Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/45522
opinions concerning document metadata. These detail the duty of the sending lawyer, whether the recipient may review metadata and, if the recipient finds information in the metadata, whether they must notify the sender. In general, the various ethics opinions state that the sender must use "reasonable care" in cleaning the metadata before a document is shared. However, the opinions differ on what the recipient can or cannot do. The terms "sender" and "recipient" referred to above imply that we are looking at emailed documents only. However, there are many means by which a document might be shared externally, such as a deal room/client portal. This and other methods of sharing and transferring documents completely avoid the desktop metadata cleansing solution, making it difficult for the firm to ensure that reasonable care has been taken. THE MOBILE ATTORNEY Gone are the days when lawyers were tied to their desks when needing to work on electronic documents and communicate via email. Mobility is to be welcomed as it increases the amount of productive fee-earning time. However, this mobility brings additional risks that need to be mitigated. Smartphones, including the iPhone and BlackBerry, bypass the traditional desktop metadata removal tool, and the use of iPads and other tablets by many lawyers has further increased the risk of inadvertent disclosure of information via metadata. Missing the Metadata on Smartphones: For instance, that document you have been waiting for arrives via email from someone in the office just as you are about to go into a client meeting at their office. Using your smartphone, you check that the expected changes are in place, and you forward the email to the lawyer on the other side of the transaction. The document viewer and editor on your smartphone is basic and does not show track changes and comments, or any other metadata for that matter. In other words, you are viewing the equivalent of a "final" draft (i.e., without markups), so you are unaware that the document contains track changes. As this email message has come from someone within your firm, if your firm has a desktop solution in place, it typically will not have been through a metadata cleaning process. You have just bypassed the whole metadata cleaning mechanism, and the other law firm now has access to any information contained in the metadata. Tablets Allow for More Work Product: The widespread use of iPads and other tablets increases the risk from metadata disclosure in email attachments even further. A recent report from analyst IDC predicts that, by the end of this year, sales of tablets will be equivalent to 15 percent of the PC market. Although this includes personal as well as business purchases, the increasing use of tablets in the legal market is reflected in, among others, the 2011 ILTA/ InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey. 2011 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey Purchasing Trends of Law Firms with 50+ Attorneys This August ILTA, in partnership with InsideLegal, developed and administered the annual ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey. The 2011 survey marks the sixth edition of this joint ILTA/ InsideLegal collaboration and garnered a 17% response rate with 118 unique ILTA member firms completing the survey. The annual survey includes many of the categories covered in past years, and has been enhanced to include more detailed breakouts of technology purchases; legal technology budget questions; updated information on participants' social media preferences; an in-depth analysis of cloud computing; and sections on technology outsourcing and IT challenges. The 33 question web-based survey was distributed to approximately 684 firms, ranging in size from 50 to 3,000 attorneys. Notables and Quotables in 2011 • Overall firm technology spending - as a percentage of firm revenue and based on per attorney spend - is still down considerably from pre-2009 economic downturn figures. • 57% of all responding firms spend between 2-4% of total firm revenue on technology. • The "sweet spot" for per attorney technology spend, $8K-$17K, accounts for 46%, the same as in 2010. • 85% of all survey respondents are IT Directors or C-Level executives; 86% have direct purchasing or purchasing committee responsibility. • While budget slashing has clearly been curtailed, keeping budgets balanced has taken priority with 35% indicating their budgets remained the same. • The top five implementations within the last 12 months included desktop hardware; laptops/notebooks; network/server upgrades; storage area networks and virtualization. • 5 of the top 10 favorite publications mentioned by respondents are non- legal, general technology publications. • Internet research was cited as the 2nd most popular influence in terms of aiding IT purchasing decisions (next to peer recommendations). • 33% indicated they are implementing a cloud strategy, up from 17% in 2010 and 9% in 2009. Page 1 • 55% of surveyed firms provide IT support for employees that purchase and use their personal tablet devices. Click here to download the 2011 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey. www.iltanet.org Risky Business 65 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey