Most people simply have no interest in PDF primitives, and rightly so. If you're a lawyer, it's not supposed to be your job to be an expert in PDF's underlying information structure.
Every PDF editor ought to have a big flashing warning explaining to use a redaction tool instead, every time a user attempts to draw/move a black rectangle over text, or "highlight" text black.
This is a crystal-clear case where it's not the users being dumb -- it's the technology failing the users.
Adobe Acrobat actually does pop up if you try to add a black highlight and asks if you meant to redact instead, but then you can't actually use the redact tool unless you pay for Acrobat Pro.
I disagree. Yes, they don't have to know how to program a PDF redaction tool, but they should certainly be proficient in using one. One of the functions of a lawyer is deciding what information another party doesn't need to know, and if they leak it in such a way, that's definitely a failure on their part, even if the software should have been more clear.
Of course it's their responsibility in the end. But they only have to worry about it in the first place due to the bad usability of the software.
My point still stands: it's not about users being terrible. It's about the software design being bad. Software should always be designed to suit humans, not vice-versa.
Every PDF editor ought to have a big flashing warning explaining to use a redaction tool instead, every time a user attempts to draw/move a black rectangle over text, or "highlight" text black.
This is a crystal-clear case where it's not the users being dumb -- it's the technology failing the users.