> Could he be censured for failing to secure information about clients?
If this were a US attorney at a US border, almost certainly not. ABA rules permit attorneys to disclose client information (among other reasons) "to comply with other law or a court order."
Even as far as a US attorney receiving orders from another country, or a blatantly illegal instruction within the US, they should be alright. The lawyer didn't actually disclose client information, they just lost control of it. The ABA only requires "reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information" about clients. Offering up the password might not have been a reasonable effort, especially in the absence of consequences for refusing, but having the device imaged and cracked seems to clearly exceed reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access.
As for NSLs, what a mess. I'm not sure anyone can answer this for you. They already push the established bounds of compelled speech, so general precedent wouldn't be a trustworthy guide. And any NSL-specific precedent was almost certainly set in closed, confidential hearings, so the people only people familiar with it wouldn't be able to discuss it.
If this were a US attorney at a US border, almost certainly not. ABA rules permit attorneys to disclose client information (among other reasons) "to comply with other law or a court order."
Even as far as a US attorney receiving orders from another country, or a blatantly illegal instruction within the US, they should be alright. The lawyer didn't actually disclose client information, they just lost control of it. The ABA only requires "reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information" about clients. Offering up the password might not have been a reasonable effort, especially in the absence of consequences for refusing, but having the device imaged and cracked seems to clearly exceed reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access.
As for NSLs, what a mess. I'm not sure anyone can answer this for you. They already push the established bounds of compelled speech, so general precedent wouldn't be a trustworthy guide. And any NSL-specific precedent was almost certainly set in closed, confidential hearings, so the people only people familiar with it wouldn't be able to discuss it.