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ETHICS AND THE ALLURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

ETHICS AND THE ALLURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA . NAHO 2013 Conference St. Paul, Minnesota . Acknowledgements .

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ETHICS AND THE ALLURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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  1. ETHICS AND THE ALLURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA NAHO 2013 Conference St. Paul, Minnesota

  2. Acknowledgements • Many thanks to Eve Moran for drafting the four skits used in this presentation, and for providing many of the research materials for the ethics program being presented today. Thanks also to Professor Ogden for providing many of the research materials for today’s program. Thanks also to Bonny Fetch, co presenter, skit director, and facilitator. The ethics rules featured here are from the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct. The skits and some of these materials were previously presented at an National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners conference in November 2012 .

  3. Course Description • Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, LinkedIn, etc., are some of the new tools in our online lives. On the positive side, social media offers opportunities for networking, research, marketing, and information exchange. On the negative side, it presents new opportunities for the unwary to engage in professional misconduct. Through a number of comedic skits we will explore the ethical challenges (e.g., ex parte communications, confidentiality, misrepresentation, appearances, and influences on the decision-making authority) that present themselves in the context of social media "friending" relationships. We will also discuss whether existing ethics laws are clear enough to address the blurring line between our personal lives and our professional lives. Finally, we will consider what effect social media is having on the core values of professionalism and what forces cause good people to fall into unethical conduct

  4. Social Media Sites 1 • Top 5 social media sites: • Source: http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites (October, 2012) • 1. Facebook [750,000,000 estimated unique monthly visitors] • 2. Twitter[250,000,000 estimated unique monthly visitors] • 3. Linkedin[110,000,000 estimated unique monthly visitors]

  5. Social Media Sites 2 • 4. MySpace [70,500,000 estimated unique monthly visitors] • 5. Google Plus+ [65,000,000 estimated unique monthly visitors] • Source: http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites (October, 2012)

  6. Social Media Sites 3 • 1. Facebook • Launched in February 2004 for social networking. • Founded by Mark Zukerberg and four other Harvard college students. • Started at the college level but expanded rapidly. • Most widely used global social networking service. • $ 104 billion market value at IPO at $ 38 dollars per share but the value has since dropped to $ 50 billion. • Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

  7. Social Media Sites 4 • 2. Twitter • Founded March 2006 and Launched in July 2006 • Social networking and “microblogging” service • Text based messages of up to 140 characters allowed known as “Tweets”. • Tweets are publicly viewable to whomever elects to “follow” the tweeter • Widely popular with 500 million active users as of 2012 • Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

  8. Social Media Sites 5 • 3. Linkedin • • Founded in December 2002. • • Launched May 2003 • • Expanded to Europe in 2010 • • Profitable in 2011 and 2012. • • 161 million subscribers • • Heavily used for professional networking • Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn

  9. Social Media Sites 6 • 4. Myspace • Founded in August 2003 • Rapid growth 2003 t0 2006. • Bought by News Corp. in June 2005 for $ 580 million. • Overtaken by Facebook in 2008. • Significant influence in pop culture and music. • Bought by Specific Media Corp, and Justin Timberlake for $ 35 million in June 2011. • Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace

  10. Social Media sites 7 • 5. Google Plus+ • • Launched in June 2011 • • Has400 million registered users and 100 million active users as of September 2012 • • Described as a social layer and also includes Google Apps • • High growth in US and European markets • Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%2B

  11. Facebook • A fully filled-out Facebook profile contains over 40 pieces of recognizably personal information: name, birthday, educational and employment history, online and offline contact information, sex, sexual preference and relationship status, political and religious views, favorite movies, books and music, and of course, pictures. Facebook is the largest photo-sharing application on the web with more than 14 million photos uploaded daily. • Source: http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/Insight/2011/11_-_November/Social_media_for_employers_and_lawyers_who_advise_employers/

  12. Blogs • A type of website that is usually personally owned, maintained and updated. Source: (1) Official definition: 1.“a Web site containing the writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other Web sites.” 2. “to maintain or add new entries to a blog.” • Most allow visitors to leave comments which can evolve into group conversations that are recorded similar to a deposition transcript. Source: Mutum, Dilip; Wang, Qing (2010). "Consumer Generated Advertising in Blogs". In Neal M. Burns, Terry Daugherty, Matthew S. Eastin. Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Advertising: User Generated Content Consumption. 1. IGI Global. pp. 248–261. • Blog Examples?

