Internet-bases services are a useful tool for lawyers in a mobile environment, but those services do not come without risks.   Several states have already written ethics opinions regarding the legal profession's duty to show reasonableness of effort to protect client confidentiality when storing information with a third-party service.  In August, 2012, the ABA's Ethics 20/20 Commission, in an effort to modernize the Rules of Professional Conduct, released several proposals for changes to the rules.

A Few Resources on Ethics and Cloud Computing:

The ABA's Web site on the ethics of cloud computer for practitioners includes a chart on states that have ethics opinions on electronic services.  Wisconsin is not listed as one of those states, but you can read more about Wisconsin and Cloud Computing in the September, 2012 issue of Wisconsin Lawyer, The Ethics of Cloud Based Services by Nerino Petro Jr. 

For General Articles on Ethics and Cloud Computing:

• Ethics for American Lawyers in the Age of Twitter and the Cloud
• Ethics on the Wing: Examination of Opinions on Electronic Services and Cloud Computing

For more information on the topic of ethics and cloud computing search Google Scholar.

Use legal ethics and cloud computing or electronic services as possible search terms.

Submitted by Jenny Zook, Reference Librarian on December 11, 2012

This article appears in the categories: Law Library