In the age of COVID-19, Zoom, and other videoconferencing platforms, are now more essential than ever to the legal profession.
As is true when adopting new technology, videoconferencing applications are presenting the profession with a novel set of concerns that lawyers should be mindful of as they adapt to lawyering in a pandemic.
When using videoconferencing platforms, ethical concerns such as confidentiality, technical competence, and attorney supervision are at play. For example, confidentiality issues may arise in the virtual mediation or arbitration context if there are unauthorized people present, but not viewable through the webcam frame. If this suspicion arises, attorneys can ask everyone on the call to scan the room with their webcam to prevent breaching confidentiality.
Becoming familiar with the ins and outs of any platform that may be used to conduct legal business before starting to use it is always a good idea. Firm-wide trainings on any new platform being used can help to ensure secure use of the platform, which in turn will help attorneys avoid any ethical violations.
The push for moving court hearings, depositions, client meetings and oral arguments remote has illustrated to attorneys and judges many time- and cost-saving benefits. Thus, Zoom will likely remain in use by much of the profession even when COVID-19 is a problem of the past. As attorneys venture further into the virtual workspace, it is always a good idea to keep professional and ethical obligations in mind.
Read the full article from ABA Journal here.
