There have been many warnings for lawyers engaging in social media – most of the hype resembles what we heard when email first came out. (This post is no no way meant to fuel these fires; Lawyers should be engaging in social media)

However, we hear few, if any, warnings about lawyer ethics.

Lawyers do not shed their duties of professional responsibility at the social media gate. Sometimes, however, it may be hard to spot ethical issues, when using social media, simply because they come at us in a form not taught in law school.  I have encountered two types of ethical issues while using social media.

1.  A few weeks ago, I asked a federal judge (and former professor) to “recommend” my work as a law student on the social networking site LinkedIn.  LinkedIn allows users to send recommendation requests to colleagues at the click of a button.  The judge responded via email:

Hi Rex,

I’d be happy to be listed as a reference, but judicial ethics constrain me against taking the initiative, including supplying a letter.  Make it clear that interested parties can contact me at the court [redacted] or by email, [redacted].

Good luck — and happy holidays.
[Name redacted]

The judge hit a home run.

A “recommendation” via LinkedIn could put the judge in a difficult position.  All I expected was a quick “Rex is a hard worker and a good student” on my LinkedIn page.  LinkedIn makes it easy to ask for a “recommendation” and easy to overlook judges who are bound by judicial ethics.  “Recommendations” on LinkedIn can be conceived of in the same light as our traditional notions of a recommendation letter.

2. Another ethical issue I have faced using social media regards the unauthorized practice of law (UPL).  Twitter users ask me all the time for legal advice.

For the record, I am a law student and cannot give legal advice.

In the short time I have been using Twitter, users have asked me to draft a contract, revise terms of use language, advice on intellectual property issues, and even to represent them as their lawyer!

This can be tempting when you have outstanding law school loans, especially when you know the answers!  But getting a license is far more important than being precluded for engaging in UPL.  Instead, I refer these Twitter users to licensed attorneys.

Remember our professional responsibilities when engaging in social media.  The issues are the same, but they may be in a different form and come at you with the click of a button.

Similar experiences?  Leave a comment below.

Related posts:

1. Implications of Electronic Communication on Family Law Litigation
2. Lawyer’s Guide for Engaging in Social Media
3. Social Media Law Student Microblog Posts and Links for 2008-12-27
4. Rex Gradeless of Social Media Law Student Featued on LexBlog Q & A
5. What Career Service Office Advisors Should be Telling Students About Social Media [Part 1/2]
6. How to Ease Your Law Firm into Social Media: Yammer
7. Podcast Ipsa Loquitur: Ethical Attorneys, Hugh Laurie, Cleavage in Court
8. What Career Service Office Advisors Should be Telling Students About Social Media [Part 2/2]
9. A Lawyer Can Have a Facebook Page
10. Ohio Judge Makes ‘Anonymous’ Online Comment about Litigant, Refuses to Step Down