Electronic communications are causing headaches for lawyers and
clients alike
Reproduced with permission of Trusts & Estates magazine
(May 2011)
The telecommunications revolution has been a boon for lawyers in
many respects, making research and communication exponentially
faster and easier than it was a mere decade ago. But, as any
practitioner knows, for every problem solved by our advancing
technologies, new ones are created. The speed and ease with which
lawyers and clients can communicate with each other and with third
parties by email, instant message and text can lure us into
thinking of these communication methods as analogous to in-person
or phone conversations. But electronic communications are different
in one crucial respect: they're automatically recorded. This
creates two problems. First, the occasional careless remark over
email or instant message may constitute a waiver of attorney-client
privilege. Second, the volume and scope of materials available
