Law Technology

North Carolina Publishes Proposed Ethics Opinion on Cloud Computing

By Josh Camson

The North Carolina Bar Association published Proposed 2010 Formal Ethics Opinion 7, which concludes that:

…a law firm may contract with a vendor of software as a service provided the risks that confidential client information may be disclosed or lost are effectively minimized.

This opinion is a welcome tool for attorneys trying to implement a cloud computing system in their office. However, it should not come as a big surprise to anyone. The opinion makes it clear that they are not reinventing the wheel.

Although a lawyer has a professional obligation to protect confidential information from unauthorized disclosure, the Ethics Committee has long held that this duty does not compel any particular mode of handling confidential information nor does it prohibit the employment of vendors whose services may involve the handling of documents or data containing client information.

The proposed opinion also touches briefly on best practices for employing a cloud computing system. It suggests fourteen questions for law firms to ask potential vendors. The opinion also advises attorneys to review the license agreement and security policy that the vendor has.

The entire proposed opinion is embedded below.

NC-FEO-2010-7

Image source: http://blog.micfo.com/web-hosting-articles/understand-cloud-computing/

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Full post as published by Social Media Law Student on May 01, 2010 (boomark / email).