The “Friend”ly Lawyer: Professionalism and Ethical Considerations of the Use of Social Networking During Litigation

Authors

Nicola A. Boothe-Perry, Florida A & M University College of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Abstract

Social media use has exploded around the world. The top social networking site (SNS), Facebook, reports that it has more than a billion members with approximately two million friend requests every twenty minutes. Coupled with the other top 15 social networking sites, including Linkedln, Google+, Twitter, and MySpace, the number of social networking users is estimated to exceed 2 billion. With billions of people producing and consuming media content through SNS, there has been a growing trend of law firms' use of SNS as a marketing tool and litigators' inclusion of discovery from SNS as a part of their discovery protocol. The rapid growth of SNS have enabled large numbers of users to instantly create and share content and has simultaneously unveiled concerns regarding the ethical and professional liabilities of attorneys participating in such SNS.

Recommended Citation

Nicola A. Boothe-Perry, "Friend"ly Lawyer: Professionalism and Ethical Considerations of the Use of Social Networking During Litigation, 24 U. Fla. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 127 (2013)