Tom Wilkinson, a member of Cozen O'Connor's
Commercial Litigation Department, was quoted in the
ABA Litigation News article, "Virtual Law Offices Create Ethical Concerns." Lawyers are now practicing in a "virtual law office" (VLO), but doing so triggers certain ethical concerns. Tom believes, "Limiting lawyer-client interaction to electronic messaging may not fully satisfy the lawyer's duty." Tom also expressed concerns that "protecting client confidential information can be more challenging when operating in a VLO environment. The VLO lawyer should not bypass the usual safeguards law firms employ in protecting client files from inadvertent disclosure, including effective password protection and personal device policies."