Bloomberg Law
April 30, 2019, 5:11 PM UTC

Maine Ethics Board Explains Lawyer’s Duties After Data Breach

Melissa Heelan Stanzione
Melissa Heelan Stanzione
Reporter

Maine’s professional ethics commission recently clarified a lawyer’s duties in the event of a data breach or cyberattack, using the American Bar Association’s Formal Opinion No. 483 as guidance.

Like the ABA, Maine found that lawyers should take reasonable efforts to avoid a data breach and must notify clients whose “confidences or secrets are exposed,” but diverged from the ABA’s opinion on one point regarding notification requirements after a breach.

A lawyer’s obligation to provide competent representation includes legal and technological competence, if the lawyer relies on technology to provide legal services, the commission’s opinion said.

And there’s no excuse ...

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