8. MAKE NO FALSE OR MISLEADING STATEMENTS.
If the profession were to have only one ethical rule, it would be this: Do not misrepresent yourself, your services or your capabilities. This is embodied in ABA Model Rule 7.1, which prohibits false or misleading communications. Social media offer a powerful form of marketing, especially for young and less-experienced lawyers.
In the enthusiasm to build a practice, lawyers should be cautious not to overstate their capabilities and experience.
9. BECOME COMPETENT IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL MEDIA.
You will not find anything in the ABA Model Rules or your own state's ethical rules about competence in technology. Yet it only makes sense: The best way to stay out of trouble with any medium is to understand how it works. If you are uneducated about technology and social media, you are more susceptible to tripping up.
Although the Model Rules are silent on this, the ABA 20/20 Commission has proposed to change that. The commission has suggested that the comment to Model Rule 1.1, on competence, be amended to require that lawyers not only maintain competence in law and practice, but also in "the benefits and risks associated with technology."
10. USE COMMON SENSE.
To me, it all comes back to this. Exercise common sense in your use of social media and you are unlikely to get into trouble.
Think carefully about that blog post before you hit publish. Consider all 140 of those characters before you send out a tweet.
Always be mindful of that now-old saw, "If you wouldn't want to read it on the front page of The New York Times, don't post it online."
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