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sunEthics |
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Providing Legal Services Over the Internet: What Can An Attorney Do? (Published in the February/March 2006 issue of Res Ipsa) With the new millennium, many attorneys and law firms are engaging in the practice of law and providing legal services over the internet. This article will outline and discuss the ethical issues and considerations involved when an attorney provides legal services over the internet. The American Bar Association, The Florida Bar, and other jurisdictions have issued advisory ethics opinions which provide guidance to attorneys who practice law over the internet; however, the discussion in this article will be limited to Florida ethics rules and opinions. In Florida Bar Ethics Opinion 00-4 (July 15, 2000), the Bar's Statewide Committee on Ethics responded to a Florida attorney's inquiry as to whether there are ethical limitations on offering certain legal services over the internet. The attorney was contemplating the provision of limited, on-line legal services to Florida residents on "simple" matters not requiring court appearances or office visits, such as simple wills, incorporation documents, real estate contracts, residential leases, and uncontested marital agreements. The attorney stated that the documents would provided by the client and the attorney would charge a fee reduced from the usual in-office rate. The documents would be reviewed by a Florida attorney, not a paralegal, and the client would pay by credit card on a secure server. The opinion observed that there are no express provisions in the Florida ethics rules which prohibit the practice of law through the internet as long as the attorney complies with the ethics rules, including, for example, screening the client for potential conflicts of interest to prevent a violation of Rules 4-1.7 through 4-1.12, insuring that client confidences are preserved pursuant to Rule 4-1.6, providing competent and diligent representation as required by 4-1.1 and 4-1.3, compliance with the Bar advertising rules under Rule 4-7.1 et. seq. and properly supervising attorney and non-attorney employees pursuant to Rule 4-5.3. The opinion noted that Florida has not issued an opinion on the confidentiality issues related to the use electronic mail to communicate with clients; however, almost all (if not all) jurisdictions addressing this issue, including the ABA in Formal Opinion 99-413, have concluded that sending unencrypted e-mail to a client does not violate the duty of confidentiality. The opinions from other jurisdictions generally also state that the attorney should consult with the client and follow the client's instructions before transmitting highly sensitive information via e-mail. After the discussion section, the opinion concluded that the internet legal services proposal of the attorney is permissible as part of the attorney's practice with a law firm. Attorneys should be aware; however, that this non-traditional practice of law creates a potential minefield of ethical problems. A client who never meets the attorney, who communicates with his or her attorney primarily through e-mail, and whose information and documents are gathered electronically, would most likely tend to develop less of a personal loyalty toward the attorney and would be potentially more likely to sue the attorney for malpractice or file a Bar complaint if that client has a problem with that attorney's representation. An attorney who wishes to begin or continue this type of practice should proceed with great caution. |
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