Here is my recent Daily Record column. My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.
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Puerto Rico Reboots Ethics Rules: Tech Innovation Required
The times they are a-changin’ and State Bars are struggling to keep up. Technology is advancing more rapidly than ever, with software powered by artificial intelligence (AI) impacting the way that work gets done. Some lawyers are increasingly experimenting with these tools, while others are reticent to adapt, fearing the risk of implementation missteps or inaccurate results.
Bar association ethics guidance has helped to pave the way for more informed technology adoption, but with the exponential rates of innovation occurring, more drastic measures are needed to bridge the gap for tech-averse lawyers.
Enter the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, which updated its Rules of Conduct in mid-June to include forward-thinking amendments that usher in a technology-first era of law practice. The new rules are effective on January 1, 2026.
You can find ER-2025-02 in its entirety (and in Spanish) here.
First, the Court tackled technology competence, but not by revising the comments to Rule 1.1 (Duty of Competence) to incorporate technology competence, as 40 other jurisdictions have done. Instead, Puerto Rico’s Rules were updated to include an entirely new rule devoted to technology competence standards.
With the assistance of ChatGPT, I translated the Court’s Resolution, and determined that the new rule, Rule 1.19 provides that: “Persons who practice law must acquire the necessary skills and maintain reasonable knowledge about technological developments that may impact legal practice and notarial functions. This includes the duty to use technology with diligence and awareness of its benefits and risks in order to offer competent and effective legal representation or notarial services.”
The Court’s definition of technology competence is helpful, offering insight into the specific ethical obligations lawyers must meet. These include having “a reasonable understanding of technology’s capabilities, benefits, limitations, and risks; verifying the accuracy of its results; and maintaining independent professional judgment, without expecting that legal practitioners be experts in all technologies.”
The Court explained that a reasonable understanding of how tools function is required, or in the alternative, lawyers can “seek specialized guidance.” Diligence is required and entails using tools responsibly. Examples of irresponsible use include the “failure to review an electronic notification, submitting documents without verifying the content generated by technological tools, or delegating tasks to such tools without proper supervision…”
Another notable new rule adopted in the same order relates to law firm ownership by non-lawyers. By promulgating Rule 5.1(b), Puerto Rico joined Arizona and the District of Columbia in permitting lawyers to work in offices where non-lawyers hold an ownership interest.
Rule 5.1(b) states: “A person who practices law may be authorized to work in a law firm in which a non-lawyer holds an equity ownership interest in the entity” as long as a number of conditions are met. Those requirements are primarily designed to ensure that the non-lawyer does not practice law or impact the professional judgment of lawyers in the firm. Client notification regarding non-lawyer owners and the constraints on their role in the firm is also required.
The impact of the law firm ownership rule change is as yet unknown, but it’s likely to be substantial. Non-lawyer ownership of law firms is already the norm in other countries, including England and Australia, and has drastically changed the legal landscape in those jurisdictions. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes a reality across the United States as well.
Puerto Rico is leading the way with these rule revisions. Its approach is a wake-up call to other jurisdictions that have settled for half-measures. Instead of tweaking comments or issuing more guidance, the Court updated the rules to reflect how lawyers actually work in 2025. By requiring technology competence and opening the door to non-lawyer ownership guardrailed by thoughtful limitations, Puerto Rico acknowledges a fundamental truth about modern law practice: keeping up with change is part of the job.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney, author, journalist, and Principal Legal Insight Strategist at MyCase, CASEpeer, Docketwise, and LawPay, practice management and payment processing tools for lawyers (AffiniPay companies). She is the nationally-recognized author of “Cloud Computing for Lawyers” (2012) and co-authors “Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier” (2010), both published by the American Bar Association. She also co-authors “Criminal Law in New York,” a Thomson Reuters treatise. She writes regular columns for Above the Law, ABA Journal, and The Daily Record, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. She is an ABA Legal Rebel, and is listed on the Fastcase 50 and ABA LTRC Women in Legal Tech. She can be contacted at niki.black@mycase.com.