Multitasking ethics and technology.

• Author: Smith, Sean
• Position: PowerPoint in the courtroom

SINCE THE LAST ISSUE of The Prosecutor (1) magazine there have been a number of developments addressing ethics and technology. First of all, "all attorneys must educate themselves about technology in order to meet their ethical obligations to clients. The notation of just hanging a shingle and not taking time to understand the technology runs afoul with the (ethics) rules." (2)

In the summer of 2012, the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted several amendments to its Rules of Professional Conduct that attempt to bridge the gap between technology and lawyers. What does this mean to you? In a nutshell, under the model rules, all lawyers are now required to be technologically competent. (3) Any changes are unlikely to be earth shattering as the Professional Conduct rules of 49 of our 50 states follow the ABA's Model Rules. Your state will probably be adding a similar component in the near future.

In addition to staying current on technology, smart phone, laptop, and tablet users should be aware of a new section (c) to Model Rule 1.6--Confidentiality of Information:

A lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client. What happens when you lose your phone, misplace it, or leave it on the prosecution's table when you take a break? It it is not protected by a password, anyone who picks up your phone will have easy access to all your e-mail, notes, and any other data that's in your phone. For many of us, our phone contains an in-depth look at our lives--activities, contacts, friends, current projects, music, books, and more. The comments to the new section state that if you take "reasonable efforts" to secure data, you may not be in violation of the new rule. What's the take away? Make sure you protect your computer, smart phone, and tablets with some kind of password so it your device falls into the wrong hands, your data has some kind of protection.

For more information on the ABA's Amendments to the Model Rules log onto Prosecutors' Encyclopedia (PE) (www.MyProsecutor.com) and see: https://pe.nypti.org/ wiki/AJBA_Resolution_Addresses_Lawyers_and_Technology and additional links on that page.

COMPETENCE IS MORE THAN JUST KEEPING "ABREAST," IT IS ALSO USING IT APPROPRIATELY

There is no question that some of today's technological advancements are truly incredible tools that can help you with your cases. But, like any other tool, they can quickly become dangerous weapons if not used properly: think DWI/DUI and the automobile; medicine in the hands of a child; a nail gun in the hands of someone with no carpenter skills.

Remember the last conference you attended. How many of the speakers made you suffer though a minefield of "Death by PowerPoint/Keynote?" Or maybe they had no slides, and instead read though complex cases covering strange fact patterns or new facets of law. They clearly knew the topic they were covering inside and out, but you couldn't pay attention because their message was lost in the dense fog of their presentation.

If you've ever done a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, think about how you prepared:

* Did you have a theme?

* Were you telling a story?

* Did you spend more than 90 hours preparing your slides so they conveyed your message?

* Did your presentation support your theme, theory and story, or was it a convoluted collection of slides covered in complex text?

* Was your presentation ethical?

TEN EASY TIPS FOR THE USE OF POWERPOINT IN THE COURTROOM

There are a few tips you should remember when using PowerPoint in a courtroom. Many jurors will have had some experience with PowerPoint; it will likely have been a bad experience. PowerPoint is often misused by otherwise talented speakers. Your PowerPoint should (in essence) be an outline of your oral presentation. You should not have a slide for every point you want to make, just the most important ones. Remember these 10 tips when using PowerPoint in a courtroom setting.

1. Keep it simple.

   This is always the best advice. Too much info on one slide is distracting and hard for the jury to focus on your point. Use multiple slides to break up one complicated slide.

2. Can everybody see and hear?

   Sit in every jury chair and run your presentation. Make sure you can see and hear all the text and audio in your slides. Use callouts to make smaller text items larger and easier to see. Also make sure your judge, defendant, and defense attorney can see the screen or your monitor. If they can't, it could cause the judge to not allow your use of the technology.

3. Colors and Backgrounds.

   Don't use two primary colors in one slide. My personal preference is to use conservative dark blue or black backgrounds because research indicates white backgrounds create...