Do
you know what “cloud computing” is? Are you using digital practice management
software in your law school clinics? Have you violated any ethical obligations
in modernizing your clinic’s technology?
Our jobs and professional responsibilities are changing rapidly both on
and off campus. The “Future in the New Normal” involves daily use of online
technology in legal practice. Indeed, the “future” is already here. Clinicians
have the opportunity and obligation to model best practices for students and
fellow law faculty alike, and to lead them into the realities of 21st century
law practice. Our role as “clinicians in the new normal” should be to help
fellow law faculty and law students alike understand how best to utilize these
new technologies effectively and ethically.
This session aims to raise awareness and facilitate a conversation in
the clinical community about the vexing security and confidentiality problems
that modern digital practice management tools raise. We will provide a brief
overview of cloud-based law practice management software, an overview of the
ethical and legal issues implicated in utilizing these programs, and suggest
best practices to follow.
Participants
who attend this session should gain general awareness about the major issues
raised by utilizing digital practice management software (especially those in
the “cloud”), the due diligence that should be done beforehand, specific
contractual provisions that should be considered, and best practices for (1)
structuring clinics’ communication and storage architectures overall and (2)
training students to be conscious of these issues and to implement sound
technology procedures.
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