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About the Course
Introduction
This CLE webinar will discuss the key ethics rules and other laws governing a lawyer's duty regarding cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection matters. The panel will review the unique risks and privacy implications for lawyers and provide best practices for implementing measures to safeguard client data, remaining compliant with ethics rules and other laws, and avoiding breaches of professional responsibility and malpractice actions.
Description
Cybercrime and data breaches continue to rise and dominate the headlines and law firms remain prime targets due to the sensitive nature of their work. Lawyers must understand the risks and their ethical and legal obligations to safeguard client data in order to uphold their professional responsibilities and avoid malpractice actions.
Rule 1.6 of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct emphasizes a lawyer's duty to maintain confidentiality and adopt reasonable security measures against data breaches to protect sensitive client information. Other ethics rules have particular application to protection of client information, including the technical competency requirements found in Model Rule 1.1, the diligence and promptness standards found in Rule 1.3, Rule 1.4 which underscores the importance of clear communication with clients, and Rules 5.1 and 5.3 highlighting the supervisory responsibilities of lawyers to ensure that all members of the firm adhere to the ethical obligations concerning cybersecurity and data protection.
Beyond ethical rules, attorneys must also navigate compliance with various state, federal, and international laws, including among others, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and New York's Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act).
Listen as our authoritative panel examines the ethics rules relating to data privacy and cybersecurity and provides guidance on implementing robust processes and procedures for maintaining compliance with the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and other laws.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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An excellent opportunity to earn Ethics CLE credits. Note: BARBRI cannot guarantee that this course will be approved for ethics credits in all states. To confirm, please contact our CLE department at pdservice@barbri.com.
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Live Online
On Demand
Date + Time
- event
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
- schedule
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
I. Overview: lawyer’s role as a fiduciary
II. Cybersecurity and data privacy risks in the legal setting
III. ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct relating to a lawyer's duty to protect client data
IV. ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility's Formal Opinions 477R and 483
V. States with enhanced data privacy and cybersecurity requirements for lawyers that go beyond the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct
VI. Other state, federal, and international laws regulating data privacy and protection: GDPR, HIPAA, Federal Trade Commission Act, CCPA, New York's SHIELD Act
VII. Realities of a data breach at a law firm
VIII. Strategies for implementing technical measures and administrative safeguards for data compliance to mitigate exposure to cybersecurity incidents
IX. Practitioner pointers and key takeaways
The panel will examine these and other key considerations:
- Why are law firms and lawyers prime targets for cyberattacks and data breaches?
- How do the Model Rules of Professional Conduct govern a lawyer's duty to protect client data and minimize the risks of cyberattacks?
- What are other laws and regulations lawyers and firms must abide by with respect to data and cybersecurity?
- What specific cybersecurity measures are required to safeguard client data from hackers?
The following has evaluated to null or missing:
==> barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 77]
----
Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??
