Luddite or Technophile? Stark Warnings in the Age of Technology

Attorney Baxter Drennon with Hall Booth Smith in Little Rock, AR will present the next TDLA Free webinar on Wednesday November 30th at Noon-1pm CST/ 1pm-2pm EST entitled "Luddite or Technophile? Stark Warnings in the Age of Technology".

As a part of its work, the ABA Ethics 20/20 Commission studied technology in the law. That study resulted in a 2013 change to Rule 1.1 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. That change related to Comment 8, which now requires a lawyer to “keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including benefits and risks associated with relevant technology . . . .” At least 35 states, including Texas, have adopted this new version of the model rule. In these states, the question becomes what is ethically required for an attorney to keep abreast of relevant technology. This presentation will consider ethics opinions from the American Bar Association and several states1 along with secondary sources, which indicate that competency with regard to six areas of technology is required for an attorney to meet his or her ethical requirements, including: data security; the technology used to run a law firm and practice law; social media competence; technology used by clients to build products or offer services that lawyers have to defend; electronic discovery; and technology used to present information in court. The Rules of Professional Conduct implicated, include at least Rule 1.1 Competence; Rule 1.4 Duty to Communicate; and Rule 1.6 Confidentiality.

This is a FREE webinar. One hour of TN Dual CLE was approved.. Zoom webinar link will be emailed to registrants prior to the webinar.

About the Speaker

Baxter D. Drennon is a Partner at the Hall Booth Smith office in Little Rock, Arkansas, and has more than a decade of legal experience. He is a seasoned trial attorney who protects the rights of clients in complex litigation involving products liability, professional liability, and automobile accidents.  Baxter earned a Juris Doctorate degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Arkansas. He also completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Considered a leader among his peers, Baxter has been actively involved in the Defense Research Institute (DRI) since 2010, and previously served as the Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee. In 2019, Baxter was elected to the DRI Board of Directors in 2019 – the first young lawyer elected to the Board. He may be reached at bdrennon@hallboothsmith.com