Since NCBP has immediate access to state and local bar leaders who can urge their councils to discuss these issues, she encourages bar leaders to appoint a representative from their associations who is already an expert in ethics and the Internet. Bar leaders are also interested in how their members can use technology and the Internet to make legal services more efficient and accessible, according to Debra Matlock of Downers Grove, Ill., vice president of the National Bar Association, who attended the e-Lawyering Conference. Matlock is director of business development and strategic alliances for Motorola. Also, the issue of unauthorized practice of law emerges as many Web sites offer legal services from non-lawyers. Determining the authorities in a global domain can be confusing.
Most people believe that if it's on the Internet, it's free.
The proliferation of such Web sites convinced the ABA that it needed to create the task force, explains Will Hornsby Jr. of Chicago, staff counsel for ABA Division for Legal Services and a conference speaker. In May, TECH 2000 convened again in New Hampshire during the Law Practice Management section meeting to discuss an action plan based on the recommendations.