Sharing Contacts | Protecting Electronic Contact Lists | Attorney at Work

In April 2022, a headline caught our attention. It referenced a new legal ethics opinion issued by the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics. Opinion 1240 has this digest statement:

“If ‘contacts’ on a lawyer’s smartphone include any client whose identity or other information is confidential under Rule 1.6, then the lawyer may not consent to share contacts with a smartphone app unless the lawyer concludes that no human being will view that confidential information, and that the information will not be sold or transferred to additional third parties, without the client’s consent.”

Read more: Sharing Contacts | Protecting Electronic Contact Lists – Attorney at Work