Real Metamorphosis or More of the Same: Navigating the Practice of Law in the Wake of Ethics 20/20 - Globalization, New Technologies, and What it Means to Be a Lawyer in These Uncertain Times

On April 4 and 5, 2013, The University of Akron School of Law’s Miller-Becker Center for Professional Responsibility (“MBC”) hosted the symposium, Navigating the Practice of Law in the Wake of Ethics 20/20 – Globalization, New Technologies, and What It Means to Be a Lawyer in These Uncertain Times (Ethics 20/20 – Uncertain Times). The symposium examined the myriad of changes and problems confronting the bar, legal education, and the courts. Although law schools, courts, and the organized bar have provided a steady supply of programs addressing the recent changes confronting the profession and legal education, Ethics 20/20 – Uncertain Times was the first to examine some of these changes after the American Bar Association (ABA) Ethics 20/20 Commission (Ethics 20/20 Commission) concluded its work. The Ethics 20/20 Commission conducted an almost three-year review of the profession’s ethics rules and practice standards in light of new technologies and the increased globalization of the delivery of legal services. Ethics 20/20 – Uncertain Times sought, in part, to better understand the challenges confronting lawyers – or “what it means to be a lawyer in these uncertain times” – and whether the Ethics 20/20 Commission’s recommendations really helped the profession regarding the challenges of globalization, new technologies, and related concerns (e.g., multi-disciplinary practice (“MDP”))