ABA Opinion 477R and ALTA Best Practices, in plain English.
Lawyers: Model Rule 1.6(c) and Opinion 477R
Model Rule 1.6(c) requires a lawyer to make reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access to client information. ABA Formal Opinion 477R (2017) applies that to electronic communication: unencrypted email is generally acceptable for routine matters, but lawyers must assess sensitivity and use stronger protection — encryption, secure portals, or other means — for sensitive information, and must warn clients about the risks of insecure channels. Comment 8 to Rule 1.1 adds that competence includes understanding the benefits and risks of relevant technology. Most state bars have adopted both.
Title and escrow: ALTA Best Practices Pillar 3
Pillar 3 asks title and settlement companies to adopt a written privacy and information security program to protect non-public personal information: physical and network security, access controls, encryption of NPI in transit, training, incident response, and oversight of service providers. Underwriters and lenders increasingly require certification against it.
Wire fraud guidance
The FBI, ALTA, state bars and real-estate commissions all say the same thing: never change wire instructions based on email alone; verify by phone using a known number. The guidance assumes a human will remember; PXCMail puts the reminder on the message and the warning on the inbound request.
Litigation holds
Once litigation is reasonably anticipated, relevant communications must be preserved. Courts have sanctioned firms whose email retention quietly deleted them. A hold must be enforceable, not a memo.
What PXCMail’s addendum commits to
- Encryption in transit enforced; locked delivery for messages your policy marks sensitive.
- Inbound impersonation and payment-change detection with visible warnings.
- Outbound wire instructions always locked with a verify-by-phone notice.
- Legal hold by matter or custodian; six-year immutable archive; exports in e-discovery formats.
- Confidentiality and breach notification within 72 hours of determination.