Discussing technology competence among lawyers is always an interesting conversation. When we were discussing adopting the technology competence amendment to the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct, one lawyer indicated that he didn’t want to learn how to use Twitter and shouldn’t be forced to by a rule or comment. My unspoken reaction was “You don’t have to learn about Twitter, unless Twitter is involved in one of the matters you are handling and then you may be ethically required to learn about it.” (Which is why almost every family law practitioner now knows how to save Facebook and other social media posts to be used at trial.)

Of course there are some technology skills you are required to have to practice law today, such as making certain client confidences are not placed at risk by improper use of technology tools.

My contribution to the discussion this month is Technology Competence for Every Lawyer. It is not comprehensive, as that would take many more pages and would likely differ based on a lawyer’s type of practice. But I’d like to think it is a good starting place for “every lawyer” who might want to learn more about technology competence. According to Bob Ambrogi’s LawSites blog, 39 states have now adopted some version of the ethics rule requiring technology competence.