  13. What is Social Media • What is considered Social Media? • The American Bar Association defines social media as “[a]ny tool or service that uses the Internet to facilitate conversations.” • Differences from traditional media: • Each user can create his own content • Each user can instantaneously share the content he has created • The privacy of the content created by users depends to a large degree on the user's choices; he may make his content available to anyone or to a specific group of people. • Three predominant forms of social media: social networking sites (SNS), blogs, and microblogs. • Source(s): • Hope A. Comisky & William M. 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 (2011) 20 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 297, 298

  14. Stored Communication Act • Social media is protected under Federal law by 18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq., the Stored Communications Act, which prevents sites like Facebook or Myspace from producing information in the absence of consent from the account owner. The only way to obtain the information is via authorization or via subpoena. • Citation: 18 U.S.C.A. § 2701 (West).

  15. The Tweeting Juror A $12.6 million verdict was appealed in Arkansas as a result of a juror’s tweets, such as “Oh, and nobody buy Stoam. It’s mad mojo and they’ll probably cease to exist now that their wallet is $12 lighter.” • Source: See Renee Loth, Mistrial by Google, Boston Globe, Nov. 6, 2009, at A15, available at http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_ opinion/oped/articles/2009/11/06/mistrial_by_google

  16. The Facebooking Juror 1 In Wilgus v. Sirus665 F. Supp. 2d. 23 (D., Maine, 2009), a juror sent the plaintiff’s attorney an email after trial asking whether he knew the plaintiff advocated binge drinking and using mushrooms and marijuana, facts he learned from Facebook. E-mail text: “[D]id you know your plaintiff[s] advocated the use of mushrooms and weed smoking, and binge drinking all over the internet? ... It['s] really sad what happened but with all the work going into this don['t] you think you should have address[ed] this issue and known such things so they could clean up their acts before court? I'm just trying to help.[ ][I]f you want more info and insight [I] will help you.” • New trial based on juror misconduct denied because no other juror received this information.

  17. The Facebooking Juror 2 • In Maryland, the attorney for Mayor Shelia Dixon sought a mistrial for the mayor’s conviction for embezzlement. While the trial was ongoing, five of the jurors became “Facebook friends” and chatted on the social network site, despite the judge’s instructions not to communicate outside of the jury room. The argument was that the Facebook friends became a “clique” that altered the jury dynamics. The defendant subsequently entered into a plea agreement and stepped down in January 2010. • Source: Beth C. Boggs, Misty L. Edwards, Does What Happens on Facebook Stay on Facebook? Discovery, Admissibility, Ethics, and Social Media Increasingly, Lawyers Are Mining Social Networking Sites Like Facebook for Information About Litigants, Witnesses, Jurors (2010) 98 Ill. B.J. 366

  18. The Internet Jurors • In a Florida federal drug case, after eight weeks of trial, a juror admitted to the judge he had been doing research on the case on the internet. When questioned, eight other jurors admitted the same and a mistrial was declared. • Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/us/18juries.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

  19. Facebook Service In Australia, Facebook has been used for service of process of court documents. In December 2008, after several failed attempts at service, a lawyer won the right to serve a default judgment by posting the terms of the judgment on the defendant’s Facebook wall. Source: See Bonnie Malkin, Australian Couple Served with Legal Documents via Facebook, TELEGRAPH.CO.UK (Dec. 16, 2008),http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news • /newstopics/howaboutthat/3793491/Australian-couple-served-with-legal-documents-via Facebook.html (last visited May 13, 2009).

