Threading the Needle: Protecting Client Information From U.S. Border Searches (New York Law Journal)
New York Law Journal, August 5, 2017
Threading the Needle: Protecting Client Information From U.S. Border Searches
“This article explores a potential threat to lawyers whenever they travel internationally while carrying electronic devices containing client confidential information. The recent New York ethics opinion that is the primary focus of this article addresses only one aspect of the problem: What happens when overseas travelers return to the United States….The dimensions of the threat must be assessed in the context of lawyers’ duties to protect client confidential information generally, implicating two questions: What is the scope of those duties when information is on the move in an electronic device, rather than stationary in the lawyer’s office, and what steps do lawyers need to take to comply with these duties? Into this quagmire bravely marched the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics with its Formal Opinion 2017-5 “An Attorney’s Ethical Duties Regarding U.S. Border Searches of Electronic Devices Containing Clients’ Confidential Information” (Opinion 2017-5).”
