In July I wrote a column forCanadian Lawyer in which I argued that,
as a basic tenet of our profession, Canadian lawyers should
actually be required to have a minimum understanding of technology,
privacy and cybersecurity in order to adequately serve their
clients.
While there still no mandatory legal duty of technological
competence required of lawyers by our law societies, Canadian
lawyers practising law during this time of pandemic now have an
even greater duty to understand and deploy the necessary
technological measures and practices to protect client data from
unwanted intrusion.
In Ontario, s. 3.1.1. of the Rules of Professional Conduct sets
out the various positive duties of competence that lawyers are
supposed to possess. For example, a "competent lawyer"
means a lawyer who has and applies relevant knowledge, skills and
attributes in a manner appropriate to each matter undertaken on
behalf of a client, applying appropriate legal skills,
