NCSB Journal Summer 2026

Here, the same considerations apply despite there being no successor counsel. Rule 1.16(d) and the various formal ethics opin ions issued by the Ethics Committee clearly require Lawyer to provide Client with a copy of Client’s final, executed will. However, under these circumstances, Lawyer is not required to provide all variations of the same document (to wit: Client’s will) in Lawyer’s possession, including any incomplete or unexecuted working drafts of the will. The electronic, editable version of the will is a mixture of the lawyer’s work product, an incomplete version of the will, and a backup of the final, executed will. Were there no other version of the will in Lawyer’s posses sion, Lawyer would be required to provide Client with a copy of the will (with the excep tion of any work product or drafting notes on the will); though Lawyer could choose to pro vide the most recent draft of the will in either paper/hard-copy format or electronic format, including a non-editable version (e.g., a PDF). However, because Lawyer previously provided Client with a copy of the final, exe cuted will, Lawyer is not required to provide Client with the editable, electronic version of thewill. The conclusion drawn in this opinion applies to the situation and circumstances articulated herein, specifically the drafting of a will for a client. A similar conclusion may be drawn in other practice contexts; however, a lawyer will need to exercise legal and profes sional judgment when deciding whether the electronic, editable version of a document created during representation must be pro duced. For example, if a client retains a lawyer to draft a template document (e.g., a lease) to be used repeatedly in the client’s business, the editable version of the drafted document is the product for which the lawyer

was retained, and a lawyer could not refuse to provide the client with the editable version of that document, although the lawyer may need to take precautions to ensure confiden tial information is not shared via the docu ment. See Opinion #2. Inquiry #2: May Lawyer provide Client with the elec tronic, editable version of the will? Opinion #2: Yes, provided Lawyer ensures the elec tronic file does not contain any other client’s confidential information. A lawyer has a duty to keep confidential the information acquired during the repre sentation of a client, as well as a duty to take reasonable measures to protect against the inadvertent disclosure or unauthorized access to confidential information. Rules 1.6(a) and (c). Electronic files, such as Microsoft Word files, often contain embedded, hidden infor mation reflecting the prior use of the file (e.g., metadata relevant to changes made to the document, history of prior versions, etc.); this information may contain privileged or confi dential client information. See 2009 FEO1. The Ethics Committee has previously addressed a lawyer’s professional responsibili ty when sending electronic files that may con tain confidential client information in the file’s metadata, concluding that “a lawyer who sends an electronic communication must take reasonable precautions to prevent the disclosure of confidential information, including information in metadata, to unin tended recipients.” Id. In drafting a will or any number of docu ments for clients, lawyers often use templates or prior work to serve as a starting point for a current client’s requirements. These tem

plates and previously created documents con tain metadata reflecting the prior content of the document unless the metadata is removed, even if the names of the prior client or other client-related information are removed from the text of the document. Until removed, this information—which a lawyer is required to keep confidential pur suant to Rule 1.6—could be accessed by a subsequent recipient of the document, there by exposing the confidential client informa tion contained in the metadata. Accordingly, if Lawyer wants to send the editable, electronic file of a document con taining Client’s will, Lawyer must take rea sonable steps to ensure sending the electronic document will not transmit another client’s confidential information with the document; such steps include, but are not limited to, ex amining and removing any client-identifying information contained in the file’s metadata or removing prior versions of the document from the file. If Lawyer does not have the re sources or capabilities to examine the electronic document’s properties and ensure the file does not contain other client’s confidential infor mation (via metadata, prior versions, etc.), Lawyer may not provide the electronic, ed itable version of a document to a client. n Need Ethics Advice? After consulting the Rules of Professional Conduct and the relevant ethics opinions, if you continue to have questions about your profession al responsibility, any lawyer may request informal advice from the ethics department of the State Bar at ethicsadvice@ncbar.gov.

Proposed Amendments (cont.)

(a) For servicemembers, the application fee is one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500). (b) For spouses of servicemembers, there is no application fee. (4) Background Check. Upon receipt of the application described in subsection (1)(a) above, the Board shall conduct a background check of the applicant. n

(ii) has not been revoked or had disci pline imposed by any State; (iii) does not have an investigation relating to unprofessional conduct pending in any state relating to it; and (iv) has not been voluntarily surren dered while under investigation for unprofessional conduct in any state. (3) Application Fee.

of the General Statutes. (c) Covered License. A professional license that, with respect to a scope of practice- (i) is in good standing with the licens ing authority that issued such license;

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