Are there any special professional responsibilities that attach when a lawyer goes beyond his or her role as a trusted advisor and becomes a “trusted curator”? Renee Newman Knake over at Legal Ethics Forum poses this interesting question and presents examples of lawyers taking on this new role.
Legal curators provide services that “combine law with art, design, technology, gamification, humor, and news from other fields to provide a rich user experience.” Knake argues that while the Model Rules of Professional Conduct do not use the term “trusted curator,” the term can be implied in the Preamble. Knake goes on to state that “more lawyers can and should be acting as curators, both to educate the public and also as a way to develop their own client base.” However, a lawyer has to be careful when acting in this role because users may place a higher degree of trust in the lawyer’s ability to compile and present all of the relevant information.
