When it comes to an attorney’s obligation to maintain a client’s confidential information, the relevant California statute does not mince words. Business and Professions Code §6068(e)(1) provides that it is the duty of an attorney “[t]o maintain inviolate the confidence, and at every peril to himself or herself to preserve the secrets, of his or her client.”

Rule 1.6 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct further specifies that disclosure of such information is permitted only where the client provides informed consent or in other very limited circumstances. Nonetheless, despite the strict language, some attorneys play fast and loose when it comes to disclosing confidential information on social media. Now, in the (relatively) new world of social media, there is increasing awareness among firms and the bar as a whole that the same confidentiality rules apply to social media and blogging.

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