Janet Stiven Authors Inside Counsel Article on Confidentiality and Competence When Using Cloud Services

Janet A. Stiven, a Chicago-based business attorney and Dykema Member who advises clients concerning the legal implications related to technology use in business operations and focuses on legal issues related to cloud computing, wrote an article—“Technology: Ensuring Confidentiality and Competence in the Use of Cloud Services”—that appeared in the November 22, 2013 online edition of Inside Counsel.

In this article—Stiven’s third in a continuing series in Inside Counsel that addresses the legal consequences of using cloud computing services—the author focuses on the business, security and ethical issues that lawyers need to be mindful of when using cloud services for business-related email, document storage or collaboration.

Stiven points out that, with more data being stored in cloud-based services, lawyers’ responsibilities to protect the confidentiality, security and integrity of client information is challenged like never before. In the article, Stiven examines guidance provided by various state bar regulatory organizations impacting the appropriate use of cloud technologies by attorneys. Stiven observes that attorneys have a “continuing duty to stay informed about technology and to be aware of limitations in their competence regarding technology and related security” and to exercise reasonable care when using cloud services for client matters .