Anders: When Lawyers and Judges Must Sever Ties on Social Media

Kelly Lynn Anders, JD has published Ethical Exits: When Lawyers and Judges Must Sever Ties on Social Media, Charleston Law Review, Vol. 7, 187-205 (2012-2013).

Here is the abstract:

This article addresses the very recent trend of requiring lawyers and judges to sever ties on social media, the professional implications of doing so, relevant rules governing judicial and attorney conduct, and a discussion of “best practices” for lawyers and judges to follow when social media connections must be broken. Recent opinions from states that have issued social media directives in this area will also be discussed, along with a brief overview of three of the most commonly used social media sites at the time of the publication of this article – Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Through this discussion and analysis, one theme will continue to resurface – the increasingly pressing need for guidance and clarity in the MRPC and M[C]JC so that expectations involving social media connections will be clear, uniform, and much easier to manage for lawyers, judges, and anyone with whom they may communicate, either professionally or personally. Such clear-cut guidance would also decrease the need for severing ties that should not have been formed in the first place, thereby also serving to contribute to the preservation of solid and favorable reputations of all jurists and counselors in an increasingly virtual world.

Call for Proposals: ReInventLaw Dubai 2012: An ‘Un’conference on Law, Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

A call for presentation proposals — with submission deadline of 15 October 2012 — has been issued for ReInventLaw Dubai 2012: “an ‘un’conference devoted to law, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship” — to be held 10 December 2012 at Media City in Dubai.

The organizers particularly welcome presentations about innovations in legal services or legal education. Presentations can take the form of 6 Minute Ignite Style Presentations or 12 Minute “TED Style” Presentations.

Registration is free.

The event Website describes the event as follows:

ReInvent Law Dubai is an “un”conference devoted to law, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Anyone interested in the future of law or technology or entrepreneurship will want to participate. Come hear about the innovative ideas generated by the highly-engaging atmosphere of the event!

The event is being sponsored by The ReInventLaw Laboratory at Michigan State University College of Law, and is modeled on the LawTechCamp London 2012 event held last summer.

For more information, please see the ReInventLaw Dubai 2012 Website.

HT @computational.

Legal Informatics and Legal Communication @ ILEC 5

Several legal informatics or legal communication papers or presentations have been given at ILEC 5: The 2012 International Legal Ethics Conference, held 12-14 July 2012 in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

The Twitter hashtags for the conference were:

• #ilec2012
• #ilec5
• #ilecv

Here are archived Twitter tweets from the conference, in .csv format:

• Archived Tweets with hashtag #ILEC2012
• Archived Tweets with hashtag #ilec5
• Archived Tweets with hashtag #ilecv

Click here for the conference program.

Topics include confidentiality of lawyer-client communications, legal educational technology, empirical methods for the study of legal ethics, the quantitative measurement of legal ethical behavior, virtual law practice and other forms of law practice technology, and quantitative legal prediction.

ReInvent Law Dubai 2012: Unconference on Law, Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

ReInvent Law Dubai 2012: Unconference on Law, Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship will be held 10 December 2012 at Dubai Knowledge Village, Dubai, UAE, according to an announcement at Computational Legal Studies.

The event’s organizers will be Professor Dr. Daniel Martin Katz and Professor Renee Newman Knake, both of the Michigan State University College of Law and its new ReInvent Law Laboratory.

According to the event brochure:

ReInvent Law Dubai is an (un)conference focusing on law, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Building upon the success of the recent London event, leaders in the fields of law, technology and beyond will come together to share ideas about innovation in the delivery of legal services.

This event is Free, Open and Participatory. Anyone can propose a topic. Entrepreneurs, new media/technology enthusiasts, legal professionals, social networkers, and those curious about future innovation in law and technology will want to attend.

The Michigan State University College of Law Graduate Program at MSU Dubai is a primary sponsor.

For more information, please see the announcement.

HT @computational.

June 29: LawTechCamp London

LawTechCamp London 2012 — “a BarCamp-style community UnConference for new media and technology enthusiasts and legal professionals” — will be held 29 June 2012 in London, England, UK.

The Twitter hashtag for the conference is #lawtechcamplondon.

Click here for archived Twitter tweets — in .csv format — from the event.

Click here for the conference program.

A notable characteristic of this event is that it gathers together in one place individuals from most of the different subgroups of the legal informatics community.

