Legal Ethics

No. Just Don’t Do. No Googles or Amazons or Siris in A Law Office.

No.

Absolutely not.

Do not do it.

I can’t say it any clearer.

The answer is no.

Don’t do it.

What am I talking about is having Alexa or Google or Siri or any other similar object in your law office.

One attorney I know recently mentioned that it’s very handy to have a Google in his office and that he keeps it there and uses it all the time.… Read the rest

Attorney Daniel J. Siegel Appointed Co-Chair of New Pennsylvania Bar Technology Committee

Attorney Daniel J. Siegel, principal of the Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel, LLC and founder of technology/workflow consulting firm Integrated Technology Services, LLC, has been appointed Co-Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Technology Committee, a newly-created committee of Pennsylvania’s largest association of attorneys. PBA President Michael McDonald created the Committee to help make good lawyers better. Attorney Jennifer Ellis serves as Co-Chair.… Read the rest

Budget Law Requires Reporting of Hacks to Homeland Security

Although only one in seven businesses typically reports a cybersecurity hack to the federal government that should change now that the recent budget/government funding law requires 16 types of businesses to report hacks to the Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours. The types of hacks that must be reported include data breaches and ransomware attacks/payments. Lawyers and law firms already have an ethical obligation under the Rules of Professional Conduct to report breaches, attacks and other cybersecurity incidents to clients whose data may have been impacted.… Read the rest

FCC Adds Kaspersky Products to List of National CyberSecurity Risks

The FCC has added Kaspersky products to the list of cybersecurity risks. Law firms should alert staff not to use the products on any devices that access their firms’ networks to safeguard client information.

Of course, the last thing you need from your Internet security product is for it to be a threat to your security. Let alone national security. But on Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called Kaspersky a national cybersecurity threat by adding Kaspersky, China Mobile, and China Telecom to the list of companies affected by the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019.… Read the rest

Competence – A crucial requirement for lawyers during, and after, the pandemic

It is incompetent for a lawyer to believe, let alone say or write that “It is illegal [for a lawyer] to text or email anything of substance.” The statement is also completely wrong, legally and ethically.

Yet one lawyer, an ethics “maven” no loss, who writes a column for a major local legal newspaper, actually wrote those completely inaccurate words as part of his lament that – because of COVID-19 – he can no longer work in the same type of law office common in 1973, when he received his law license, you know, when Richard Nixon was President.… Read the rest

When you stick your head in the sand, you get a lousy tasting “sand”wich

The almost overly stale cliché that it is not good to stick your head in the sand applies to so many topics. But for lawyers, or at least a large number of them, mention technology and they want to scream “na na na na na” and ignore you. But more and more, sticking their heads in the sand won’t help lawyers.… Read the rest

New Pennsylvania Policy Will Require Litigants to Remove Confidential Information From Filed Documents

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has adopted a new public access policy for court records that will dramatically change how lawyers file and access documents in all courts in the state. Attorney Daniel J. Siegel, President of Integrated Technology Services, LLC, was a member of the working group whose proposal the Court adopted. The policy, which goes into effect on January 8, 2018, will require litigants to remove confidential and sensitive information from documents filed with the courts in civil, criminal and family law cases.… Read the rest

Dan Siegel to Discuss Social Media & Ethics in Pittsburgh & Philadelphia

Need a CLE credit? Or perhaps you have a concern about your use and your clients’ use of social media? Then Dan Siegel’s upcoming program, “Current Issues in Technology, Social Media & Ethics” is for you.

Dan will present this one-hour program at PBI’s Pittsburgh center on Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 3 p.m. Click here for registration and other information.Read the rest

Attorney Daniel J. Siegel Lectures About Technology & The Law

Attorney Daniel J. Siegel of Havertown, Pennsylvania, has recently presented a number of programs focusing on the intersection of law and technology. In particular, Siegel is scheduled to present a three hour program, “Android for Lawyers” for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on Friday, April 25, 2014 in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/1lNl6fb.

Siegel is also a course planner for and is speaking at “The Technology Institute,” to be held on June 11, 2014 in Philadelphia.… Read the rest