Under the guidance of director, Jan L. Jacobowitz, PREP fellows Vincent Calarco and Elizabeth Gil recently presented a CLE ethics training at the annual Partnership for Professionalism program. The training addressed social media legal ethics issues arising in areas such as spoliation of social media evidence, “friend requesting” represented parties, and social media discovery.
“It was great to engage with so many local attorneys and judges about legal ethics and issues that professionals will face in our practice,” said Calarco. “That engagement was really what made the presentation come alive.”
Gil agreed. “This was an extremely rewarding experience. I enjoyed presenting to such a distinguished group of attorneys, judges, and law school students. Because legal ethics involving social media is a relatively new field, it really captured the attention of the professionals and sparked creative discussion.”
PREP also traveled to Broward to present a technology CLE at the Law Alumni Association’s Judicial Reception. PREP interns Marissa Shulman, Haley Moss, and Matthew Dennison addressed cybersecurity, best practices for the use of technology, and mindfulness for lawyers.
Shulman had high praise for the event. “It was wonderful getting to meet and hear from UM alumni working in various fields of law,” she said. “Their unique perspectives on the ethical issues based on their Miami Law education were fascinating.”
Moss had similar feelings. “I enjoyed getting to present to Miami Law alumni, who talked about how their time at our law school affected ethics and its evolving changes with technology, and being able to meet so many of our distinguished alumni was an honor in itself.”
Dennison concluded the presentation by demonstrating how mindfulness can affect ethical decision-making. “Researching effective communication strategies for online and in person legal interactions has been eye opening. The 24/7 world created by technology bombards lawyers with information at an incredible pace, and it is important to be aware of mindful decision-making.”
PREP is an award-winning program, which develops continuing legal education ethics trainings for the legal community. The program combines the attributes of an ethics institute and an ethics clinic, and has dedicated hundreds of student hours to public service and has educated thousands of members of the Bench & Bar. During CLE trainings, students are often able to make a positive impact on attendees by prompting them to consider and reconsider their approaches to challenging ethical dilemmas arising in the practice of law.
In 2012, PREP was recognized by the American Bar Association with its E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award—the leading national award recognizing programs and projects contributing to the understanding and development of professionalism among attorneys 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.
