OUR HIGHLY CONFIDENTAL PROPOSED ACQUISITION OR MERGER IS ALL OVER SOCIAL MEDIA! The Impact of Cybersecurity Controls on the Duties of Confidentiality & Communications (Sponsor Firm Barton LLP) - A Zoom CLE

One misplaced click either on a link or attachment with malware or hitting “Send” on an incorrectly addressed email or text could cause news of your company’s most closely held secrets to be revealed to the world.

Using rushed typing or a cyberattack as an excuse for the unauthorized disclosure of your legal advice may be about as effective as telling your sixth-grade teacher that your dog ate your homework but, worse, it can result in an ethics inquiry into violations of the duty of confidentiality.

Still worse, the report of the technical consultant you engaged to investigate and remediate the breach or attack may not be subject to privilege if appropriate protections were not in place before the report was prepared. 

How will you explain all this to the Board and senior management so you can get budget for damage control or, preferably, for a cybersecurity program that would reduce these risks ?

In the wake of seemingly weekly cyberattacks and data breaches, this non-traditional and interactive discussion will address ethical challenges of practicing law across electronic frontiers as cybercrime increases exponentially, including:

• How to satisfy the ethics requirements of technological knowledge, competence and the ability to explain technical challenges to the Board and C-Suite (i.e., your client).
• The relationship between cybersecurity controls and the requirements of reasonable care to keep legal advice confidential.
• Engagement of technical consultants following a cyberattack or data breach in a way that maximizes the availability of privilege regarding the consultant’s reports and communications.
• Protecting communications across national borders within which privilege laws may differ significantly from those in the U.S.