Canadian Lawyer

22 N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m those seeking more flexibility and look- ing to reduce overhead. Ha-Redeye works virtually from wherever he happens to be, including in spaces he occupies as a part- time instructor. "Multiple things are hap- pening at any point in time because I don't want the physical trappings of an office and I don't really have one," says the Toronto lawyer. In addition to flexibility, there's cost savings — an important consideration in a profession up against more and more chal- lenges. Ha-Redeye argues that advances in technology have made the digital docu- ment more secure, to a degree, than a physical file, although he agrees there are some files that should be contained and kept off the cloud. And he's aware that while the rules of professional con- duct don't call for perfection, they require him to be reasonable in his approach. As such, he is constantly aware of the need to maintain client confidentiality. When he enters into an agreement with a cli- ent, they determine how they will com- municate and where. A café, for instance, isn't an ideal meeting place, so he'll make arrangements to use offices in chambers or on a per diem basis. "There are ways to address the issues of confidentiality as long as the practitioner is aware of the risk and takes reasonable steps to address them," he says. "The mobile lawyer has greater ability to customize the services to the client" and provide the level of security appropriate to the client's needs. There are a variety of products avail- able to keep the information on mobile systems safe. They include encrypting devices, requiring passwords, and limit- ing the amount of time the device remains active. There are also products available allowing professional information to be divided from personal information. In a situation where the lawyer leaves the firm, any work-related information can be cleared from the device while keeping the personal information intact. Containerization can be used to securely contain the data on the phone. Information technology departments or specialists can dictate what application is used on a phone to access corporate e-mail. That, in turn, can provide restric- tions, such as the inability to copy and paste information from the correspon- dence, prevent screen shots, and control how an attachment is used. The problem, says Walls, is that the products, which are still in their infancy, are cumbersome and hard to use. Windows 10 contains some contain- ment concepts and mobile management. So far, the service is limited because the servers are located in the United States. But data centres are being built in Toronto and Quebec to accommodate needs in Canada. Office 365 is coming out with data manage- ment capability as well. Sometimes, however, the tools are there, but they're not being used. David Whelan, who runs the Great Library and internal information for the Law Society of Upper Canada, is surprised to see many lawyers not turning on full disc encryption, which is built into operating systems on most devices. He suggests passwords and PIN numbers are also not used as effectively as they could be. A one-password-fits-all approach could be a recipe for disaster. The simple use of a unique password L AW O F F I C E M A N A G E M E N T RideoutMaybe_CL_Nov_15.indd 1 2015-10-30 8:54 AM

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