Tread Carefully With Social Media [Web 2.0 redux]

A recent ruling in Florida declared that Judges and attorneys may not ‘friend’ one another on the popular social networking service Facebook because that connection could give the appearance of impropriety, so says the Florida State Bar Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee.

[For those unfamiliar with Facebook, to “friend” someone on Facebook is to give that person permission to access your Facebook page and to gain access to theirs. To give some context for this level of relationship, know that it is common for a Facebook user to have several hundred, or even a thousand “friends.” So “friending” someone on Facebook is hardly the same level of involvement as inviting them to move in with you, or even inviting them to dinner or a ball game.]

The Florida ethics decision is an important reminder that social networking and other new media are developing at a much faster pace than existing law or rules of professional ethics.

As the law and professional ethical rules catch up, the result won’t always be smooth, or be satisfactory to either adventurous Web savvy practitioners or the more conventional and careful.

For now, don't be surprised if [some, but not all] other states follow Florida’s lead as they debate how social media relationships interact with ethics rules. And don't be surprised if some states go off in a different direction.

Expect also similar debate concerning Twitter, Linked-In, Avvo and other social media and networking services as they emerge.

Indeed, it is very possible that we might see Discovery, or grievances, or even sanctions, stemming from Internet social media communications of attorneys and judges in the same way that Facebook content has become a staple of divorce and child custody litigation.

Here is a previous article on the perils of social media for attorneys and judges that addressed this clash of old-fashioned Officer of the Court expectations, and the informally of the new online social networking.