Recently I attended a CLE in Ohio discussing the ethical issues for attorneys concerning social media. I have to say that it really opened my eyes to what practicing lawyers are having to do these days in order to stay in the clear. If anyone wants to hear the lecture, I recommend that you find out which local bar association is presenting Stuart Teicher's presentation (Teicher is available at stuart@set-law.com and his website is www.sit-law.com). The highlights that I took away from the program:
- there is an expectation that you will be knowledgeable and competent using social media (meaning, but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs)
- your due diligence for a case now includes checking the parties' social media websites
- your confidentiality now includes making sure that you and your staff do not post about clients on social media websites without the client's consent
- you need to alert your clients about the ramifications of their postings on social media (he gave an example of a fourteen-year-old girl posting on facebook about her recent mediation and referencing a second doctor's report)
- you have an on-going ethical duty to stay abreast of the security measures taken when you use wireless internet to complete work (this includes your smartphones and ipads) AND when you save your work "in the cloud"
- you have an on-going duty to ensure that wherever you store client files (and this now includes electronic files) is secure enough so that the information will not be lost -- think of holding the information in escrow
- by providing legal opinions via blogs and then responding to any comments, you are potentially opening yourself up to creating attorney-client relationships AND potentially practicing law without a license wherever that person lives, depending on the amount of advice you give
- asking a person to consider hiring you for representation via GChat or Facebook Chat is not considered a violation of solicitation rules, according to Philadelphia Bar. This cuts against the pure language of the rules, but the bar reasoned that the person is under no pressure to continue talking with you and can easily close the chat box. Other bars may not decide the same way.
- your LinkedIn profile and your blog may be considered websites, which may then be considered advertising and fall under those restrictions.
This lecture definitely opened my eyes to the new requirements for professionalism and ethics. I highly recommend that any practicing attorney and any law professor listen to it.
- there is an expectation that you will be knowledgeable and competent using social media (meaning, but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs)
- your due diligence for a case now includes checking the parties' social media websites
- your confidentiality now includes making sure that you and your staff do not post about clients on social media websites without the client's consent
- you need to alert your clients about the ramifications of their postings on social media (he gave an example of a fourteen-year-old girl posting on facebook about her recent mediation and referencing a second doctor's report)
- you have an on-going ethical duty to stay abreast of the security measures taken when you use wireless internet to complete work (this includes your smartphones and ipads) AND when you save your work "in the cloud"
- you have an on-going duty to ensure that wherever you store client files (and this now includes electronic files) is secure enough so that the information will not be lost -- think of holding the information in escrow
- by providing legal opinions via blogs and then responding to any comments, you are potentially opening yourself up to creating attorney-client relationships AND potentially practicing law without a license wherever that person lives, depending on the amount of advice you give
- asking a person to consider hiring you for representation via GChat or Facebook Chat is not considered a violation of solicitation rules, according to Philadelphia Bar. This cuts against the pure language of the rules, but the bar reasoned that the person is under no pressure to continue talking with you and can easily close the chat box. Other bars may not decide the same way.
- your LinkedIn profile and your blog may be considered websites, which may then be considered advertising and fall under those restrictions.
This lecture definitely opened my eyes to the new requirements for professionalism and ethics. I highly recommend that any practicing attorney and any law professor listen to it.
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