ABA Ethics 20/20 Commission Posts Final Draft of Proposed Model Rule Changes

We’ve posted several updates on the ABA Ethics 20/20 Commission’s work. This group is reviewing ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and other regulatory rules affecting law firms in order to develop policy recommendations in response to changes in technology and global legal practices.

The group has now published revised drafts of proposals scheduled to go to the ABA House of Delegates in August 2012. It’s inviting external comments by April 2, 2012. Further details and specific proposal language is available at the ABA web site. The Legal Ethics Blog has published an excellent series of proposal summaries. Of particular interest:

• Proposal to Amend Rule 1.6 – Confidentiality of Information
• Proposal to Amend Rule 1.6 – Confidentiality Exception to Detect Conflicts
• Proposal to Amend Rule 5.5 – Multijurisdictional Practice Of Law
• Proposal to Amend Rule 1.0(k) – Definition of "Screened"

The Proposed Rule 1.0(k) change seeks to explicitly modernize screening requirements. The Commission notes:

• “Advances in technology have made client information more accessible to the whole firm, so the process of limiting access to this information should require more than placing relevant physical documents in an inaccessible location; it should require appropriate treatment of electronic information as well.”