----
----
FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
- Failed at: response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("b... [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 66]
---- 1<#assign productId = ''/> 2 <#if (productID.getData())?? && productID.getData()?has_content> 3 <#assign productId = productID.getData() /> 4 </#if> 5 <#assign response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) 6 json = jsonFactoryUtil.createJSONObject(response) 7 /> 8 9 <div class="card"> 10 <div class="card-body"> 11 <div class="row justify-content-between align-items-center"> 12 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto"> 13 <div class="btn cle_btn" id="modalPassShortName"><#if (passName.getData())??>${passName.getData()}</#if></div> 14 </div> 15 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto pl-lg-0"> 16 <span class="sale-price" id="modalPassPrice">$${json.pricebook?replace(",", "")?number?string("#,##0.00")}</span> 17 </div> 18 </div> 19 <div class="small_heading_area" id="modalPassFullName"><#if (title.getData())??>${title.getData()}</#if></div> 20 <p><#if (unlimitedText.getData())??>${unlimitedText.getData()}</#if>:</p> 21 <ul class="common-list disc_list paddNone"> 22 <#if (benefits.getData())??> 23 ${benefits.getData()} 24</#if> 25 </ul> 26 </div> 27 <div class="btn-float"> 28 <div class="premium-cle-pass cart-item"> 29 <input type="hidden" class="product-id" value="${productId}"> 30 <input type="hidden" class="product-name" value="${json.name}"> 31 <input type="hidden" class="pass-value" value="${passName.getData()}"> 32 <input type="hidden" class="product-price" value="${json.pricebook}"> 33 <input type="hidden" class="passAccessLengthMonths" value="${json.passAccessLengthMonths}"> 34 <input type="hidden" class="product-pass" value="family"> 35 <input type="hidden" class="product-expireDate" value=""> 36 37 <button 38 class="btn pc_theme_btn btn-primary btn_maxwidth_xxl_large add-to-cart" 39 aria-label="Buy Now" 40 data-redirect-checkout="true" 41 > 42 <span class="material-symbols-rounded"> shopping_cart </span> 43 Buy Now 44 </button> 45 </div> 46 </div> 47 </div> 48 49 <script> 50$(document).on('click', '.add-to-cart', function () { 51 let monthsToAdd = parseInt($(".passAccessLengthMonths").val()); 52 let currentDate = new Date(); 53 let futureDate = new Date(currentDate); 54 // Add months dynamically 55 futureDate.setMonth(futureDate.getMonth() + monthsToAdd); 56 57 // Handle overflow (e.g., Jan 31 + 1 month) 58 if (futureDate.getDate() !== currentDate.getDate()) { 59 futureDate.setDate(0); // last day of previous month 60 } 61 62 // Format as MM/DD/YYYY 63 function formatDateMMDDYYYY(date) { 64 let mm = String(date.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0'); 65 let dd = String(date.getDate()).padStart(2, '0'); 66 let yyyy = date.getFullYear(); 67 return mm + '/' + dd + '/' + yyyy; 68 } 69 $(".product-expireDate").val(formatDateMMDDYYYY(futureDate)); 70 71 // Then close the modal 72 $('.single_option').modal('hide'); 73 }); 74</script> The following has evaluated to null or missing:
==> barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 77]
----
Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??
----
----
FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
- Failed at: response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("b... [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 66]
---- 1<#assign productId = ''/> 2 <#if (productID.getData())?? && productID.getData()?has_content> 3 <#assign productId = productID.getData() /> 4 </#if> 5 <#assign response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) 6 json = jsonFactoryUtil.createJSONObject(response) 7 /> 8 9 <div class="card"> 10 <div class="card-body"> 11 <div class="row justify-content-between align-items-center"> 12 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto"> 13 <div class="btn cle_btn" id="modalPassShortName"><#if (passName.getData())??>${passName.getData()}</#if></div> 14 </div> 15 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto pl-lg-0"> 16 <span class="sale-price" id="modalPassPrice">$${json.pricebook?replace(",", "")?number?string("#,##0.00")}</span> 17 </div> 18 </div> 19 <div class="small_heading_area" id="modalPassFullName"><#if (title.getData())??>${title.getData()}</#if></div> 20 <p><#if (unlimitedText.getData())??>${unlimitedText.getData()}</#if>:</p> 21 <ul class="common-list disc_list paddNone"> 22 <#if (benefits.getData())??