eDiscovery Daily Blog
Less Than Half the States Have a Technology Competence Requirement for Attorneys: eDiscovery Trends
As you all know, I love a good infographic. This one reflects the states that require attorneys to stay abreast of changes in technology relating to law practice. Does your state have a technology competence requirement for its attorneys?
This infographic is available courtesy of Percipient, which is an eDiscovery and legal technology company that provides managed document review and managed eDiscovery services. As they note in their post about the topic, in 2012 the American Bar Association amended Comment 8 to Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1 (Duty of Competence) to address changes in technology. That Comment now reads as follows:
“To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, engage in continuing study and education and comply with all continuing legal education requirements to which the lawyer is subject.”
According to Percipient, twenty-four states have either adopted the amended comment or otherwise require attorneys to stay abreast of changes in technology relating to law practice, with twenty-two of them effective today. The other two states (represented in light blue on the map) – Washington State (September 1, 2016) and Wisconsin (January 1, 2017) – will be effective within the next few months. So, by their assessment, less than half of all states have a technology competence requirement for its attorneys.
I have no reason to believe that they missed any states that have such a requirement, but they note to inform them if they missed any. Regardless, the infographic (available here as a standalone PDF) is a great resource for identifying the current status of technology competence requirements across the country. Thanks, Percipient!
So, what do you think? Does your state have a technology competence requirement for attorneys? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by CloudNine. eDiscovery Daily is made available by CloudNine solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Daily should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.