Legal Ethics in the Digital Age

Lawyers, whether in private, government, or corporate practice, deal with electronic information and electronic communications daily for transactional, litigation, and business reasons. Their use of that information is expected to increase exponentially, as offices go beyond the traditional “brick-and-mortar” to embrace new technology and remote practice and the effects of the pandemic. This compelling program explores the ethical obligations of lawyers in terms of, among other things, competence, confidentiality, and advertising with a digital spin! Minefields lurk everywhere! This program will assist lawyers in understanding the “dos and don’ts.”
Hear our very own New Jersey/nationally recognized expert in electronic discovery, the Honorable Ronald J. Hedges, as he reviews some of the leading decisions and ethics opinions involving E-discovery and electronic records and leads a panel discussion addressing intriguing questions.

Topics include:

• What are the relevant Rules of Professional Conduct?
• What might the practice of law be in the future: In-person, remote, or hybrid?
• What does it mean for an attorney to be “competent” when dealing with electronically stored information (“ESI”)?
• What working knowledge of ESI should an attorney have – should there be a “baseline” of technological competence expected of attorneys, at least so attorneys can ask the right questions or know when and how to seek technological assistance?
• What should an attorney do to protect the confidentiality of electronic communications and what obligations does an attorney have when receiving inadvertent communications?
• What are the obligations of an attorney when dealing with third-party providers of ESI-related services?
• What are the obligations of an attorney when dealing with retained experts on ESI-related
  matters for litigation?
• What is the “Cloud” and how can an attorney use it for professional or business purposes,
  including advertising?
• What can an attorney do to investigate witnesses over the Internet?
• What can an attorney do to investigate jurors over the Internet?
• What about communications between attorneys and judges?
• What should an attorney know about e-filing?
• How does an attorney become competent and maintain competence with ESI?