If a site or line was destroyed, the communication would take another route until it arrived at its intended destination. Under this protocol, electronic information, whether a message, picture, a sound or the like, is broken down into smaller coded packets. These packets are transmitted through networked servers until they reach their destination where they are reassembled. Anyone with a personal computer and a modem can access the Internet through a standard telephone line. Every day lawyers use myriad ways to communicate with clients, other lawyers, the courts and the public at large.
Lawyers speak in the office, on the street, in the hallway of the courthouse, and on the phone.
They use land-line based phones, cordless phones and cellular phones. They send letters and other documents through the United States Postal Service, and by overnight delivery services such as UPS and Federal Express. In recent years, the fax machine has become a ubiquitous presence in both private and government offices and even in the home. All of these means of communication are subject to the lawyer's duties of confidentiality and truthfulness. E-mail does not appear to differ materially from current means of communication employed by lawyers to the extent that a new set of rules is required, or such that its use should be discouraged.