Reminder: ABA Ethics 2020 Briefing 11/4/10 Plus, Another Great Argument for the Cloud…by a Bar LPM Advisor

Just a reminder that the MyShingle Briefing and Hearing on ABA Ethics 2020 Commission Initiatives on Cloud Computing and Lawyer Use of social media is this Thursday, November 4, 2010, 2:30 pm central. To register, click here and you’ll receive the dial-in information. The ABA’s rules are critical as they will impact us as solos, specifically, how we do business and how we communicate online. Those involved in the ABA initiative are not using social media, they are not using cloud computing solutions and they want to and need to hear from real practicing lawyers who are. By dialing in, you’ll get the run down on these initiatives and equally important, have a chance to offer your views. Please get involved with this effort.

While I’m on the topic of the cloud, I just came across a great post by Ellen Freedman, the Pennsylvania Bar’s LPM Advisor, that offers up yet another compelling reason for the cloud, albeit perhaps inadvertently.  In her post, Freedman reminds lawyers that constitutional imperatives like the Fourth Amendment do not apply at the border, which means that even an attorney’s laptop is subject to confiscation without suspicion or warrant.  Freedman sensibly cautions lawyers to take care with regard to data that they store on their laptops.  But what Freedman doesn’t mention is that the cloud offers a another solution as well.  Let’s face it – most lawyers who travel outside the country can ill afford to leave their laptops behind.  Encryption is certainly one option, but it’s also potentially cumbersome.  But with the cloud, lawyers can avoid downloading sensitive data on their laptops to begin with.  So even if they cross the border and patrols take the laptop, client data remains fully secure in the ether.