No, I Am Not a Cat

A lawyer on a Zoom videoconference with other attorneys has to take a phone call during the meeting. But he forgets to press mute as he begins to discuss details of a high-stakes negotiation with the person on the phone. Lots of arm waving from the other Zoom participants ensues, but to no avail. Also, the Zoom host had left the room, leaving no one with the power to mute the attorney. Did the loquacious lawyer breach his duties to his client? What were the duties, if any, of the innocent lawyer-bystanders who were now in possession of very significant information? What about the opposing party in the real estate transaction, were she to be presented with this information? In his April Illinois Bar Journal ethics column, “No, I Am Not a Cat,” Illinois State Bar Association General Counsel Charles Northrup examines this situation—a new twist on the old “errant fax” issue made more unique by now-widely used technology.

Read more in the April issue of the Illinois Bar Journal.