LegalWeek19 Former Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and Loretta Lynch present the opening keynotes at Legal Week 2019 at the New York Hilton Hotel. The panel was moderated by Molly Miller, ALM chief content officer. (Photo by David Handschuh/ALM)

 

Legalweek 2019 kicked off with a keynote that included speakers from the highest level of the government: former U.S. Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales, who served in the Bush administration from 2005 to 2007, and Loretta Lynch, who served in the Obama administration from 2015 to 2017.

Both former attorneys general discussed a variety of topics, including how technology has impacted the legal industry, what they think of current privacy challenges facing consumers today, and how the next attorney general should manage the department. Here are highlights from the talk:

A Need for Tech Education

Both Gonzales and Lynch agreed that because of the rapid pace of technology, today's legal industry is far different from the one they started in. "Lawyers should be prepared; no longer is it enough to be a wise counselor," Gonzales said. "To know the law you need to have IT skills, [and] you need to start learning those skills at law school."

He also advised lawyers and law students "to learn the importance of law for or about technology," adding that "the value now of businesses is not in brick and mortars, it is in intellectual property" and digital assets.

For Lynch, learning how to be flexible is as important as learning IT skills in this age of rapid change. "Technology changes rapidly … someone could learn a skill and be steeped in it only to find new methods and means" are the norm.

"So what I think is important … is to give [lawyers] mental flexibility to deal with those issues and the changing nature of the field."

Having the Privacy Conversation

As attorney general during the government's battle with Apple over accessing an encrypted iPhone belonging to the gunman in the 2015 San Bernardino, California, shooting, Lynch had some thoughts on how the department could have handled that situation better.

"That was a flash point for a lot of people, and I think that is an example of the ways we can do a better job of communication those issues. … I don't know if the American people were focused on the tensions there."

Lynch noted that she does "support strong privacy measures and strong encryption … [after all], government runs on encryption. But finding a way law enforcement can access what is needed and still carry out the function [they need to do] is a conversation that still needs to be had."

Such a conversation, she added, is vital because the status quo is far from ideal. "It should not be and cannot be at this point just the government coming in and saying, 'Here is how we do this.' But at the same time, none of us can abdicate our responsibility to tech companies. Certainly one company does not get to decide for all of us how we get to handle our data."

What the Next Attorney General Needs to Do

When asked what advice they had for the next U.S. attorney general, Lynch noted that it's important to consider the morale of the department and to "be as transparent to the American people but always keep looking forward."

Gonzales also imparted some wisdom that he had heard from a U.S. attorney while working as attorney general: "The DOJ is a castle; the AG is a moat around the castle and your job is to protect that. I never forgot that and it's true."

Discussing the current tensions that have plagued the DOJ over the past few years, Lynch noted that it's been hard to see the department weather controversies. "As someone who loves the department and has spent most of her career serving it and the American people, it's painful to see people lose faith in it and question the integrity" of those serving in the DOJ.