"plaintext email in the great outdoors is not ethical" DEPENDS

I actually do lectures on legal ethics, and have had some reason to check out the various bar association rulings, etc.

I disagree with the blank statement in the subject line, just as any blank statement would be wrong.

Conversations in the outdoors could be snooped by long range mikes and cameras, faxes go awry, etc. Even handing a document from one person to another is subject to many of the same techniques, at least theoretically.

The requirement, I believe, is to "make the punishment fit the crime" and take measures appropriate to the situation - measuring likelihood (not just possibility) of disclosure versus the harm if it occurs versus the cost to the client of moving to alternative means and how they stack up on this same evaluation.

If the balance is deemed "reasonable," I think the conduct will be deemed "ethical." But all situations are slightly different, and your mileage may vary.

All generalizations are wrong......<grin>

Roland J. Cole, Executive Director
Software Patent Institute
11 South Meridian, #1313
INDIANAPOLIS IN 46204-3535
cole[_at_]spi.org; www.spi.org
317-231-7799; fax 317-231-7433 Received on Thu Aug 07 2003 - 00:26:26 GMT