Texas has not issued any opinions specifically dealing with
cloud computing; however, the Professional Ethics Committee of the state has
issued certain opinions that raise parallels to the subject and support its
propriety.
Opinion Number 572 (2006),
deals with the duty of an attorney using an independent copy service. Although cloud-computing raises additional
issues not raised in the mere copying of documents; the basic premise is
similar – in both, the attorney is outsourcing certain tasks to outside
providers, not directly controlled by the attorney, who may then come into
contact with confidential information.
The Committee held that unless the attorney’s client
specifically instructed otherwise, there was no issue raised by using outside
vendors, so long as the attorney “reasonably expects” the vendor will keep the
materials confidential. The best way to
ensure this, says the Committee, is a written agreement wherein the vendor
agrees to keep the materials confidential.
Online Legal Software, of course, has such an
agreement. In addition, we maintain your
data in US-based primary and backup servers with bank-level encryption. You can reasonably expect us to keep your
data secure and confidential.
