social media for litigators
DESCRIPTION
Social Media for Litigators was presented by Antigone Peyton and Ernie Svenson on Mar 29, 2012 at the ABA TechShow. It makes the point that social media is a powerful marketing tool that lawyers should also embrace because it helps them understand the implications of social media in litigation.TRANSCRIPT
Social Mediafor Litigators
Ernie SvensonSpeaker: DigitalWorkflowCLE.com
& Antigone Peyton
Founder & CEO, Cloudigy Law PLLC
ABATechShow 2012
Who are we?
Ernie SvensonBigLaw - 20 yrsSolo Practice - 5 yrsErnieTheAttorney.netPDFforLawyers.comDigitalWorkflowCLE.com@ErnieAttorney
Digital Signatures are easy to make
How to create a paperlesslaw practice easily
Antigone PeytonBiglaw - 10 years Founded IP & tech boutiqueAll things incl. technology & social mediaCloudigylaw.comBlogger @ TechCocktail.com@AntigonePeyton
Why is social media growing?
What effect is it having?
Why should attorneys learn?
What effect on legal system?
What tools & services are helpful?
Road Map
Social media is
HOT
-845 million users now-By end of 2012, 1 billion (1/7th of world population)
-50% “listeners”-over 20 languages-mainly used by older adults-largest social network in Japan
TwitterTwitter
The more you know, the more dangerous
you are(information is power)
-150 million members60% non-US-2 million + Company Pages-82 of 100 Fortune 100 companies use hiring solutions
Demonstrating Your Expertise
System
Ournewlegal
Clients
Virginia is for lovers ...
Facebook Apologies
First Amendment Violation?
Facebook vent gone awry
@phonedog_noah
17,000 followers x £1.60/follower/month
Twitter Troubles
Facebook/Social Media Access for Executor?
Nebraska state bill grants access to a deceased person’s
account to the executor
Bad BehaviorU.S. v. Cassidy, No. 8:11-cr-0091 (D. Md. 2011)
-Federal cyberstalking statute-Posting messages on Twitter & blogs
“Because this case involves First Amendment issues, terms that were in use by citizens when the Bill of Rights was drafted may help in understanding the legal context of Blogs and Twitter.”
Jurors
facebookjurors
What’s happening?
Search jury duty
Off to jury Duty
yall wanna make me be on thejury? everybody goin to jail...GUILTY!
got some of the best sleepin my life in jury duty...
Jury Duty and my iPodjust died...HELP!
My fave part of juror selection was when people slowly remembered things that might make them biased: “Uh, I was shot once.” #legaltweets
The jury orientation video is unreal. Starts off with hooded Europeans in a forest: “In olden times, there was no justice....”
Wow--it just occurred to me that I probably should not be doing this.” #legaltweets #donotarrestme
What’s happening?
Home Profile Find People Settings Help Sign out
NameLocation
Bio
Joe VentiLatteBrooklyn, NY
I edit books, butI also do otherthings as well, if you can believe that.
85 188 6
following followers listed
Joe VentiLatte
Texas man sentenced to 2 days of community service "friended" a plaintiff in a car-wreck case
Source: WSJ article 03/06/12
Jurors on the Hot Seat
FL juror held in contempt of court & sentenced to 3 days in jail Used Facebook to "friend" defendant in a personal-injury case
Source: WSJ article 03/06/12
Jurors on the Hot Seat
Juror in a gang-beating case May have to divulge Facebook records to defense attorneys seeking to overturn their clients’ 2010 convictions
Source: WSJ article 03/06/12
Jurors on the Hot Seat
Arkansas juror continued tweeting even after trial judge questioned and admonished himOn the day the jury returned death sentence the juror tweeted at least 2X, disclosed the verdict early
Source: WSJ article 03/06/12
Jurors on the Hot Seat
Removed from jury
Cautioned only
Mistrial
Contempt
Fined
Other 7
8
9
Actions by 30 Federal Judges
Source: Federal Judicial Center
79%“No way to know”
Judges: are jurors violating SM ban?
Source: Federal Judicial Center
Defense Tactics
Source: WSJ article 03/06/12
Ask Court to require jurors to disclose Twitter handles?Try to enforce search and sharing limitations to avoid a mistrial, throwing out a conviction or an acquittal, or repeated trial
Judges
facebookfor judges?
facebookthe fla. sup. ct. has forbidden judges from having lawyer friends on fb. reasoning it implies a special relationship. doing a talk wed. nt. on topic. any thoughts?”
question“
How can judges not be friends with lawyers? Once a lawyer, always a lawyer.
John:
Christine: What about state bar associations? That also implies friendships & fraternization.
How can they dictate who your friends will be (or not)?
Docia:
The scrutiny of non Judicial conduct can be problematic. Is a Judge now required to recuse himself because a litigant is a FB "friend". What if the Judge does not personally know all of his FB "friends"?
Ron:
FLORIDA SUPREME COURTJudicial Ethics Advisory Committee
Opinion No. 2009-20
Date: November 17, 2009
Whether a judge may add lawyers who may appear before the judge as “friends” on a social networking site, and permit such lawyers to add the judge as their “friend.”
Answer No.:
OHIO SUPREME COURTJudicial Ethics Advisory Committee
Opinion No. 2010-07
Date: December 3, 2010
Whether a judge may add lawyers who may appear before the judge as “friends” on a social networking site, and permit such lawyers to add the judge as their “friend.”
Answer Yes, provided....:
Privacy
Social Networking & Geo Location
http://blogs.wsj.com/wtk-mobile/ -- Article about apps transmitting PII and location data
Harvesting &
Listening Tools
Practical Help
_SubpoenaFacebook—Will provide basic subscriber information, if valid subpoena from California state ct, or Fed Ct.
—Will not provide user content, citing SCA
—Don’t expect to talk to anyone at Facebook by phone
—Their subpoena requests are handled by outside counsel
• Over 50% of employers research applicants’ social media/Internet footprint
• Monster.com
• comScore
• Pew Research Center
• Data mining/data hiding/reputation management
It’s a Cottage Industry . . .
Advice
• How can you search & identify relevant information?
• Is it possible to forensically collect?
• Should you monitor?
• What about your adversaries social media content?
• What does “delete” really mean?
• Can policies be your stopgap?
Food for Thought