The New York Rules of Professional Conduct (NYRPC) present lawyers with a panoply of obligations in the new world of enforced remote working. Rule 1.1 and its comments exhort us to be technologically competent; Rule 1.3 requires continued diligence; Rule 1.6—which presents lawyers with a host of specific challenges—requires continuing attention to the protection of confidential information; Rule 1.15 requires the safeguarding of client property, from afar; and Rules 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 present important obligations of supervision on lawyers who supervise others, including support staff. In this article we will address some of the specific ways the Rules require particular vigilance in the world of the “new normal” remote workplace.

Preserving Confidentiality—Using the Internet From Remote Locations. So you’ve (hopefully) got a nice fast Internet set up at home, and perhaps it’s used by others in the household, and provides television and other forms of online escape. But is it secure? If it isn’t correctly set up, you may be working in a seriously compromised environment accessible to hackers—or just your neighbors—enabling access to client as well as personal information. Here are some steps you can take to protect your clients’ and your own information: