QUESTION: Attorney’s firm rents office space to an attorney who is not a member of the firm and is not “of counsel.” Attorney´s firm operates on the same computer network, therefore they can e-mail messages to one another and all have access to all client files stored on the computer. Because the office-sharing attorney and the firm have some mutual clients Attorney would like to add the office-sharing attorney to the network. Although the office-sharing attorney would only be able to look at e-mail specifically directed to that attorney, it would be possible to look at the firm´s client files. The firm and the office-sharing attorney would agree not to look at each other´s files. May Attorney´s firm allow the office-sharing attorney to join the network under this agreement? If not, would the result be different if the office-sharing attorney became “of counsel” to the firm? If not, should the paper files of Attorney´s firm be locked so that the office-sharing attorney cannot gain access to them?
ANSWER: Attorney may not allow the office-sharing counsel to join Attorney´s computer network without blocking access to Attorney´s client files. The result would be different if that attorney were “of counsel” to Attorney´s firm. Office-sharing counsel should not have physical access to Attorney´s paper files at times when those files are unattended.

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