One Ethics Rule Leads to Another: Technology Competence and the Duty of Supervision

By Helen Geib, Hoover Hull Turner LLP

There are two ways lawyers can satisfy their ethical duty of technology competence. One way is by learning about technology and becoming more proficient in the use of legal tech tools. The other is by working in association with tech savvy lawyers and legal professionals.

From an ethics standpoint there is a key distinction between competence by education and by association. A lawyer who directs others’ work has a duty to make reasonable efforts to assure compliance with all applicable Rules of Professional Conduct.

The supervisory duty is found in Rule 5.1 (work performed by other lawyers) and Rule 5.3 (work performed by non-lawyers). The duty has three distinct components. Read more.

If you would like to submit content or write an artilce for the E-Discovery, Information Governance & Cybersecurity Section, please email Kara Sikorski at ksikorski@indybar.org.