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GPLSD Ethics Corner

Wendy J. Muchman
What is "virtual practice"?

What is "virtual practice"?

Ever wondered what virtual practice really means? On March 10, 2021, the ABA's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released Formal Ethics Op. 498, Virtual Practice, defining virtual practice as "technologically enabled law practice beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar law firm."

The opinion is helpful guidance for lawyers navigating the ever-changing landscape of the practice of law. Lawyers’ practices can be virtual for many reasons: either because they have no brick-and-mortar firm or because they are working outside of their physical office. Whether brick and mortar or virtual, a lawyer’s conduct is still governed by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The opinion reminds lawyers of the duties most implicated by virtual practice. Those duties include competence (1.1), diligence (1.3), communication (1.4), confidentiality (1.6) and supervision (5.1-5.3).

To comply with obligations of confidentiality, lawyers are required to make "reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client," and take reasonable precautions when transmitting that information. Exploring how that and other duties intersect with obligations of supervision, the opinion takes a valuable look at lawyers' supervisory responsibilities regarding nonlawyers employed both by the firm and outside of the firm. Finally, the opinion provides useful guidance on virtual practice technologies and considerations for lawyers in assessing the utility and appropriateness of technological tools as used in various practice settings. Discussing tools to safeguard client information, best practices for hardware and software systems, accessing client files and data, and the ubiquitous work with virtual platforms, the opinion is essential guidance for today's practitioners.

Wendy J. Muchman

Harry B. Reese Professor of Practice Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

Wendy Muchman is the Harry B. Reese Professor of Practice at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Since 2000 she has primarily taught classes in Professional Responsibility, including the standard ABA required course in Legal Ethics. Between 1989 and 2019 she was employed as a bar regulator at the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois (ARDC), where she most recently served as Chief of Litigation and Professional Education.