  20. Facebook and Case Outcomes 1 • In Romano v. Steelcase Inc.,907 N.Y.S.2d 650 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2010), the plaintiff sought damages for her physical injury and claimed damages for the associated emotional harm. • However, her “public profile page on Facebook show[ed] her smiling happily in a photograph outside the confines of her home despite her claim that she ha[d] sustained permanent injuries and [was] largely confined to her house and bed.” • The court granted defendant access to the private portions of plaintiff's Facebook and MySpace pages because, in light of the public portions of her sites, “there is a reasonable likelihood that the private portions of her sites may contain further evidence such as information with regard to her activities and enjoyment of life, all of which are material and relevant to defense of this action.” • Source(s): • Hope A. Comisky & William M. 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 (2011) 20 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 297, 301

  21. Facebook and Case Outcomes 2 • In McMillen v. Hummingbird Speedway, Inc., No. 113-2010 CD, 2010 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 270 (C.P. Jefferson, 2010), the plaintiff alleged damages after being injured in a stock car race based on, among other things, loss of vitality and “inability to enjoy certain pleasures of life.” • The public portion of McMillen's Facebook page, however, included “comments about [plaintiff's] fishing trip and attendance at the Daytona 500 race in Florida[.]” • The court was impressed that, “[a]ccessing only the public portion of his Facebook page, . . . the defendants have discovered posts they contend show that [plaintiff] has exaggerated his injuries.” • Based on this foundation, the court ordered plaintiff to provide defendant with his usernames and passwords for his Facebook and MySpace accounts. • Source(s): • Hope A. Comisky & William M. 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 (2011) 20 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 297, 301-02

  22. Cloud Computing • Cloud technology is essentially the storing of information online through a network of pooled storage generally run by third-parties. Where is the data actually kept? Is that important? If stored internationally, are foreign jurisdictional privacy laws applicable? An extension of “electronically stored information” as amended in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure? • Source: www.docuwise.net/t-glossary.aspx; Source: Kelly Balfour Social Media and Ethics CLE power point presentation (September 11, 2012, NAALJ conference, New Orleans, Louisiana)

  23. Document Retention • All social media interaction must be preserved up to a certain point. For emails the common standard is “reasonableness and proportionality”. But a duty to preserve evidence arises whenever there is knowledge of a potential claim. • Source: RimkusConsult. Grp. v. Cammarata, 688 F.Supp.2d 598, 612 (S.D.Tex.2010) (analyzing the duty to preserve by focusing on proportionality and reasonableness).

  24. Skit Titles • Yes, I will Friend You • (Exploring ex parte contacts and other questions of propriety when decision makers and lawyers use social media) • Check My Blog • (The intersection of personal and professional social media) • Who is Texting Now • (Lawyer’s supervision of non Lawyer staff)

  25. Skit Number 1 Yes, I Will Friend You • Ethical issues in Skit 1 • 1. Commissioner bill sets up a Facebook page • 2. Commissioner Bill Facebook friends Lawyer Stuart Little • 3. Commissioner Bill uses Facebook page for improper ex parte communications related to Little’s pending case before ALJ Stanley. • 4. Lawyer Stuart’s ex parte communications with Commissioner Bill about case pending before ALJ Stanley • 5. Lawyer Stuart Little sets up a Facebook page • 6. Commissioner Bill’s improper ex parte communications with ALJ Stanley. • 7. ALJ Stanley ‘s blog posts about lawyer Stuart Little’s expert witness.

  26. Judges Ethics 1 • In New York, a judge was reprimanded in part because he used his Facebook account to provide details of his location and schedule, up-dated his status while on the bench, posted a photograph of his crowded courtroom to his account, and invited several lawyers to be his friends on Facebook. • Source:See Molly McDonough, Was Judge Transferred Because of His Facebook Activity?,ABA Journal, Oct. 16, 2009,http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/was_judge_transferred_because_of_his_facebook_activity.

  27. Judges Ethics 2 A North Carolina judge was reprimanded for “friending” a lawyer in a case pending before him, posting and reading messages about the litigation on Facebook, and accessing the website of an opposing party in a child custody and support case. Can a Judge post comments about the lawyers on Facebook regarding a particular case and/or the parties, i.e. “that lawyer did a lousy job trying their case”.? • Source: Debra Cassens Weiss, Judge Reprimanded for Friending Lawyer and Googling Litigant, ABA Journal. com, June 1. 2009, available at www.abajournaLcom/newsljudge reprimanded for friending lawyer and googlinglitigant;.

