LEGAL SKILLS

Internal Assessment –1

BA – LLB- DIVISION A

LEGAL ETHICS IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY:

Submitted By

Adil Mohammad A- 24010323008

Anju Manoj – 24010323021

Aradhya Krishna -24010323028

Jotishmathi L – 24010323053

Nelakuditi Sreenidhi- 24010323070

With the advancement in technology, especially in the field of law, there are an enormous
number of challenges as well as opportunities arising. This research paper delves into the topic of
“Legal Ethics in the Age of Technology: Challenges and Opportunities”. It digs into the
challenges and opportunities presented as a result of growing technology in the legal sphere. It
also highlights the potential and dangers of technology and the regulatory measures to be taken
by the authorities to avoid misuse. Through comparative real-life scenarios, this research paper
aims to highlight the future perspectives which advocated for a balance in technological
advancement and ethical framework.

Introduction: -

Legal ethics are the rules and principles that govern the conduct of lawyers and other legal
professionals. It is basically the idea that lawyers are officers of court and have a duty to uphold
the integrity of the legal system. “Legal ethics in digital era” refers to the set of ethical principles
that lawyers must follow when practicing law in the digital platforms , it involves practices like
data privacy, cybersecurity, online communication, while maintaining client confidentiality and
upholding professional standards in the face of new technological advancements.

The intersection of law, ethics and technology represents a dynamic and evolving part. While
technology helps in improving access to justice through affordable online platforms and global
collaboration, it also increases the risk of inequalities for those without access. It analyses and
provides a balanced perspective on how the legal profession can use technology to uphold its
ethical obligations and provide justice simultaneously. When legal systems are accessible to
public, the trust is strengthened likewise when there are misuse of techs and unnecessary
confidentiality it can destroy the trust of the public. Therefore, it is to ensure that the integration
of technology into the legal field enhances its efficiency and not let it be lagged behind or
increase the misuse of digital platform.
Challenges Faced By Legal Ethics: -

The confidentiality of the client and the security or protection of data are the primary problems
or challenges that legal ethics encounter. Since the material is digitally stored, there is a risk of
cyber threats or unauthorized access, which is a complicated problem for attorneys. Since cloud
services and digital communication also raise vulnerability, lawyers must adopt encryption and
other safety measures to protect sensitive data. Similar to legal research, artificial intelligence
(AI) is likely to generate biased results in legal practice if it is given flawed data sets that contain
algorithms from the data. A prejudiced decision made on behalf of a client will have an effect on
the lawyer's legal ethics. Therefore, legal professionals should thoroughly assess the data to
prevent unfair or unjust outcomes.

Technology proficiency is another barrier that attorneys must get above. The legal professional
should be aware of time, attorneys must remain current on potential issues, how to take
advantage of it, and how to use the many technical tools that can be helpful in the legal field.
Ignorance of all of these can be viewed as another background that is directly tied to legal ethics,
since a lawyer must be aware of the dangers and rewards. Another issue that arises these days is
social media involvement that compromises the confidentiality of client information. To prevent
inappropriate use of social media, attorneys should maintain a clear professional border. Given
the widespread use of social media in today's world, using a client's private information is
certainly a breach of legal ethics.

Although people benefit from electronic discovery, or "E-discovery," there is a hidden risk. Since
e-discovery is used to find and gather digital evidence for legal arguments, data storage—
particularly cross-border data—is a concern because there is a possibility that private information
could be leaked, therefore legal protection should be assured. Another issue is who should be
held responsible for the biased thinking of autonomous systems or other AI devices that have an
impact on customers.

Since this ultimately results in a breach of legal ethics, legal frameworks should appropriately
handle this topic. It is necessary to develop a framework in the law field which aid in
comprehending and resolving the new technological concerns. All these challenges or concerns
should be taken care of by a legal professional to maintain legal ethics in this technological
period.

Opportunities For Ethical Legal Practice Through Technology: -

It is the development of technology within the legal profession, which has definitely modernized
and improved accessibility to legal services for many members of the public. Several ethical
opportunities are presented to the legal field by the boost given to efficiency in legal research,
greater access to justice by such technologies and increased transparency and accountability. . It
also brings upon innovation and global collaboration for legal ethics which is much needed in
today’s fast moving society.

Enhanced Efficiency and Accessibility

Technology has significantly improved in such a manner where technological innovations like
“legalzoom” and “rocket lawyer” where people dont have to hire expensive consultations for
petty or simple preliminary advice. There are facilities like online consultations or virtual legal
tools which help in reducing the costs for legal representation. it also helps in decreasing the
justice gap and allows people to navigate complex legal systems more effectively and affordably
especially the people from remote and rural areas. For instance, online dispute resolution (ODR)
platforms provide accessible and effective alternative to normal court proceedings, especially
with people who cant afford lengthy litigation.

One of the beneficial advancements towards the lawyers are the rise in legal tech tools where
things like case management software, e- discovery platforms and document automation systems
help them in streamline repetitive tasks, reducing human errors. Through this it allows the
lawyers to focus on higher- value work and which improves the service for the people.
Blockchain technology for example is used to create smart contracts, it allows transparency and
security in areas such as contracts and record keeping.

Transparency And Accountability

Technology has helped in enhancing transparency and accountability in legal system. The system
of “electronic court filling system” and “public access portals” allow the people to track the
progress in the case and have real time records of courtcase. This guarantees building
confidence in the legal system among the public and holds lawyers and judges accountable for
their actions and omissions.

