20 Must-Read Articles on Social Media Ethics for Lawyers and Judges

As an attorney, public relations practitioner and social media enthusiast, I often present social media for lawyers CLE programs. Just recently, I was the course planner and moderator for a Philadelphia Bar Association Bench Bar CLE on the Ethics of Advertising, Marketing and PR. I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Hope Comisky, Joseph Prim and Paul Kazaras– all members of the Philadelphia legal community and all passionate about ethics and legal communications. Although we discussed the application of various Pennsylvania Rules including 3.6, 7.1 – 7.7 and 8.5, many of the questions and much of the conversation focused on social media.

The ethics of social media for lawyers and judges is a hot topic and it continues to evolve. In fact, there will be a full day program offered by the PBI titled, “Facebook, Twitter & Blogging…Oh MySpace!” The six-credit event will take place Nov. 10, and is being offered in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. To register, visit www.pbi.org.

So, in preparation for these two programs, I came across tons of relevant articles. Here is a list of 20 must-reads:

Ind. High Court Allows MySpace Entry as Evidence in Murder Trial
By Molly McDonough
ABA Journal
Oct. 16, 2009

http://www.abajournal.com/news/ind._high_court_allows_myspace_entry_as_evidence_in_murder_trial/

Staten Island Criminal Court judge to be transferred to Manhattan after Facebook postings, sources say
By John M. Annese
Staten Island Live Online
Oct.15, 2009

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/criminal_court_judge_to_be_tra.html

U.S. Seeks to Restrict Gift Giving to Bloggers
By Amy Schatz and Miguel Bustillo
The Wall Street Journal
Oct. 6, 2009

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125475547130664753.html

DOJ is on Twitter & Tweeting for AG Eric Holder, Too
By Martha Neil
ABA Journal
Oct. 6, 2009

http://www.abajournal.com/news/doj_is_now_on_twitter_tweeting_for_ag_eric_holder_too/

Pretexting, Legal Ethics and Social Networking Sites
By Ken Strutin
Oct. 5, 2009

http://www.llrx.com/features/pretexting.htm

More on the legal ethics of social networking: investigating opponents
By Alvin E. Mathews, Jr.
Lexology.com
Oct. 1, 2009

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=97c38cce-18ed-40a8-a64e-df978984aea5

Social Networks May 'Leak' Personally Identifiable Information
By Wendy Davis
MediaPost News – Online Media Daily
Sept. 25, 2009

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=114344&passFuseAction=PublicationsSearch.showSearchReslts&art_searched=Social%20Networks%20May%20%27Leak%27&page_number=0

Social Networks and Personal Injury Suits
By Robert S. Kelner and Gail S. Kelner
New York Law Journal
Sept. 24, 2009

http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1202434026615

Attorneys say companies can monitor employee use of sites, but they may face repercussions
By Mike Sunnucks
Phoenix Business Journal
Sept. 21, 2009
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/09/21/focus1.html#

Too Much Information: Blogging Lawyers Face Ethical and Legal Problems
By Debra Cassens Weiss
ABA Journal
Sept. 14, 2009

http://www.abajournal.com/news/too_much_information_blogging_lawyers_face_ethical_and_legal_problems/

A Legal Battle: Online Attitude vs. Rules of the Bar
By John Schwartz
New York Times
Sept. 12, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/13lawyers.html?_r=2

Social Networking Sites and Litigation
By Mitchell H. Rubinstein
Adjunct Professor Law Blog
Sept. 11, 2009

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/page/8/

Ethical Issues to Consider When 'Friending' Witnesses Online
By Mara E. Zazzali-Hogan and Jennifer Marino Thibodaux
New Jersey Law Journal
Sept. 1, 2009

http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202433644757&hbxlogin=1

Social media and legal ethics – May an Illinois lawyer list his or her "Specialties" On LinkedIn without running afoul of Illinois RPC 7.4?
By Helen Gunnarsson
September 2009

http://www.isba.org/ibj/2009/09/438_lawpulse.html

Our Linked-In Judiciary
By Robert J. Ambrogi
Legal Blog Watch
Aug. 20, 2009

http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/08/our-linked-in-judiciary.html

Facebooking Judge Catches Lawyer in Lie, Sees Ethical Breaches #ABAChicago
By Molly McDonough
ABA Journal
July 31, 2009

http://www.abajournal.com/news/facebooking_judge_catches_lawyers_in_lies_crossing_ethical_lines_abachicago/

ACLU fights judge’s Facebook comments ban – Woman was ordered not to post on site about brother’s custody battle
Associated Press / MSNBC
July 23, 2009

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32103212

Legal marketing ethics in a Web 2.0 world
By Leora Maccabee
Lawyerist.com
July 17, 2009

http://lawyerist.com/legal-marketing-ethics-web-2-0/

A Friend in Deed
The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania – Attorney Newsletter
July 2009
http://www.padisciplinaryboard.org/newsletters/2009/july.php
 
Mind the Ethics of Online Networking
By C.C. Holland
Special to Law.com
Nov. 6, 2007

http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1194257030032

Gina F. Rubel, Esq., is the owner of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., a public relations and marketing agency with a niche in legal communications. A former Philadelphia trial attorney and public relations expert, Gina is the author of Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers and the co-author of 6 Essentials for Success in Business and Life. Gina and her PR firm have won numerous awards for legal communications, public relations, media relations, strategic planning, corporate philanthropy and leadership. She maintains a blog at www.ThePRLawyer.com and is a regular contributor to The Legal Intelligencer Blog. You can find her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ginafuriarubel or follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ginarubel.  For more information, go to www.FuriaRubel.com.

 

 

Comments

[Gina Rubel]

Make that 21. Kelly Phillips Erb (a.k.a. Tax Girl http://www.taxgirl.com) brought the following article to my attention.

Want to Update Your Avvo Listing? If So, Start Policing Client Comments, Opinion Says
Posted Oct 28, 2009
By Debra Cassens Weiss
http://www.abajournal.com/news/want_to_update_your_avvo_listing_if_so_start_policing_client_comments_opini