Enthusiastic to start the semester, PREP students, Vince Calarco, Elizabeth Gil, and Luisa Andonie began work a few days early when they joined PREP director, Jan L. Jacobowitz to present a legal ethics CLE at the American Bar Association’s 43rd Annual TIPS Midwinter Symposium on Insurance and Employee Benefits in early January.
Gil, a PREP Fellow, spoke on the dangers of spoliation of evidence relating to social media. “I truly enjoy the PREP program because it allows students the opportunity to present in front of practicing attorneys and learn about hot topic ethics issues from both an academic and real-world perspective," she said.
PREP Fellow Calarco presented on the benefits and risks associated with technology shared his appreciation for the program. "I was beyond grateful to have the opportunity to present on ethical issues on cloud computing for a national audience,” said Calarco. “Technology is constantly changing, and cloud-computing technology has found its way into the legal industry. It is important that lawyers, and judges, have an understanding of the most recent changes in technology."
Andonie, a PREP intern, discussed cybersecurity, emphasizing the need for encryption in different scenarios. “Researching cybersecurity helped me to understand the threats that lawyers face daily in their practices and the precautions that they can take to protect themselves from data breaches,” said Andonie. “The lawyers in the audience shared comments that revealed that translating the precautions to the real world is not always as easy as it seems.”
Overall, the presentation spurred a productive discussion, as the audience interjected questions and comments throughout the presentation. The students were grateful when the ABA TIPS conference chair and several of the attending lawyers commended the students for their informative presentation.
In 2012, PREP was recognized by the ABA with its E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award, the leading national award recognizing programs and projects contributing to the understanding and advancement of professionalism among lawyers and judges. In addition to presenting ethics trainings, throughout the semester PREP students publish blog posts regarding the nation’s newest ethics opinions. The blog, Legal Ethics in Motion, can be found here.
