Ethical Duty of Technology Competence: Virtual Display

In 2012, the American Bar Association amended comment 8 to Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1 by adding technology competence as a requirement of the duty of competence:

To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, engage in continuing study and education and comply with all continuing legal education requirements to which the lawyer is subject. (emphasis added)

Since then, 39 states have adopted this ethical duty of technology competence through changes to the court rules, court orders, and ethics opinions.  How this has shaped up in practice varies greatly across states. Some states, like Florida, mandate regular CLE training dedicated to technology.  Others have teamed up with outside vendors such as LTC4, Procertas, and the National Society for Legal Technology to provide this technology training.   Some scholars argue that law schools should providing technology training to law students to build  "a solid foundation" of basic technology skills for their careers. 

Although there are few books that dedicate major coverage to this duty, there are many books aimed at helping attorneys meet this duty by exploring legal practice technology and in some cases by providing how-to guides on the use of specific technologies. Our virtual book display, Ethical Duty of Technology Competence: A Display Guide, showcases some of these books, a website tracking the adoption of this ethical duty, and websites that may be helpful to learn more about technology

 As always, if you have any reference or research questions, please contact us at lawlibraryhelp@rwu.edu.