This increases transparency and accountability in terms of that inexorable ledger, once built,
remains unalterable to inform and audit all transactions, thus lowering chances for fraud and
corruption. This level of transparency helps in building the trust between client and legal
professionals. Also, “open data initiatives” increases accountability as it makes the data available
to the public, the researchers and public can analyse it, criticize it and provide suggestions.

Global Collaboration

Another aspect of technology is that it has progressed to the extent that it breaks physical
boundaries to forge connections even within the wider legal community. Lawyers are also getting
to collaborating with their counterparts from other jurisdictions, where they helpfully learn a bit
about each other's practices . Global collaborations like this can help in solving complicated legal
conflicts that are part of international conflicts and cross country boundaries. This also allows the
exchange of legal information and resources, making it easier for legal professionals to stay up to
date.

There are also online legal forums and committees like World Lawyers Forum and American Bar
Association’s online platforms provide spaces for lawyers to exchange theri ideas across the
world and help in improving their connections and networking. There are also global legal
database like World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII), which provide free access to legal
material from around the world.

Regulatory and Ethical Frameworks: -

With the increasing use of technology in the legal practice, rules and standards have been
established to counter current challenges. Domestic and international professional bar
associations like the American Bar Association, the European Union's General Data Protection
Regulation, and the International Bar Association have implemented codes for the ethical
utilization of technology by attorneys.

The ABA Model Rules emphasize technical proficiency of attorneys and confidentiality of client
information during electronic communication. Accordingly, the use of such information is
protected under the GDPR that provides a strict code of data protection law on law firms, among
them being keeping data in secure conditions and obtaining adequate consent before being
allowed to handle client information.

Courts and other jurisdictions also set ethics on the use of AI in court decisions, with a focus on
transparency, fairness, and accountability. Regulators increasingly monitor usage of legal tech to
prevent bias and adherence to professional ethics guidelines. Side by side with the technological
innovation, the frameworks have to be upgraded to react to developing issues as a consequence
of technological developments.

Case Studies and Real-World Applications: -

Some of the real-life examples capture the advantage and the moral challenge of technology to
law. A good example was the application of predictive analytics for criminal sentencing. In the
U.S., recidivism and sentencing have been predicted using AI-based risk assessment technology.
Evidence has indicated that the tools were discriminatory against minority groups on
discriminatory training data. This illustration is a reminder of the appropriate use of AI in the
judicial system.

Contract management through blockchain technology is another instance. Autonomous

Besides, the hacking of law firms has also made internet security a necessity. In 2017, a law firm
was hacked by a data breach in which confidential client information were exposed, causing
them huge reputational damage and legal repercussions. The episode made the deployment of
good cybersecurity tools in the practice of law a necessity.

The aforementioned case studies illustrate the manner in which legal technology must be applied
responsibly, with innovation and ethics being combined to make legal proceedings equitable and
secure.

Future Perspective: -

A lawyer's position in a technology-driven world is changing noticeably as they seem to find a

Using Technological Advancements

Using AI helps in legal research, document review, predicting outcomes which makes the case
preparation faster as these works take a lot of time if done using a traditional method and more
efficiently as these are the very basic things that are required to take any case further.For
example, it can collect similar and relevant cases available on the internet and deliver reasonable
judgments and predict the outcome of the particular case for which judgment is being sought by
the lawyer. This aids in efficiency in work and more attention to the case or work. This method
also helps in providing quality legal services to the clients.
Ethical Challenges And Responsibilities: -

As AI becomes more integrated and used in the field of law there is a high possibility of the legal
practitioner being biased towards using AI for almost every task related to the case as it makes
work easy and makes the person lazy when it comes to working for long hours and makes the
practitioner lazy and inefficient. Other concerns of using AI is the danger of the data getting
leaked, so the legal practitioner must navigate and be careful about the data leak and must ensure
the privacy of data. These drawbacks can affect the professional and he must ensure that the
technologies that they use abide by the ethical standards and do not compromise client trust and
provide good quality of work while safeguarding it from any third party.

For good usage of AI firstly the lawyer should be educated with the ongoing advancements and
new tools developed in the AI category. Legal professionals are now expected to possess a level
of technological competence as part of their ethical obligations, reflecting the importance of
staying informed about developments in both law and technology.

To conclude with, in an era of AI becoming one of the main aspects of the law profession, the
legal practitioner must adopt certain ethical measures like fair use of AI as overuse of AI or
misuse of AI can lead to certain negative outcomes that were mentioned.This fair use of AI also
keeps the value of the profession intact and works as a benefit rather than a disadvantage.

Conclusion:

Legal ethics in the age of technology has equal amount of challenges and opportunities for the
legal profession. The use or inculcation of technology into legal practice or legal work increases
efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility, but at the same time raises ethical concerns regarding data
security, privacy, algorithmic bias and competence. Legal experts need to comprehend the moral
implications of technology on confidential relationships, confidentiality, and general professional
behavior in order to uphold the clients trust and also the respect afforded to the profession.

Yet, these challenges also create opportunities by strengthening legal technology responsibility.
Lawyers should amplify their efforts in the services they render, thus facilitating access to
justice, and at the same time, maintain ethical standards with due regard to one's responsibility in
the digital age. Finally, it is of utmost importance that innovation and ethical professional
responsibilities be weighed against each other in order to safeguard client trust and the integrity
of the justice system in the digital age.

To conclude, modern technology needs to face a controlled approach to artificial intelligence that
has both challenges and opportunities offered by technological growth, the care of which should
be adopted by the legal practitioners to amend their ethical standards in those areas where
application of artificial intelligence falls short of some basic guidelines. Going forward, legal
ethical consciousness should be instilled and nurtured through education to sustain the enduring
essence and prestige of the legal profession.