Ethical Use of Facebook by Lawyers

Ethical Use of Facebook by Lawyers
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Introduction
With more than one billion users, Facebook is one of the most popular social media websites, having started out as a humble idea in the dorm rooms. The platform is a giant is an online social media networking services. Users have the ability to share posts, stories, messages, photos, videos and links across the globe from the platform. It is a platform that allows the users the flexibility of expressing themselves through sharing the thoughts, comments, images and videos. Users can also tag their friends to the various posts that they make. The element of freedom is however elusive relative to the fact that much of the information shared on the platform take on a casual appeal. Relative to matters that require professionalism and confidentiality, Facebook is a sensitive platform to share such information. Lawyers are cautioned on their use of the platform to diverge information that would be otherwise considered confidential and an ethically violation. While social media websites such as Facebook can be used professionally as tools of communication among the professionals, there are too many gray areas that lawyers may cross which implicate them ethically and set them up for prosecution. The internet is a fast paced vehicle for development, however much of the legal frameworks in place were designed for the offline world. For the lawyers in California, it is risky to engage the social media, in this case Facebook, without running the risk of legal violations.[. John G. Browning, The Tweet Smell of Success, or a Trip to the Disciplinary Board? Ethical Concerns in the Use of Social Media - American Inns of Court Home.innsofcourt.org (2013), http://home.innsofcourt.org/for-members/current-members/the-bencher/recent-bencher-articles/januaryfebruary-2013/the-tweet-smell-of-success,-or-a-trip-to-the-disciplinary-board-ethical-concerns-in-the-use-of-social-media.aspx (last visited Sep 15, 2015).] [. Brenda Hill, Ethical Issues For Attorneys Using Social Media | Southern California Professional Magazine Socalprofessional.com (2013), /2013/10/ethical-issues-for-attorneys-using-social-media/ (last visited Sep 15, 2015).]
California
Lawyers in California are under constant pressure to watch their socializing elements on the social media platform such as Facebook rest they become the culprits of litigation and other legal repercussions. Posts such as; ‘I owned the show in court today and my client was amazed. Who would want to be next?’ While it would seem innocent for a lawyer to make a post suggesting that their current case was doing great and that anyone interested in their quality service can chat them up, this will be considered a violation in California. In this case the lawyer would have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct relative to a recent ethical opinion by the State Bar of California and specifically the Standing Committee of Professional Responsibility and Conduct. The elements of ethical codes were based on Rule 1-400 in the California Rule of Professional Conduct. There are two conditions that have to be met, however; one being that there has to be the element of communication and secondly it should als...