Ethical walls software for small law firms: what software can enforce

What a screen is, under the Model Rules

Model Rule 1.0(k) defines "screened" as isolating a lawyer from any participation in a matter through the timely imposition of procedures reasonably adequate to protect information the isolated lawyer must protect. The rules then say when a screen can keep one lawyer's conflict from being imputed to the whole firm:

• Lateral hires, Rule 1.10(a)(2). A conflict that arises from a lawyer's work at a prior firm can be screened if the lawyer is timely screened, gets no part of the fee from the matter, and the former client gets written notice, with certifications of compliance on request.
• Former government lawyers, Rule 1.11. Screening plus fee and notice conditions apply when a lawyer moves from government service to private practice.
• Former judges, arbitrators, mediators and law clerks, Rule 1.12. Similar screening conditions apply.
• Prospective clients, Rule 1.18(d). If a lawyer received disqualifying information from someone who did not become a client, the firm may still act for the other side when the lawyer took reasonable steps to limit that information and is timely screened, with notice to the prospective client.

States do not all follow the Model Rules here. Some do not permit non-consensual screening of lateral lawyers at all, and some add conditions. Read your own rule before relying on a screen, and get informed consent where the rule requires it.

What a defensible screen usually includes

1. Timing. The screen goes up when the conflict is identified, ideally at intake or on the hire date, not after the screened person has worked on the matter.
2. A written memo to everyone in the firm: who is screened, from which matter, and that no one may discuss it with them.
3. Access controls over physical files, document storage, email folders and practice software.
4. Fee separation where the rule requires that the screened lawyer receive no part of the fee.
5. Notice to the affected former or prospective client where the rule requires it.
6. A record of when the screen started, who set it, any change, and when it ended.

Software helps with items 3 and 6. The rest is firm policy, and it is the part that disqualification motions usually test.

How matter screens work in Draftiro (limited pilot)

• Roles. Each member is an owner, admin, attorney, paralegal or view-only user.
• Restricted matters. A matter can be open to the whole firm or restricted to the members listed on it.
• Screens. An owner or admin screens a named member from a matter and must give a reason. The screened member cannot open the matter's documents, chats, drafts, tasks or file search results. The rule is enforced in the database itself, not only by hiding buttons, and the same check applies to Draftiro's AI features, so an AI answer cannot pull text from a matter the person is screened from.
• Lifting a screen also requires a reason.
• Access log. Screens created and lifted, access granted or removed, and role changes are recorded with the person who made the change and the time.

Screens matter only when more than one person shares an account; the self-serve Starter and Solo plans are single-seat. Firms that want to try screens can write to support@draftiro.com. Run a conflict check workflow first: a screen is a response to a conflict you have already found.

What no software does for you

A screen inside one application does not reach the hallway, the shared drive, a personal email account or a paper file. It does not write the notice letter, decide whether your jurisdiction allows the screen, or apportion fees. The Trust page describes how Draftiro handles firm data generally. Treat the access control and the log as evidence that your policy was followed, and keep the policy itself, the notices and the certifications in the matter file. The Formal Opinion 512 entry covers the separate confidentiality questions that AI tools raise.