On August 26, 2015, the South Carolina Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal as untimely holding that the written notice of entry of an order beginning the running of a thirty-day appeal period starts when appellant is served by e-mail. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Fallon Props. S.C., LLC, 413 S.C. 642, 776 S.E.2d 575 […]
In Formal Opinion 2015-193 the State Bar of California Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (“California Ethics Committee” or “Committee”) discussed three of the duties applicable to attorneys involved in e-discovery: the duty of competency, the duty to supervise, and the duty of confidentiality. The Committee advised that the duty of competency required attorneys […]
On May 13, 2015, the Superior Court of New Jersey’s Appellate Division vacated a jury verdict and a judgment after finding that plaintiff counsel’s comments exceeded the bounds of permissible advocacy and were prejudicially improper. In this case of personal injury, a drunken driver struck a girl after her school bus service let her off […]
Arizona (Link to ARPC available here) Arkansas (Link to ARPC available here) Connecticut (Link to CRPC available here) Delaware (Link to DRPC available here) Idaho (Link to IRPC available here) Kansas (Link to KRPC available here) Minnesota (Link to MRPC available here) New Mexico (Link to NMRPC available here) North Carolina (Link to NCRPC available […]
In this personal injury case, the Eastern District Court of Louisiana issued a discovery order for the production of a deactivated Facebook account. These the facts: an employee sued his employer for an injury suffered on the job. However, the employer filed a request for production of the employee’s Facebook account claiming to have seen […]
Author discusses if/when a lawyer can tell a client to “clean up” social media accounts. Article refers to Crowe v. Marquette Transp. Co. Gulf-Inland, LLC, 2015 WL 254633 (E.D. La. Jan. 20, 2015). The full text is available at http://www.forbes.com…
21 Rich. J.L. & Tech. 9 (2015) Author argues that because of the evolving security risks brought by e-mail, Internet, and cloud computing, lawyers must reassess their ethical duties of competence and confidentiality. Ignorance of technology may lead to violations of lawyers’ fundamental ethical duties of competence and confidentiality. Mentioned rules: ABA Model Rule 1.1; […]
Author discusses why “Rule 4.4(b) provides no immediate protection to confidential information in the inadvertently disclosed document”. Mentioned Rule: 4.4(b) New York Code of Professional Responsibility The full text of the document is available at http://www.bryancave…
Author answers the question “Is there any ethical prohibition on counsel advising the client to change her privacy settings to be more restrictive, that is, to limit or deny access to certain social media account information?” The full text is available at http://www.newyorklegalethics… New York Rules of Professional Conduct: 1.1; 3.4(a)(1) Mentioned ethic opinions: New […]
Professional Ethics Committee of the Florida Bar Topic: “A Florida Bar member has asked the committee regarding the ethical obligations on 4 advising clients to “clean up” their social media pages before litigation is filed to remove 5 embarrassing information that the lawyer believes is not material to the litigation matter” From the opinion: In […]