  28. Judges Ethics 3 A • In North Carolina, a judge received a public reprimand for social networking misconduct.3 That case involved child custody dispute.  While the case was pending, the judge and the father’s counsel became Facebook “friends,” and thereafter exchanged relatively innocuous ex parte statements. Further, the North Carolina judge used an internet site to perform his own investigation of the mother. See Public Reprimand of Terry, North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission, Inquiry No. 08-234, April 1, 2009.

  29. Judges Ethics 3 B • North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct Canons ! 2A and 3A94) were violated. The conclusion from the reprimand opinion stated as follows: “Judge Terry had ex parte communications with counsel for a party in a matter being tried before him. Judge Terry was also influenced by information he independently gathered by viewing a party’s web site while the party’s hearing was ongoing, even though the contents of the web site were never offered as nor entered into evidence during the hearing. Judge Terry’s actions described above evidence a disregard of the principles of conduct embodied in the North

  30. Judges Ethics 3 C • Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct, including failure to personally observe appropriate standards of conduct to ensure that the integrity and independence of the judiciary shall be preserved (Canon 1), failure to respect and comply with the law (Canon 2A), failure to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary (Canon 2A), engaging in ex parte communication with counsel and conducting independent ex parte online research about a party presently before the Court (Canon 3A(4)). Judge Terry’s actions constitute conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute (N.C. Const. art IV, § 17 and N.C.G.S. § 7A-376(a)).”

  31. Judges Ethics 4 • A Florida judge was disqualified in a criminal case because the judge had become face book friends with the prosecutor, and the defendant challenged the judge’s ability to be fair and impartial. • Domville v. State of Florida, No. 4D12-556,2012 WL 3826764 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. September 5, 2012)http://www.4dca.org/opinions/Sept 2012/09-05-12/4D12-556.op.pdf

  32. Ethics Issues with Judge Terry 1 • The Judicial Standards Commission - found Judge Terry to have had ex parte communications with counsel appearing in a pending case before him, and further found that he was influenced by independently-gathered information not in evidence. • Found to have violated NC Code of Judicial Conduct: • Canon 1 (requires appropriate standards of conduct of ensure integrity and independence of judiciary); • Canon 2A (respect & comply with the law; act in a manner promoting public confidence in judiciary); • Canon 3A(4) (engaging in ex parte communication with counsel, conducting independent ex parte research about a party).

  33. Ethics Issues with Judge Terry 2 • 1. Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct: 3.5 (b) states that... • A lawyer shall not: • communicate ex parte with a judge. or other official during the proceeding unless authorized to do so by law or court order. • 2. Federal and State APA’s also prohibit ex parte communications. See 5. U.S.C. Section 551(14), 557(d)(1); 1961 MSAPA Section 13; 1981 MSAPA Section 4-213; 2012 Revised MSAPA Section 408.

  34. Ethics Issues with Judge Terry 3 • Just as well, the Nirvana Public Utility Commission, like every other state utility commission, prohibits ex parte communications through its agency rules. • Engaging in ex parte communications is misconduct - plain and simple • In the skit, and in the Judge Terry case, there are two different types of ex-parte communications. • Case discussions between the decision-maker and one party to the dispute. • Independent investigation by the decision- maker. • Both types of ex-parte communications are equally egregious. Why? • There is a serious unfairness if only one side has the decision-maker’s ear. • There is a serious unfairness if the decision-maker is swayed by untested evidence. • Indeed, it is fundamental that every decision or order be based on the record and only the record.

  35. Social media connections 1 • Judges and Lawyers • Question Raised: Can a judge (or any decision-maker) friend an attorney who might appear before him or her, and vice versa? • Several jurisdictions have issued opinions on this very matter. Many more, however, have not. So, the definitive answer depends on where you live. Some jurisdictions have responded, but, in doing so, have not necessarily framed the issue in the same way.

