Law Times

Law Times • June 8, 2015 Page 11 www.lawtimesnews.com Confidentiality key to bring-your-own-device policies BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN For Law Times aw firms need to keep client con- fidentiality at the heart of any bring-your-own-device policy, according to a Toronto employ- ment lawyer. A growing number of law firms have embraced the concept of allowing em- ployees to use the mobile technology of their choice for work purposes. "The caveat to all of it is security," says George Avraam, a partner at Baker & McKenzie LLP and chairman of the firm's Toronto labour, employment, and employee benefits practice group. "The emphasis of the policy must be for the lawyers to keep in mind that al- though they are using a personal device, the information in the device is not per- sonal. It belongs to the client and the con- fidential nature of that client information is paramount. That's the single most im- portant aspect of any policy," he adds. According to Avraam, firms need to strike a balance between f lexibility and convenience for lawyers on the one hand and protection of client data on the other. "I think most law firms have embraced [bring your own device] and most law- yers have embraced it, too, on the under- standing that you might lose some liberty when you bring a personal device into the workplace and you want to put clients' in- formation on it," he says. At Baker & McKenzie, lawyers who bring their own devices must set them up with a very short window before go- ing into lock mode in order to minimize the chances of them falling into another person's hands while accessible. The firm also requires heightened password con- trols. "The standard four-digit password that the iPhone asks for is just not on," says Avraam. Lou Milrad, a Toronto technology lawyer, says law firms have a wide vari- ety of options when it comes to setting the parameters of their bring-your-own- device policy. Some prefer to limit the choice of devices available to employees in the hope that it will cut the burden on the firm's technology support teams. Others want some kind of audit trail in order to track business-related use of the device. "Law firms will tend to want to have a wall between the sensitive informa- tion and the employee's information, but that's a two-way street. You don't want to do anything that could invade their pri- vacy because that could become a big HR issue," says Milrad. And fully separating the data, accord- ing to Milrad, raises further questions about remote wipes of the information, which is something most firms insist on primarily to guard against the loss of confidential information in the event of loss or theft. "When you do the wipe, does the em- ployee data have to go as well?" he asks. Whatever specific policies law firms settle on, he says it's crucial their employ- ees understand exactly what the rules are and the reasons for them. "You've got to put a framework around it," says Milrad. "When you introduce a whole new set of rules, they really need to be articulated well in writing and staff and employees need to be educated and trained on what they should and should not do. Lawyers tend to have a short attention span when it comes to administrative matters, but you need to take the time to properly ed- ucate them on the rules and they need to sign an agreement to abide by them." Doug MacLeod, the principal of the MacLeod Law Firm, a labour and em- ployment firm with offices in Toronto and Barrie, Ont., has embraced bring your own device at his practice. "Given the cost of phones and phone plans, it's a very minor cost to incur," he says. MacLeod places "no restrictions" on the type of device his lawyers use as part of the firm's policy but he insists on own- ing the device and the phone number. "One of the main issues from my per- spective is to maintain the confidentiality of clients' information. Owning the device means I can make sure there are the prop- er security features on the phone," he says. In addition, he says the arrangement gives him peace of mind in the event the employment relationship deteriorates. "If the lawyer leaves, I want to be able to manage the transition," says MacLeod. Clients have three options when a lawyer leaves a law firm: stick with the departing lawyer at the new firm; stay with the firm and move to another lawyer there; or change to a lawyer with a third- party law firm. "As an employer, I like to be able to have the conversation with the client first," says MacLeod. "If I don't own the phone number, then the client might just call the lawyer on his or her phone when they're gone and there won't have been any solicitation. If a cli- ent calls a lawyer, that's not solicitation; it's just answering their phone. If a client has basically dealt with one lawyer, the chances are they will follow the depart- ing lawyer, but if it's more of a firm client dealing with a number of lawyers, there is a much better chance of retaining them if I get to them first." LT FOCUS law.utoronto.ca/ExecutiveLLM GPLLM Global Professional Master of Laws [Get a Master of Laws] Because business issues are legal issues. So if you want to get ahead in business, get the degree that gets you there faster. ONE YEAR – PART - TIME – NO THESIS – FOR L AWYERS AND NON - LAWYERS Untitled-8 1 2015-03-02 11:15 AM L Bell ad program sparks flurry of legal challenges BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN For Law Times report by Canada's privacy watchdog has left Bell Canada's targeted-advertising initiative virtually dead in the water, but the company's relevant ad program looks to be on track to live on thanks to a series of legal actions launched during its short life. The office of the privacy commissioner opened its investigation into Bell's program A See Company page 12

• Cover