Exploring the Ethical Duty of Technology Competence Part II: Incompetent Use of Basic Technology Leads to Unreasonable and Unethical Fees

1h 5m

Created on August 24, 2017

Beginner

Overview

This program, taught by Ivy B. Grey, author of American Legal Style for PerfectIt by Intelligent Editing Ltd and Senior Attorney at Griffin Hamersky LLP, will address how the duty of technology competence relates to the duty to bill reasonably.

This is Part II of a two-part program that, together, will address (1) the duty of technology competence as it relates to technology used in practice generally (Model Rule 1.1); (2) the duty to train and how it relates to the technology mandate (Model Rule 5.1); and (3) the issue of lawyers' refusal to embrace technology and how such refusal can become an ethical issue, and lead to overbilling clients (Model Rule 1.5).

This program will focus on the practical effects of failing to meet the duty of technology competence. Practical issues include overbilling clients for work that would have been done better and faster by using technology appropriately. Examples and discussion will focus on use of MS Word in legal practice because it is a basic technology tool that nearly all lawyers will use, regardless of practice area.

Learning Objectives:

Discuss the duty of technology competence and its requirements
Uncover how incompetent use of basic office software may have more implications beyond technology competence, and may lead to overbilling clients
Introduce the concept of ethical fading and how it allows people to make unethical business decisions
Address how ethical fading and the billable hour model blind lawyers to broader ethical implications related to technology
Demonstrate the importance of properly using MS Word to deliver legal services and guide lawyers to developing those skills

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