> 23 ${benefits.getData()} 24</#if> 25 </ul> 26 </div> 27 <div class="btn-float"> 28 <div class="premium-cle-pass cart-item"> 29 <input type="hidden" class="product-id" value="${productId}"> 30 <input type="hidden" class="product-name" value="${json.name}"> 31 <input type="hidden" class="pass-value" value="${passName.getData()}"> 32 <input type="hidden" class="product-price" value="${json.pricebook}"> 33 <input type="hidden" class="passAccessLengthMonths" value="${json.passAccessLengthMonths}"> 34 <input type="hidden" class="product-pass" value="family"> 35 <input type="hidden" class="product-expireDate" value=""> 36 37 <button 38 class="btn pc_theme_btn btn-primary btn_maxwidth_xxl_large add-to-cart" 39 aria-label="Buy Now" 40 data-redirect-checkout="true" 41 > 42 <span class="material-symbols-rounded"> shopping_cart </span> 43 Buy Now 44 </button> 45 </div> 46 </div> 47 </div> 48 49 <script> 50$(document).on('click', '.add-to-cart', function () { 51 let monthsToAdd = parseInt($(".passAccessLengthMonths").val()); 52 let currentDate = new Date(); 53 let futureDate = new Date(currentDate); 54 // Add months dynamically 55 futureDate.setMonth(futureDate.getMonth() + monthsToAdd); 56 57 // Handle overflow (e.g., Jan 31 + 1 month) 58 if (futureDate.getDate() !== currentDate.getDate()) { 59 futureDate.setDate(0); // last day of previous month 60 } 61 62 // Format as MM/DD/YYYY 63 function formatDateMMDDYYYY(date) { 64 let mm = String(date.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0'); 65 let dd = String(date.getDate()).padStart(2, '0'); 66 let yyyy = date.getFullYear(); 67 return mm + '/' + dd + '/' + yyyy; 68 } 69 $(".product-expireDate").val(formatDateMMDDYYYY(futureDate)); 70 71 // Then close the modal 72 $('.single_option').modal('hide'); 73 }); 74</script> The following has evaluated to null or missing:
==> barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 77]
----
Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??
----
----
FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
- Failed at: response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("b... [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 66]
---- 1<#assign productId = ''/> 2 <#if (productID.getData())?? && productID.getData()?has_content> 3 <#assign productId = productID.getData() /> 4 </#if> 5 <#assign response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) 6 json = jsonFactoryUtil.createJSONObject(response) 7 /> 8 9 <div class="card"> 10 <div class="card-body"> 11 <div class="row justify-content-between align-items-center"> 12 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto"> 13 <div class="btn cle_btn" id="modalPassShortName"><#if (passName.getData())??>${passName.getData()}</#if></div> 14 </div> 15 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto pl-lg-0"> 16 <span class="sale-price" id="modalPassPrice">$${json.pricebook?replace(",", "")?number?string("#,##0.00")}</span> 17 </div> 18 </div> 19 <div class="small_heading_area" id="modalPassFullName"><#if (title.getData())??>${title.getData()}</#if></div> 20 <p><#if (unlimitedText.getData())??>${unlimitedText.getData()}</#if>:</p> 21 <ul class="common-list disc_list paddNone"> 22 <#if (benefits.getData())??> 23 ${benefits.getData()} 24</#if> 25 </ul> 26 </div> 27 <div class="btn-float"> 28 <div class="premium-cle-pass cart-item"> 29 <input type="hidden" class="product-id" value="${productId}"> 30 <input type="hidden" class="product-name" value="${json.name}"> 31 <input type="hidden" class="pass-value" value="${passName.getData()}"> 32 <input type="hidden" class="product-price" value="${json.pricebook}"> 33 <input type="hidden" class="passAccessLengthMonths" value="${json.passAccessLengthMonths}"> 34 <input type="hidden" class="product-pass" value="family"> 35 <input type="hidden" class="product-expireDate" value=""> 36 37 <button 38 class="btn pc_theme_btn btn-primary btn_maxwidth_xxl_large add-to-cart" 39 aria-label="Buy Now" 40 data-redirect-checkout="true" 41 > 42 <span class="material-symbols-rounded"> shopping_cart </span> 43 Buy Now 44 </button> 45 </div> 46 </div> 47 </div> 48 49 <script> 50$(document).on('click', '.add-to-cart', function () { 51 let monthsToAdd = parseInt($(".passAccessLengthMonths").val()); 52 let currentDate = new Date(); 53 let futureDate = new Date(currentDate); 54 // Add months dynamically 55 futureDate.setMonth(futureDate.getMonth() + monthsToAdd); 56 57 // Handle overflow (e.g., Jan 31 + 1 month) 58 if (futureDate.getDate() !== currentDate.getDate()) { 59 futureDate.setDate(0); // last day of previous month 60 } 61 62 // Format as MM/DD/YYYY 63 function formatDateMMDDYYYY(date) { 64 let mm = String(date.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0'); 65 let dd = String(date.getDate()).padStart(2, '0'); 66 let yyyy = date.getFullYear(); 67 return mm + '/' + dd + '/' + yyyy; 68 } 69 $(".product-expireDate").val(formatDateMMDDYYYY(futureDate)); 70 71 // Then close the modal 72 $('.single_option').modal('hide'); 73 }); 74</script> The following has evaluated to null or missing:
==> barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 77]
----
Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??
