Guidelines For Using Social Media And Your Spouse's ESI In New York Matrimonial Cases

With the multiple devices used by families, from smartphones to laptops to tablets, and the constant recording of daily acts and thoughts through status updates, tweets, and photographic posts, the use and misuse of electronically stored information ("ESI"), and the management and monitoring of the social media presence of clients and their spouses are becoming increasingly important parts of a family law practice. This course will help practitioners advise their clients on how to avoid the potential dangers of accessing a spouse's ESI, how to best safeguard their own ESI, and how to navigate the increasingly expanding world of social media within the context of a divorce case.

Presented by Emily S. Pollock and Kelly A. Frawley, partners in the matrimonial and family law department of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, this course provides an informative overview of how to advise clients to take advantage of the electronic footprint of their spouses, while managing their own.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review when and whether a client may use a spouse's ESI
2. Discuss the procedure for extracting ESI from a computer or other electronic device
3. Explore whether ESI can be extracted from an external storage source
4. Recognize some of the criminal implications of accessing a spouse's ESI
5. Comprehend the evidentiary rules relating to the use of social media information
6. Consider the permissible and advisable parameters of social media posts relating to children
7. Address the use of social media for service of process
8. Provide guidelines for advising clients on how best to protect their ESI during a divorce litigation
9. Provide guidelines for advising clients how best to manage social media during a divorce litigation