Changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct adopted this fall by the Illinois Supreme Court reflect the growing importance of technology and how attorneys use it in their practices.

The changes address outsourcing attorney work, technology and attorney competence, lead generation services, communications with potential clients, and disclosure of information to prevent conflicts of interest, among other issues. The court also adopted rules allowing lawyers to advise clients about using, growing, and selling medical cannabis even though it is a federally controlled substance (see LawPulse, December 2014 Illinois Bar Journal) and requiring prosecutors to reveal post-conviction exculpatory evidence (see LawPulse, September 2015 Journal). The majority of the changes are effective January 1. They are posted on the supreme court website.

For example, comment 8 to Rule 1.1, which addresses attorney competence, now says that attorneys must remain abreast of "changes in…relevant technology," including their risks and benefits. Charles J. Northrup, ISBA general counsel, believes that staying up to date on the technology used in your practice is the "minimum threshold." But given that the rule speaks in terms of "relevant technology," it might extend further. Find out more in the December Illinois Bar Journal.