On Demand
Audio
Social Media Ethics for Attorneys (Update)
Produced on May 16, 2019
Course Information
Course Description
Social media continues to be everywhere. It is used by individuals and businesses to communicate, investigate, advertise, and store electronic information (ESI) - and attorneys and law firms are no exception, except that social media use by attorneys must be considered in terms of the ethical rules which govern attorney conduct.
These ethical rules impact the competence of attorneys who use social media, attorneys advertising through social media, whether and how legal advice may be given on social media, review and use of evidence derived from social media, communicating with clients through social media, researching jurors through social media and reporting on juror misconduct, and communicating with judges through social media. This session will explore how the rules of professional conduct address these topics.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss how the Rules of Professional Conduct apply to attorney use of social media
- Recognize ethical issues that might arise when attorneys use social media for various reasons
- Appreciate how attorneys might use social media to their benefit while avoiding ethical problems
Credit Information
Faculty
Ronald Hedges
Dentons
Ronald is a member of Dentons' Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group. He has an extensive experience in e-discovery and in management of complex litigation and has served as a special master, arbitrator and mediator. He also consults on management and discovery of electronically stored information ("ESI").
Ron Hedges was a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey from 1986 to 2007. While a magistrate judge, he was the Compliance Judge for the Court Mediation Program, a member of the Lawyers Advisory Committee, and both a member of, and reporter for, the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee. From 2001 to 2005 he was a member of the Advisory Group of Magistrate Judges.
Ron was an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School, where he taught mediation skills. He was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and remains an adjunct professor at Rutgers School of Law— Newark. He taught courses on electronic discovery and evidence at both these schools. Ron was a Fellow at the Center for Information Technology of Princeton University for 2010-11 and 2011-12. He is also a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas.
Reviews
Navigating social media isn’t quite so straightforward when you're a lawyer. As use of social media by lawyers continues to grow and as social media networks proliferate and become more sophisticated, familiarity with ethics rules and ethics opinions interpreting those rules are guiding principles when addressing social media issues. This program effectively explores how the Rules of Professional Conduct apply to attorney use of social media and shares ethical issues that may arise.
Very helpful in light of the many requests for advice we lawyers get on social media platforms.
Boring
Interesting and relevant topic
Very clear and well-organized.
very interesting
good speaker, informative material, thanks so much
Good presentation of a complex subject.
Good course with useful information. Well done.
Excellent program
Very relevant and timely discussion of the pitfalls of the ubiquity of the internet.
informative
The speaker was well-organized.
Very good program and great examples.
Great presentation
Fantastic presentation
Should be a mandatory course for all attorneys.
A straightforward practical overview.