Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/21725
invasion of privacy and defamation, and trademark violations; and it can even lead to wrongful termination claims. Therefore, a law firm must provide reasonable guidelines for online behavior by its employees. Following are five ethical areas that all law firms should address when drafting internal social media policies. These can also be utilized by law departments when dealing with lawyer and nonlawyer employees. All are simply an extension of model rules of professional conduct and state rules of ethics. The overarching principles remain the same as new social media sites and technologies emerge. ADVERTISING Marketing and advertising are key functions for the survival of any business. However, lawyers, especially in law firms, are held to a higher standard when advertising through electronic means. Model Rules of Professional Conduct are professional standards that serve as models of the regulatory law governing the legal profession. Additionally, each state board of professional responsibility has additional or supplemental states rules of ethics. State rules should be considered prior to policy drafting. Model Rule of Professional Conduct 7.2 states a lawyer or law firm may advertise through written, recorded or electronic means. This includes all social media sites. Example: A law firm creates a site on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. using the firm name. Is this advertising? Example: An employee of a law firm uses the firm name or firm e-mail address on a personal Facebook site. Is this advertising? State ethics boards consider the true crux of the advertising issue to be not in who creates the site or the intent of the site; instead, whether the site can be considered to be used for professional use. If being used for professional use, social media presence and communication can be considered to fall within the advertising rules. Here are a few guidelines to include in firm policies to teach your employees (lawyers and nonlawyers) in posting to social media sites: • Employees should not associate the firm name or firm e-mail address with the site unless it is intended for professional use. This includes stating they are an employee of the law firm. • Firm assets should not be used to update personal sites. This includes any firm owned laptop or computer, iPhone or BlackBerry, firm IP address and e-mail address. Using the firm e-mail address implies the employee is acting on the firm’s behalf. • An advertising disclaimer must be used to help employees specifically state whether their use is personal or professional. This subject is difficult to approach with employees. Many will argue that online posts referencing the place of employment are no different from telling someone about employment at a specific law firm. However, state boards have compared the online activity to a law firm website versus verbal www.iltanet.org ILTA’s Greatest Hits 7