Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Cloud?

No one doubts the benefits of cloud computing, but considering the unique ethical obligations of law practice, and the frightening cyber-security headlines, a firm might wonder whether a client’s information should be anywhere but locked up in a warehouse.

The state bar ethics committees that have taken up the issue of cloud computing have certainly been cautious. Although all 19 committees that have issued formal opinions on cloud computing have given the green light, they have done so with, in some cases, a laundry list of qualifications.

Nerino Petro, chief information officer atHolmstrom & Kennedy in Illinois, and a lecturer on data security for the American Bar Association, ...