Social Media Research Legal Ethics California MCLE

More and more attorneys and judges are using social media, either for its intended purpose of social networking (and, for the lesser intended purpose of marketing) or for its unintended purpose of investigative research.

There has been much discussion online amongst legal experts about what sorts of investigative activity is ethical for lawyers to engage in. Most Bar Associations however, have not yet addressed this topic. Three exceptions are the New York City, Philadelphia Bar and the New York State Bar. While they have addressed similar questions, they do not necessarily agree on the potential ethical considerations. These two California Legal Ethics MCLE exercises investigate these legal ethics opinions and their respective stances on the uses of Social Media sites like Facebook and Twitter for investigative research - and particularly contacting unrepresented parties.