The event’s organizers include:

• Daniel Martin Katz, Michigan State University College of Law
• Renee Newman Knake, Michigan State University College of Law
• Monica Goyal, owner and CEO of MyLegalBriefcase.com
• Lisa Webley, University of Westminster Law School
• John Flood, University of Westminster Law School
• David Allison, The College of Law
• Jon Harman, The College of Law 

HT @reneeknake.

Program Posted for LawTechCamp London 2012

The program has been posted for LawTechCamp London 2012 — “a BarCamp-style community UnConference for new media and technology enthusiasts and legal professionals” — to be held 29 June 2012 in London, England, UK.

The Twitter hashtag for the conference is #lawtechcamplondon.

A notable characteristic of this event is that it gathers together in one place individuals from most of the different subgroups of the legal informatics community.

The event’s organizers include:

• Daniel Martin Katz, Michigan State University College of Law
• Renee Newman Knake, Michigan State University College of Law
• Monica Goyal, owner and CEO of MyLegalBriefcase.com
• Lisa Webley, University of Westminster Law School
• John Flood, University of Westminster Law School
• David Allison, The College of Law
• Jon Harman, The College of Law 

HT @reneeknake.

Kimbro on Regulatory Barriers to the Growth of Multijurisdictional Virtual Law Firms

Stephanie L. Kimbro, J.D., M.A., of Kimbro Legal Services and VLOTech has published Regulatory Barriers to the Growth of Multijurisdictional Virtual Law Firms and Potential First Steps to Their Removal, North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology, 13, 165-225 (2012).

Here is the abstract:

The spread of disruptive technologies to the legal profession is changing the dynamic of how law firms are structured as well as the value propositions associated with the delivery of legal services. The number of law firms with a national presence has grown due to the cost benefits and efficiency of using cloud computing. New models for expansion across jurisdictional boundaries are increasing. However, the regulatory barriers to create these new firm structures are numerous and costly. This paper reviews the evolution of technology in multijurisdictional firms and examines the primary regulatory barriers to their further development. A starting point for standardization of regulations is proposed as well as potential first-steps to removing barriers to the growth of multijurisdictional virtual law firms.

ABA Ethics 20/20 Commission Files Recommendations for Changes to Legal Ethics Rules on Technology and Communication

The American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Ethics 20/20 has posted its resolutions and reports respecting recommended changes to U.S. legal ethics rules (scroll down), in light of changes in technology, the economy, and cross-jurisdictional practice.

These reports and resolutions will be considered by the ABA House of Delegates at the 2012 ABA Annual Meeting, to be held 2-7 August 2012, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Here are the components of the reports and resolutions that concern legal informatics or legal communication:

• Introduction and Overview
• Technology and Confidentiality
• Technology and Client Development
• Outsourcing
• Model Rule 1.6 (Detecting and Disclosing Conflicts of Interest)

For more information, please see the complete list of reports and resolutions (scroll down).

The Commission will hold a roundtable on 1 June 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

HT @donnaseyle.

New ABA Ethics Opinion on Lawyers’ Use of Websites

American Bar Association (ABA) Formal Ethics Opinion 10-457 (August 5, 2010), on lawyers’ use of Websites, has been posted on the Avvo Blog.

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 invites comments on the opinion, and on Internet-based client development tools. Comments are due December 15, 2010.

HT @MarkRosch and @joshuamking.

Legal Technology Programs at ABA 2010

A number of legal technology programs will be presented at ABA 2010: The American Bar Association Annual Meeting, being held 5-10 August 2010 in San Francisco, California, USA.

Click here for the conference program.

Here is one of the technology programs being presented at ABA 2010:

Marc Lauritsen, William Hornsby, Richard Granat, Stephanie Kimbro: The Virtual Law Firm: How to Build Your Practice in An Online World, 6 August 2010 (2:00-3:30 PM). Abstract:

This program will discuss, in a panel format, the concept of practicing law virtually and how it can enhance an existing traditional law practice, or exist as a totally virtual law firm. The program will discuss the benefits of delivering legal services online and how it can help a law firm acquire clients who are members of the connected Facebook generation, as well as provide more effective services to existing clients. Topics covered will include: what is a virtual law practice; the web architecture for a virtual law practice; online legal service applications, such as web enabled document automation: ethical issues in the delivery of online legal services, such as confidentiality, security, unauthorized practice of law, client identification and authentication procedures, conflict of interest checking; criteria of vendor selection; the costs associated with setting up a virtual law practice; and marketing your brand and virtual law practice online. This program is brought to you on behalf of the LPM eLawyering Task Force.