The tension between the public’s right to know and an individual’s right to privacy has always been contentious; but recent developments like E-filing and the posting of public records on the Internet have made matters worse. For example, thirty years ago one had to go to the local courthouse and request to view a document before one could potentially discover confidential information. Nowadays, anyone with an Internet connection can sit in the comfort of their own home and view thousands of public documents looking for confidential information and, unfortunately in far too many instances, that information will be there for the taking. Some of these breaches will be due to the improper virtual blackout of text which doesn’t remove the underlying confidential information, the incomplete redaction of documents because they were never reviewed, or the complete failure to redact anything at all. The missteps are often a result of a lack of time, a lack of knowhow, or a lack of concern because, in short, redacting documents can be a real headache.
Let’s deal with the lack of concern first. RPC Rule 1.4 Confidentiality is in play. You have an affirmative duty to preserve and maintain client confidences to include when filing E-documents that will be made public via being posted on the Internet. Failure to do so could be a serious problem.
For the remaining two problems of lack of time and/or knowhow, help is available in the form of redaction software.
Redact-It is a program that can redact any document format (Word, WordPerfect, PDF, etc.), actually removes the redacted content from the document, does not transfer underlying metadata to the redacted file, allows for text and image redaction, and can automatically add bates numbering. The product also comes with built-in macros that searches for and redacts social security numbers, names, email addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers and the like. You can also create custom macros should you have the need.
This product is worth a look, but as a risk manager, I feel compelled to share one reminder. While such tools can create real efficiencies, Redact-It is just that, a tool. You still should review the final redacted version in order to make certain that the process identified and properly redacted everything that needed to be redacted. I continue to believe there is value in giving any final document a quick once over before letting it go out the door.