  36. Social media connections 2 • 1. Can a judge be on facebook/social media sites? • All 7 opinions say YES - 1 is qualified) • Kentucky Opinion JE-119: Yes • Oklahoma Opinion 2011-3: Yes • California Opinion 66: Yes • Florida Opinion 2010-06: Yes • Ohio Opinion 2010-7: Yes • Massachusetts Opinion 2011-6: Yes, but may not identify him or herself as a judge • New York Opinion 2010-2: Yes

  37. Social media connections 3 • 2. Can a judge friend lawyers? • Florida Opinion 2010-06: Yes - if atty does not appear or is unlikely to appear • Kentucky Opinion JE-119: Yes (implied) • Oklahoma Opinion 2011-3: Yes, those lawyers who do not regularly appear or are unlikely to appear in the Judge’s court. • California Opinion 66: Yes (implied) • New York - Yes • Mass- (open question)

  38. Social media connections 4 • 3. Can a judge friend lawyers who “may appear” before him or her? • Florida Opinion 2009-20: No • Ohio Opinion 2010-7: Yes - but must be vigilant • Kentucky Opinion JE-119: Yes (qualified) • Oklahoma Opinion 2011-3: No • California Opinion 66: Yes (qualified) • Massachusetts Opinion 2011-6: No • New York - Yes • Can a judge friend a lawyer actually appearing on a case? • (based on earlier determinations, only 2 states even get to this question) • Ohio - Yes - but maintain vigilance. • California - No in pending case before the Judge: May NOT friend anew, must “de-friend” if already friends, and must make this known,

  39. Social media connections 5 • TIPS • An attorney, a judge or a decision-maker is not relieved of ethical responsibilities when engaging in social media. • Be on guard when communications stray into pending case matters. You do not want to engage in ex parte communications • Attorneys and judges and state agency employees are all well-advised to proceed with caution if they are “friends” on social networking sites.

  40. Skit Number 2 Check My blog • Ethical issues in Skit 2 • 1. Lawyer Betty’s blog posts identifying her client, revealing confidential client information, and hurting her client’s defense by disclosure of clients willingness to take the rap for brother. • 2. Lawyer Betty’s blog posts disparaging the judge and criticizing the judge’s ruling in two of her cases.

  41. Rules in focus for Skit Number 2 • IRPC - 1.1 (Competence) • IRPC - 1.6 (Client Confidentiality) • IRPC - 3.5 (Impartiality and Decorum of the Tribunal) • IRPC - 8.4 (Misconduct) • (Rules provisions at the end of the slides)

  42. Skit Number 2 sources 1 • The KiristinePeshek Case • Kristine Peshek was an assistant Public Defender in Winnebago County, Illinois. She wrote and published an internet blog tiled “The Bard Before the Bar - Adventures in Life, Law and Indigent Defense.” One-third of the blog was devoted to discussion of her defense work and her clients. In the rest of her blog, Peshek wrote of her health issues and bird-watching activities. • The blog was open to the public and not password-protected.

  43. Skit Number 2 sources 2 • In her blog, Attorney Peshek set out confidential, and not well-disguised information with respect to three of her clients and their cases. She solicited commentary from her readers. In her postings, she called a judge a “total ...hole” and “Judge Clueless.” In one post, Peshek recounted how a client revealed to her, after being sentenced, that she had lied to the court about being sober. This was all serious stuff. • By order of the IL Supreme Court attorney, attorney Peshek was suspended from the practice of law for sixty (60) days. • She also lost her job.

