By the Law Society Legal Technology Committee

1 May 2018

As technology continues to impact the way lawyers practice law, the more you know about technology and some of the useful tools available, the better – especially regarding confidentiality.

The use of email and other electronic communications create opportunities for inadvertent disclosure of confidential information and are difficult to correct due to the instantaneous nature of the internet, which may conflict with your duty to maintain confidentiality of your client’s affairs, business and interests.

Here are some useful tips to keep in mind when using electronic communications:

• In the case of sensitive information, use encryption and advise clients to use encryption


• Check the addressee of your email – some email programs, whether on your local machine (e.g. Outlook or Thunderbird) or on the internet (e.g. Gmail), automatically complete the email addresses as you start typing. If you have contacts with similar names in your address book, there is a risk that you may inadvertently send the email to the wrong person.


• Make sure you attach the correct document – open the document that you have attached to confirm it is the correct one.


• Consider configuring the email software not to send emails immediately, so that if you click “Send” and realise you have made a mistake, there may be an opportunity to correct the error. Alternatively, you may set up a notification request to confirm that you wish to send that email to ensure that only intended emails are sent out.


• Be careful in forwarding your client’s email to the other side’s lawyer – it may seem easier to forward instructions to the other side (e.g. agree to settlement or contract) however, as it may contain confidential information of your client, you should create a new email and type in the relevant information.


• Do not BCC clients when sending emails to the other side – your client may not be as technically aware and may respond by “replying all”. Rather, forward the email sent to the other side to your client.


• Only insert the addressee’s email address once the email has been finalised and is ready to send to avoid accidentally sending incomplete or incorrect emails.