Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Online e-Discovery Ethics

Relevant information is as likely to be found on phones, websites, Facebook, e-mail and voicemail messages, as it is in a file cabinet ' maybe even more so today. Although attorneys are rapidly becoming familiar with structuring digital data requests and responding to those requests in a way that is thorough, but reasonable, most attorneys feel at sea in the e-discovery ethics arena. More than a dozen states have addressed e-discovery ethics and have concluded that “reasonability” is the standard by which ethical digital behavior will be judged.

In NJ, Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion 701 (2006) states that an attorney may use the Internet to communicate with clients and store client files, provided that the attorney uses reasonable care. This ethics opinion also requires New Jersey attorneys to make a reasonable effort to provide security on the Internet against hacking and other forms of unauthorized use of digital information. Additionally, attorneys are required to use reasonable care to prevent against unauthorized disclosure of digital documents with which the lawyer has been entrusted, as well as reasonable care to ensure that digital documents entrusted to a third party for analysis are preserved, confidential and secure, according to the ethics opinion.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs Image

A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.

Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners Image

Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.

Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits Image

In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.