  44. Skit Number 2 sources 3 • Public Reprimand, Sean William Conway (Florida) • Florida attorney Sean Conway had a bad day. In the way a certain judge set cases for trial, it became necessary for him to ask for a continuance. Doing so, however, lost his client the right to a speedy trial. Apparently, only this one judge put defense counsel into this type of position. • Thus, Sean Conway posted to a website that the circuit court judge was an “EVIL, UNFAIR WITCH,” “seemingly mentally ill,” “clearly unfit for her position and knows not what it means to be a neutral arbiter,” and that “there’s nothing honorable about that malcontent.” • These statements were found to violate un-cited to Rules of Professional Conduct and code of ethics: “statements impugning the integrity of a judge, when made with reckless disregard as to their truth or falsity, erode public confidence in the judiciary without assisting to publicize problems that legitimately deserve attention.” • Sean Conway received a Public Reprimand that is now part of his disciplinary record. • Notably, many other attorneys went to their respective blogs in defense of Conway and his exercise of his 1st Amendment rights.

  45. The Tweeting Research lawyer 1 •  A research lawyer for a Kansas appeals court was fired on Monday after posting critical tweets about the state's former anti-abortion attorney general during a supreme court ethics hearing. • The lawyer, Sarah Peterson Herr, posted tweets calling former Attorney General Phill Kline a “naughty, naughty boy” and criticizing his facial expression, the Associated Press, the Topeka Capital-JournalandWND report. “Why is Phil Klein [sic] smiling?” she wrote. “There is nothing to smile about, douchebag.” APreported on her firing in a later story. • Herr predicted Kline would be disbarred for seven years as a result of charges claiming he or his subordinates misled others during an investigation of abortion providers. WND describes Herr’s tweets as “snarky" and “self-satisfied.” • CONTINUED ON NEXT SLIDE • http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/research_lawyer_is_suspended_after_tweeting_during_ethics_hearing_of_naught/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email

  46. The Tweeting Research lawyer 2 • The comments have since been removed. Herr sent the AP a statement of apology. “I didn't stop to think that in addition to communicating with a few of my friends on Twitter I was also communicating with the public at large, which was not appropriate for someone who works for the court system,” Herr said. “I apologize that because the comments were made on Twitter—and thus public—that they were perceived as a reflection on the Kansas courts.” • Herr worked for Judge Christel Marquardt, who plans to retire in January. • The Kansas Supreme Court heard the ethics case against Kline on Thursday in a live broadcast of the proceedings. Five out of seven justices have recused themselves because some of the allegations concerned Kline’s conduct before the supreme court. Five lower court judges were tapped to help hear the case; Marquardt was not among them. • http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/research_lawyer_is_suspended_after_tweeting_during_ethics_hearing_of_naught/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email

  47. Lawyers Ethics 1 • Recommendations or Endorsements on Social Networking Sites Must Comply with Model Rules 7.1, 7.2, and 7.4 • “Lawyers are responsible for all communications they place or disseminate, or ask to be placed or disseminated for them, regarding their law practice, and all such communications are governed by Rule 7.1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.” In addition, the South Carolina Committee found that “a lawyer who adopts or endorses information on any similar website becomes responsible for conforming all information in the lawyer's listing to the Rules of Professional Conduct.” • Source: Hope A. Comisky & William M. 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 (2011) 20 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 297, 315.

  48. Lawyer Ethics 2 • A veteran public defender of 19 years lost her job after blog postings that contained thinly veiled information about her clients and referred to a “Judge Clueless.” The Illinois State Bar filed a complaint against her in 2009. The Florida Supreme Court disciplined an attorney who claimed his blogged rants against a judge he referred to as an “evil, unfair witch” were protected free speech. • Source: (1)http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/13lawyers.html?

  49. Lawyer Ethics 3 • In 2006, a prosecutor in San Francisco was disqualified for blogging about a pending case; his statements ranged from calling his opposing counsel “chicken” when she requested a continuance, alluding to her in blog titles that contained obscenities, and mentioning evidence that hadn't been ruled admissible at trial. • Source: Judge Gena Slaughter & John G. Browning, Social Networking Dos and Don'ts for Lawyers and Judges (2010) 73 Tex. B.J. 192

  50. Lawyer Ethics 4 • An attorney lost her job because of her use of social media. She was an assistant public defender in Illinois who blogged about the cases she worked on. Because she allegedly revealed confidential client information, she was fired and then charged with violating legal ethics rules. • Source: http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/seduced_for_lawyers_the_appeal_of_social_media_is_obvious_dangerous

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