Competence With Electronically Stored Information: What Does It Mean in the Context of Litigation and How Can Attorneys Achieve It?

Competence is the fundamental principle upon which an attorney’s obligations to her client are based. Rule 1.1 of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides:

“A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.” ¹ABA Model Rules of Prof’l Conduct (hereinafter cited as MRPC), Rule 1.1 (2010).

Attorneys should develop this competence in order to meet their ethical obligations to clients and potential clients.

In addition, an attorney has ethical obligations to third parties, such as adversaries, witnesses, jurors and the ...