Technology Media and Telecom

Global banking institutions are increasingly pressing outside law firms to demonstrate they are employing top-tier technologies to defend against cyber hackers. In some cases, firms are being asked to fill out 60-page questionnaires detailing their cybersecurity measures in minute detail, while others must consent to on-site inspections.

Lawyers understand that they have an ethical duty to remain competent in the law and its practice. But far fewer are aware that an emerging body of legal-ethics rules and opinions say that lawyers also have a duty to be competent in relevant technology. And e-discovery, an area of law practice many lawyers still consider a niche, is quickly becoming more relevant to every type of litigation.

In today's digital marketplace, understanding how the law applies to virtual assets is becoming as important as understanding how it applies to the brick-and-mortar world. Despite the importance of the Internet to commerce, however, it is still unclear how important provisions of bankruptcy law apply to certain virtual assets.

Pick up pretty much any 21st century smart phone, tablet or PC, and in minutes, a treasure trove of information about its owner can be uncovered. Missives to a significant other, photos from summer vacation, browsing history that spans years; all of this information, generally considered of the most intimate nature, is easily accessible with even a rudimentary technical knowledge of the device's operating system. Needless to say, unwanted disclosure of such information can be highly damaging.

In the long-running Apple v. Samsung dispute, the Federal Circuit has highlighted a marked difference between the effectiveness of trade dress and design patents in protecting the visual characteristics of a product, which could potentially cost Apple hundreds of millions of dollars in lost damages.

Potential liability for data breaches has emerged as a major concern for businesses in the past few years as massive cyber-attacks are increasing, with companies that use or store private customer data electronically or use social media as part of their marketing strategy being the prime targets. These data breaches have contributed to an increase in director and officer (D&O) litigation in connection with cyber incidents, and will continue to do so.

For law departments, today's business environment is making it increasingly difficult to manage, control or reduce costs while being able to achieve satisfactory results. This is forcing companies to become more efficient in managing and controlling legal costs handled both internally by the organization and externally by outside counsel.

The practical and economic advantages of cloud computing are clear ' it eliminates the need to send client data via traditional, costly methods, and is significantly less expensive than building and maintaining the same data storage capacity in-house. But is the attorney-client privilege at risk?