New Guidelines For Practicing Ethically With New Information Technologies

The Canadian Bar Association has released Guidelines for Practicing Ethically with New Information Technologies:

"These Guidelines recommend best practices in the use of information technologies. This is not a set of mandatory rules. For those, please refer to your governing body’s code of professional conduct."

"These Guidelines supplement the CBA Code of Professional Conduct and, in doing so, to assist lawyers when they use new technologies."

"The Guidelines highlight best practices when using an information technology, with emphasis on the need to preserve the security of information and to maintain client confidentiality and privacy (...)"

"Inevitably, courts are being called on to make decisions about a lawyer’s ethical and legal responsibilities in response to the technology revolution. Some recent decisions have held that lawyers, in some circumstances, have an ethical obligation to use new technologies or, at least, have access to someone who can."

"The Ethics and Professional Issues Committee will update these Guidelines regularly so that they remain relevant and useful to practitioners. We would appreciate your help."

The Guidelines examine issues such as confidentiality, encryption, privilege, court rules on electronic storage, metadata, security of information, marketing practices, intellectual property issues regarding software, and participation by lawyers in online discussion fora.