D.C. Bar Calls Out E-Discovery Vendors in the District

http://ow.ly/ca8by

An article by Sean Doherty posted on law.com in the law technology news section.

The article discuses a Washington D.C. Bar Ethics Committee opinion (Opinion 362) which restricts eDiscovery services providers and prohibits them from activities that are determined to be the "practice of law".  A link to the opinion is provided in the article.

The article states, "The ethics committee did not define the activities of e-discovery vendors that constitute the practice of law, but the Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law recently issued a detailed opinion (21-12, Jan. 12, 2012) on the matter, explaining what activities conducted by e-discovery vendors constitute the practice of law in the context of the unauthorized practice of law, prohibited by D.C. Bar Rule 49."  Links to the referenced opinions are provided in the article.

The article further states, "The ethics committee fashioned three governing principles:

1. E-discovery vendors must be located in the District or advertise that they will service a discovery project in the District.

2. E-discovery vendors that provide lawyers for document review in the District must comply with Rule 49 and the committee's Opinion 6-99...

3. E-discovery vendors that are not otherwise authorized to practice law in the District of Columbia may not provide legal advice to their clients and may not hold themselves out, or any attorneys on their staff, as authorized to practice law in the District if indeed they are not.

Narrative discussion around each principle is provided in the article, and a link to the referenced Opinion 6-99 is also provided.  The specific limitations are outlined, including provisions that require attorneys with an existing attorney-client relationship to be involved in certain portions of services that might be provided by an eDiscovery services company.