Professional Responsibility Blog: Discussion of California proposed ethics opinion on e-discovery and the duty of competence

Professional Responsibility Blog: Discussion of California proposed ethics opinion on e-discovery and the duty of competence
by Prof. Alberto Bernabe
As you know by now, I am sure, the comment to Model Rule 1.1 on competence has been amended to state that the duty of competence includes the duty to be knowledgeable about "technology."   And that probably includes "e-discovery."

Enter California’s Proposed Formal Opinion 11-0004, a proposed opinion, not yet adopted by the rules committee, that discusses the issues that arise when an attorney who doesn’t know anything about e-discovery suddenly finds himself facing e-discovery problems that have crept into his case. It suggests that litigators should have minimal competence in e-discovery and may be violating their duty of competence if they do not either become competent or bring in someone who is competent.  Go here for a discussion of this important Opinion.

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