Professional Ethics of the Florida Bar
Topic: Ethical obligations to protect client confidentiality in the use of Internet e-mail communications
Summary of the Opinion:
“An attorney may provide legal services over the Internet, through the attorney’s law firm, on matters not requiring in-person consultation or court appearances. All rules of professional conduct apply, including competence, communication, conflicts of interest, and confidentiality. An attorney may communicate with the client using unencrypted e-mail under most circumstances. If a matter cannot be handled over the Internet because of its complexity, the matter must be declined.”
Rules: Florida Rules of Professional Conduct 4-1.1, 4-1.6, 4-1.7 through 4-1.12, 4-5.3, 4-5.5(b), Subchapter 4-7, 4-7.6(b), 4-8.6(a)
Cited Opinions: 88-13; ABA Formal 99-413, Alaska 98-2, Illinois 96-10, New York 709, Ohio 99-2 and 99-9, South Carolina 94-27 and 97-08, Vermont 97-5
Cases: In re the Joint Petition of The Florida Bar and Raymond James and Associate, 215 So. 2d 613 (Fla. 1968); The Florida Bar v. Consolidated Business and Legal Forms, 386 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 1980)
The full text is available at https://www.floridabar.org…
Related Document: Do I always need to encrypt my correspondence with clients?