After Reading These 10 Shocking Tips for Staying Out of Trouble on Social Media, You'll Never Post the Same Way Again

According to recent reports, Facebook has over two billion monthly users,1 Twitter has over 300 million monthly users2 and LinkedIn has over 600 million total users.3 Neither the legal profession nor most industries is immune from the influence and increasing prevalence of social media. Tip 2 - Know Your Rules of Professional Conduct and Understand How They Apply to Social Media The American Bar Association (ABA) has adopted and periodically updates the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (the Model Rules).13 All 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted some version of the Model Rules.14 Each state may implement a modified or amended version of the Model Rules or issue ethics opinions establishing specific guidance and requirements for attorneys licensed in that state.15 Many states have issued legal ethics opinions addressing the use of technology16 and several states have issued opinions addressing a variety of ethical issues arising from the use of social media.17 Attorneys who use social media in connection with their practice should consider how the rules of professional conduct could be implicated by their activities on social media and should monitor related ethics opinions in the state(s) in which they are registered. [...]for good reason: failing to adhere to applicable ethics requirements related to communications on social media has led to sanctions and public reprimands.29 Tip 5 - Remember That the Duties of Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest Also (or Still) Apply to Attorneys' Social Media Activities Maintaining the confidentiality of information provided by a client is the foundation of an attorney-client relationship and an important aspect of the rules of professional conduct for attorneys.30 In general, a lawyer may not reveal information related to the representation of a client or former client without the client's informed consent.31 The conflict of interest principles set forth in the model rules provide, inter alia, that a lawyer may not use information relating to the representation of a client to its disadvantage.32 While social media provides attorneys with new ways to gather information about a party or witness on publicly available sites, several states have made it clear that "friending" someone to gain access to privacy-restricted portions violates the rules of professional conduct.33 Additionally, lawyers may not use social media and "false friending" to deceive third parties. Advising clients to remove posts