Hope Comisky and William Taylor, Don't Be a Twit: Avoiding the Ethical Pitfalls Facing Lawyers Utilizing Social Media in Three Important Arenas--Discovery, Communications with Judges and Jurors, and Marketing, 20 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 297 (2011).
Introduction:
The explosive growth of social media through services such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace has caused a sea change in the legal community. Lawyers are taking advantage of the latest social media options and innovations to represent their clients zealously and market their practices. Although there is no out-of-pocket cost to access the advantages of social media generally, if lawyers do not employ these tools in a manner consistent with their ethical obligations, the costs may be exceedingly high. Particular areas of concern are the rules of professional conduct governing communications with represented parties and unrepresented witnesses during discovery, ex parte communications with judges and jurors, and marketing. This article analyzes the ethics of these three areas in which the ease of interaction and communication, arguably social media's most critical feature, applies significant pressure on a lawyer's ethical responsibilities. Having changed the way lawyers interact within and outside the legal community, social media also compels an evaluation of whether lawyers are satisfying their ethical responsibilities as they utilize the advantages social media provides.
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