—When referring to a Rule of Professional Conduct, cite the rule by number and title the first time that you use it. Thereafter, you may use the rule number.
—Generally, apply the Model Rules of Professional Conduct except on those occasions where the Florida Rules differ from the Model Rules in the area of social media and advertising apply.
—You may spot a few issues that were not directly addressed in class. The "Legal Ethics and Social Media," book and The Legal Ethics Advisor Blog (click here) should assist you in identifying and analyzing some of these issues.
—The Final Project is not to be worked on with anyone else.
Required Format: —Your final product should be between fourteen (14) and sixteen (16) pages in length. Page length guides are merely suggestive.
—All papers should be double spaced, in 12-point font, and include page numbers. Please place your AGN atop each page.
Deadline:
—Final projects are to be submitted, with only your AGN to assure blind grading, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 13th via e-mail only to Youssra.
Mindful Ethics:
Professional Responsibility for
Lawyers in the Digital Age
Final Paper Project
I. Mindy and her New Firm's AI Technology Committee
Mindy retires from the bench and returns to the practice of law. Given her experience on the court and long-standing interest in technology she has been asked to head the Technology Committee that is exploring the firm's adoption of AI.
The committee is deciding whether to contract with an AI vendor or spend the resources to develop an in-house AI program. Regardless of how the committee decides that the firm adopt AI, Mindy is also charged with developing a firm manual that addresses the use of AI.
1) List the professional conduct rules that are implicated should the firm decide to contract with an AI vendor and explain how the firm might comply with each of the rules.
2) Regardless of which option the committee selects, for each of the following categories included in the firm’s AI manual explain the professional conduct rules that should be considered and write the firm policy that will appear in the manual for that category.
(a) Who in the firm may use AI and for what tasks may it be employed?
(b) Supervision over the use of AI,
(c) Communication with clients about the use of AI, and
(d) Billing for AI.
(Page Length Guideline: Approx. 4-5 pages)
II. Pedro’s Green Adventures
A. The Chief Medical Officer of Wellness Plus, a medical marijuana vendor, contacts Pedro to obtain legal advice regarding the sale of its products in Florida.
Pedro does not have any experience representing clients in the cannabis industry but does not want to miss an opportunity to learn this growing area of law. He knows that startups commonly offer stock and has this on his mind, knowing that if a start up makes it big, the stock can become a windfall. He agrees to meet with the CMO after using AI to learn about cannabis law. During the meeting, the CMO is impressed with Pedro's knowledge. He gives Pedro a sample of Wellness Plus’ most popular products to try and offers to pay Pedro with stock of the company.
Question:
1. What do the rules require regarding the following issues:
a) Whether Pedro should represent Wellness Plus; and
b) Whether Pedro should accept the samples and agree to stock as payment for his legal services.
B. Later that day, Derrick, who has been divorced from Samantha for several years, calls Pedro to retain him in connection with a lawsuit arising from a slip and fall at a local grocery store. Derrick mentions that medical marijuana has been a huge help with the pain he has been experiencing. Pedro accepts the case.
Questions:
In conducting the following conflict analysis, please define client status of both Derrick and Samantha in accordance with the conflict of interest rules.
2. What, if any, conflict issues arise as a result of Pedro’s representation of Derrick given his prior representation Samantha and her business?
3. Assuming that Pedro still represents Samantha, what conflicts, if any, arise, in connection with Pedro’s representation of Derrick?
(Page Length Guideline: Approx. 2-3 pages)
III. Mindy's Law Firm's Social Media & Technology Workshop
The Technology Committee at Mindy's firm has scheduled a Social Media and Technology workshop for the firm's attorneys, paralegals, and staff. She retains you to conduct the workshop to answer employee questions and gauge their degree of knowledge as to the proper use of social media and technology.
Questions:
1. What legal ethics rules are implicated by the committee's decision to conduct a workshop.
2. Prepare a report for the committee in which you copy each question posed below and provide a concise answer, in the space of a paragraph, that includes an explanation of the relevant rules and ethics advisory opinions that support your answer.
Noah: I just found out from my paralegal that one of our witnesses received a Facebook “friend” request from opposing counsel. The witness accepted the request. Is there anything wrong this? Additionally, the judge in the case has a YouTube channel on which he talks about the best strategies to avoid a jury verdict and shares stories about cases pending before him. Any action that I should take?
Abigail: The other day while working on a motion, I received a BeReal notification and turned around at my desk and took a selfie of me and my office, excited about the diploma on the wall and my new computer. Should I have any concerns about using BeReal at work?
Kayla: I am intrigued by AI and understand that it can improve my writing and my efficiency. Any problem with using it to draft my next court motion?
Carlos: I am extremely involved and passionate about political and health care issues. Any problem posting my views in Tik Tok videos?
Lucinda: I often work remotely. Any technology or other ethics issues of which I should be aware?
Camila: I was referred a new client with a promising case. I investigated them on social media and found damaging evidence. What should I do?
John: I’d like to investigate my opposing counsel and the opposing party. Is this okay? Are there any limitations?
Fareed: X (formerly Twitter) has been an amazing addition to my personal marketing strategy. I regularly Tweet about bankruptcy law and have received countless comments and questions from my 700 followers, many of whom retweet my posts. My X account also provides a link to my blog. Is there anything I should be wary of, especially as my followers continue to grow?
(Page Length Guideline: Approx. 3 pages)
V. Mindfulness
Questions:
1. Conduct a mindfulness analysis on Pedro's decision whether to accept stock as compensation and represent someone in the cannabis industry. (You may find it helpful to reflect on the Spiral diagram). Assume for purposes of this question only that Pedro knows only what Chatgpt taught him about cannabis, and the propriety of accepting stock is extremely questionable, although the potential payoff might be huge.
2. In what ways might an attorney who has practiced mindfulness regularly for many years be less likely to make an ethical misstep on this close call question than if they had not been practicing mindfulness?
3. Discuss the potential role of mindfulness practices and relaxation techniques in reducing stress and increasing lawyer well-being?
(Page Length Guideline: 1-2 pages)
VI. Professionalism and Civility
Review the articles by Jarvis and Jacobowitz and then, applying the ideas in the articles and the concepts that we have discussed throughout the semester and, answer the following questions.
Questions
1. How does Neil Hamilton’s definition of professionalism overlap with Peter Jarvis’s description of civility?
2. How do you think that professionalism should be defined for the legal profession?
3. How would you describe the professional identity to which you aspire, what might prove to be an obstacle on the way, and how might practicing mindfulness be helpful to remaining connected to your aspiration?
(Page Length Guideline: Approx. 1-2 pages)