Lane & Waterman attorneys Michael Byrne, Ben Patterson, Joshua McIntyre, and Tim Gulbranson presented at the Scott County Bar Association Last Chance Continuing Legal Education series on Friday, December 18. Part of the CLE focused on ethics, with Byrne moderating the Ethics Panel and McIntyre presenting on Ethics in Technology.

The master of ceremonies for morning portion of the CLE was Scott County Bar Association president, Ben Patterson. “In the legal field, ethics is paramount. With technology changing so quickly, it’s important for attorneys to stay apprised of how it impacts the way we work with our clients,” said Patterson. Patterson, who is also Chair of the CLE Committee, moderated a panel of local attorneys discussing how they approach the valuation of personal injury cases.

Gulbranson presented the annual “Iowa Civil Case Law Update,” which provided attorneys in attendance a summary of all civil law-related Iowa Supreme Court opinions released in 2015.  The presentation included summaries of Court decisions that concern tort, contract, workers’ compensation, and anti-trust law, as well as Court interpretations of Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, the Iowa and U.S. Constitutions, and various state statutes.

McIntyre provided guidance for attorneys based on amendments to the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct that went into effect on October 15 of this year.  Attorneys must remain informed about technology and take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access to client information.  Best practices include encrypting all client data, using digital tokens or fingerprints in addition to passwords, and conducting due diligence in selecting vendors for cloud-based services.

Byrne moderated a panel comprised of Iowa Supreme Court Justice Tom Waterman, Seventh Judicial District Chief Judge Marlita Greve, and District Court Judge Joel Barrows discussing recent amendments to the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct. Amendments address fee sharing, communicating with clients, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, prospective clients, inadvertent disclosure of information, and new rules for solo practitioners.