Lawyers, as a group, just don't seem to “get it.” Some do, others try, but many lawyers still seem oblivious to the ever-changing swirls of ethics and technology that apply to our profession. Based on the feedback from this column, I can only conclude that many lawyers still do not recognize, or do not want to recognize, the extent to which technology and ethics intersect every aspect of their lives (both professional and personal), and how their failure to address these issues can impact their clients and their practices.

With that in mind, here's my top-eight wish list of techno-ethics matters for which I hope lawyers will finally “get religion” in 2019.

Metadata

Recently, I received a document from opposing counsel containing a draft of a proposed agreement. Sent in Microsoft Word format, the agreement seemed reasonable, but I wondered if it would be beneficial to add some additional language more favorable to my client. Finding that language was easy; in fact, opposing counsel provided it to me.

How? He had failed to scrub the document of metadata, that is, “information about data” contained in electronic materials not ordinarily visible to those viewing the information. Most commonly found in documents created in Microsoft Word, metadata is also present in other formats, including spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and Corel WordPerfect documents.