Technology. Remote Learning

• Author: Lyle Moran, Stephanie Francis Ward
• Pages: 25-26

TECHNOLOGY

Remote

Learning

The first all-virtual ABA Techshow

emphasized that web conferencing

tools are here to stay

BY LYLE MORAN AND

STEPHANIE FRANCIS WARD

Thanks to the ongoing corona-

virus pandemic, the  rst-ever

all-virtual ABA Techshow

was held in March. Instead

of crowded expo halls, packed confer-

ence rooms and in-person networking

events, conferencegoers logged on to the

Techshow virtual platform and watched

live remote talks and panel discussions

addressing various issues relating to law

and technology. In addition to sessions

about cybersecurity , arti cial intelli-

gence , analytics and ethics , there were

the usual introductory tracks showing

attendees the basics of Adobe Acrobat,

practice management software, Mic-

rosoft 365 and marketing . Some more

forward-looking sessions examined

topics such as how updating technology

can allow lawyers to comply with eth-

ical obligations, the continued growth

of legal incubator programs and how

automated legal reasoning could change

the way laws are written.

But the proliferation of remote

conferencing tools was at the forefront

of Techshow, and many sessions dealt

with the new reality for lawyers—one

in which tools like Zoom, Microsoft

Teams, Skype and others are integral,

even vital parts of their practice.

In one of several sessions relating to

remote practice, Pennsylvania lawyer

Daniel J. Siegel cautioned lawyers

working from home that family mem-

bers as well as virtual assistants such as

Amazon Alexa might hear con dential

client conversations they shouldn’t.

“Working remotely, there’s the potential

for eavesdropping from nosy family

members,” he said.

Siegel, a small- rm attorney who

handles workers’ compensation, person-

al injury and Social Security disability

claims, lives with his son, who spent

most of the pandemic working from

home, and his wife, who would go to an

upstairs room during his client calls.

“She couldn’t hear me, so that was

 ne,” said Siegel, who serves on the

council of the ABA Law Practice Divi-

sion and chairs the Pennsylvania Bar

Association’s committee on legal ethics

and professional responsibility.

In addition to avoiding client con-

versations in home spaces where family

members can hear them and limiting or

prohibiting the use of virtual assis-

tants, Siegel suggested lawyers working

remotely encrypt information sent by

email; keep computer operating systems

updated to avoid cyberattacks; and do

their work on a virtual private network

with two-factor authentication. He also

recommended having a  rmwide policy

on what is required for working from

home and making sure all employees

understand it.

Another session dealt with “Zoom

etiquette” and how to or how not to

behave while using the popular video-

conferencing tool. For instance, even

if you are on mute, talking during a

Zoom meeting is rude because it shows

you are not listening. It’s also a bad

idea to drive your car while using the

platform. And if everyone else has his

or her camera turned on during a Zoom

meeting, you should too, so work  ow

is not interrupted.

Juda Strawczynski, a director for

the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity

Company in Canada, shared these tips,

which he described as “netiquette,”

at an event titled “Lawyer’s Guide

to Zoom.”

“We will be using these sorts of

technology well into the future because

clients want it—it’s cost-effective. It

won’t replace every face-to-face meet-

ing, but we will use this technology

going forward,” said Strawczynski, who

manages a claims and risk initiative

for LAWPRO.

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ABA JOURNAL | JUNE–JULY 2021

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