A recent Lexis/Nexis survey revealed some disturbing truths about the protection of privileged communication between law firms and clients. The survey of 282 respondents in 15 practice areas across 40 states, asked attorneys what security measures they take to protect privileged communications sent via email. 77 percent said that they include the confidentiality statement with the email.
What's even more disturbing is that only 22 percent said that they encrypt privileged emails. Fewer still make use of fundamental security measures like password-protecting documents or sending links to documents rather than sending the files themselves. In fact, the survey also found that 52.5 percent of lawyers have used free consumer file sharing services like Dropbox for privileged communications.
A full summary of the survey can be found here: http://businessoflawblog.com/2014/05/file-sharing-lawyer/
Lawyers can no longer live in denial of their responsibility to use technology in a safe and secure manner. Attorneys need to recognize that their fiduciary duties to their clients include a duty to be conscious of the security requirements of communication in the digital age. No attorney should choose convenience over protecting the confidentiality of their communications and their clients' data.
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