----
----
FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
- Failed at: response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("b... [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 66]
---- 1<#assign productId = ''/> 2 <#if (productID.getData())?? && productID.getData()?has_content> 3 <#assign productId = productID.getData() /> 4 </#if> 5 <#assign response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) 6 json = jsonFactoryUtil.createJSONObject(response) 7 /> 8 9 <div class="card"> 10 <div class="card-body"> 11 <div class="row justify-content-between align-items-center"> 12 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto"> 13 <div class="btn cle_btn" id="modalPassShortName"><#if (passName.getData())??>${passName.getData()}</#if></div> 14 </div> 15 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto pl-lg-0"> 16 <span class="sale-price" id="modalPassPrice">$${json.pricebook?replace(",", "")?number?string("#,##0.00")}</span> 17 </div> 18 </div> 19 <div class="small_heading_area" id="modalPassFullName"><#if (title.getData())??>${title.getData()}</#if></div> 20 <p><#if (unlimitedText.getData())??>${unlimitedText.getData()}</#if>:</p> 21 <ul class="common-list disc_list paddNone"> 22 <#if (benefits.getData())??> 23 ${benefits.getData()} 24</#if> 25 </ul> 26 </div> 27 <div class="btn-float"> 28 <div class="premium-cle-pass cart-item"> 29 <input type="hidden" class="product-id" value="${productId}"> 30 <input type="hidden" class="product-name" value="${json.name}"> 31 <input type="hidden" class="pass-value" value="${passName.getData()}"> 32 <input type="hidden" class="product-price" value="${json.pricebook}"> 33 <input type="hidden" class="passAccessLengthMonths" value="${json.passAccessLengthMonths}"> 34 <input type="hidden" class="product-pass" value="family"> 35 <input type="hidden" class="product-expireDate" value=""> 36 37 <button 38 class="btn pc_theme_btn btn-primary btn_maxwidth_xxl_large add-to-cart" 39 aria-label="Buy Now" 40 data-redirect-checkout="true" 41 > 42 <span class="material-symbols-rounded"> shopping_cart </span> 43 Buy Now 44 </button> 45 </div> 46 </div> 47 </div> 48 49 <script> 50$(document).on('click', '.add-to-cart', function () { 51 let monthsToAdd = parseInt($(".passAccessLengthMonths").val()); 52 let currentDate = new Date(); 53 let futureDate = new Date(currentDate); 54 // Add months dynamically 55 futureDate.setMonth(futureDate.getMonth() + monthsToAdd); 56 57 // Handle overflow (e.g., Jan 31 + 1 month) 58 if (futureDate.getDate() !== currentDate.getDate()) { 59 futureDate.setDate(0); // last day of previous month 60 } 61 62 // Format as MM/DD/YYYY 63 function formatDateMMDDYYYY(date) { 64 let mm = String(date.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0'); 65 let dd = String(date.getDate()).padStart(2, '0'); 66 let yyyy = date.getFullYear(); 67 return mm + '/' + dd + '/' + yyyy; 68 } 69 $(".product-expireDate").val(formatDateMMDDYYYY(futureDate)); 70 71 // Then close the modal 72 $('.single_option').modal('hide'); 73 }); 74</script> Related Courses
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