Internet Communication with Represented Persons
JROsgood
setting where there is a true attorney client relationship you would only
have a problem if you also represent an adverse party. On the net, the best
practice is not to provide advice for specific problems. Answer only
general questions with a horn book reply with a caveat that laws differ in
various states. Then tell them to seek counsel in their own state. Keep
the posts public and don't do private email and make it clear you are not
their attorney and do not want or expect to be paid and that you are not
licensed in their state. The exception in my mind is a message from someone
in your own state in which you wish to explore possible representation via
private email. Watch out for problem of direct solicitation of someone with
an existing problem. That is prohibited in my state generally. Confine the
latter to hits on your law office web page. Just my humble opinion of
course. Not a legal opinion for your to count on. :-)
Ed Pike wrote in message <6sukvi$b2e$1...@wbnws01.ne.highway1.com>...
>Attorney's,
> I am looking for some feedback/opinions on the issue of
>communicating with persons who are represented by counsel via the internet.
>I have submitted the question for an opinion to Office of Bar Counsel in
>Massachusetts (see attachment, herewith). Feel free to go to my web page
>and respond from there or simply respond via a NG. Thank you for your
>courtesy and attention regarding this important issue.
> Sincerely, Ed Pike, Esq.--
>Visit my Web Page at: http://people.ne.mediaone.net/edpikeesq/index.html
>
>
>
jrosgood
your wrote:
>I don't have a copy here but the Tennessee office of professional
>responsibility just issued an opinion finding email correspondence an
>ethical violation unless the contents are encrypted. Something about
>confidentiality...
My response:
How does email differ from a simple telephone or worse yet fax. The issue
is expectation of privacy in my mind. Lawyers are expected to take
reasonable steps to ensure that their communications are private. Think
about this one. Do you lock your file cabinets every night and put all
client files, letters and other correspondence on your desk under lock and
key before you go home or do you simply lock the door to your office suite.
If the latter, as many attorneys do, what about the contract cleaning crew
that comes through that evening. By contract agreement all they are to do
is sweep the floor and empty the trash -- not go through files. On the
other hand, your lay secretary and receptionist has access to client info on
a regular basis. Who poses a greater risk to your client's privacy, the 10
dollar an hour secretary who types, sees, and knows the stuff and might have
an urge to discuss it over a beer or the six dollar an hour cleaning guy who
would have to make a special effort to read a file or files and learn
something he is not free to talk about. I submit that the internet is a
medium that many in our profession are unfamiliar with and therefore afraid
of. It reminds me of the US government's policy after 40 me hard drives
came out. Government employees were absolutely forbidden to store data on
hard drives -- it all had to be put on floppy disks and lock up. Necessity
and the gulf war and the need for computers finally killed this nonsense.
Your thoughts?
John Osgood
http://www.netcom.com/~jrosgood