2026 Hook, line, and stinker: Phishing, deepfakes and other cybersecurity concerns for lawyers

Cybersecurity threats targeting attorneys have evolved beyond simple password breaches. Professional legal educator Stuart Teicher, Esq. examines how deepfake impersonations, sophisticated phishing schemes, and metaverse vulnerabilities create specific ethics violations under the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Learning objectives:

• Exploring the intersection between cybersecurity, deepfakes, phishing, and supervision (Rule 5.3).
• Understanding the danger of facial recognition, the cybersecurity issue of imposters, and the need for competence (Rule 1.1).
• Learning how the increased prevalence of more casual communication styles in the practice affects our ability to satisfy Rule 1.4 (Communication) and increases cybersecurity risks.
• An explanation of the metaverse, and a discussion about how spatial audio could create confidentiality problems (Rule 1.6).
• A few issues about generative AI, including the transparency (Rule 2.1), and the reason for the never-ending issue of hallucinations.

Speaker: Stuart Teicher, The CLE Performer

Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.