, technology feels like another speed bump on the road to success, serving only to burden their craft and keep them from doing what they love most: Practicing law. As technology changes, so do the model rules that govern the practice of law.

The ABA Model Rule 1.1 on competence now includes a comment specifically addressing technology and calling for attorneys to stay up to date with its ever-changing landscape: "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."

Not to be left behind, The Florida Bar Board of Governors approved a revision to Rul. Reg. Fla. Bar 4-1.1. The amendment will also emphasize that a lawyer must be competent in the use of technology. It will include language from the ABA Model Rule and add: "Competent representation may also involve the association or retention of a nonlawyer advisor of established technological competence in the field in question. Competent representation also involves safeguarding confidential information relating to the representation, including, but not limited to, electronic transmissions and communications."

Recognizing the importance of technology in every lawyer's practice today, the Board of Governors also modified CLE requirements to include three credits of technology courses during every three-year reporting cycle.

The Bar plans to help its members with these new requirements by offering resources, enhanced member benefits, training, and guides on technology. The Bar's Practice Resource Institute (PRI) was developed with these very goals as the focus. (1)

With all that in mind, consider the many other rules that technology implicates: confidentiality of information, acting competently to preserve confidential information, duty to safeguard, and reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure. Additionally, there are many formal opinions on cloud computing and metadata--all requiring technological competence to understand and the ability to ensure compliance within the firm. The Legal Technology Resource Center keeps a state-by-state log of both sets of opinions: 1) Metadata Ethics Opinions Around the U.S.; (2) and 2) Cloud Ethics Opinions Around the U.S. (3)

Consider ABA Model Rule 1.4 on Communications and an attorney's duty to keep a client informed and promptly reply to requests. Unfortunately, violation of this rule is a major cause of malpractice claims made against lawyers in Florida. With soundly implemented...