Law firms devote significant resources to identifying and resolving conflicts of interest. Increasingly, attorneys also work on their professional social media presence to help promote their practices, connect with others in the field, and participate in discourse about their area of expertise. However, there can be risks for attorneys when using social media in their personal capacity that can create potential conflicts of interest, separate and sometimes more complicated than traditional issues.
An ethics opinion from the District of Columbia bar, which received significant attention, posited that “[s]ocial networking sites, and social media in general, make it easier to blur the distinctions between communications that are business and those that are personal.” D.C. Ethics Opinion 370. This is especially true where an attorney intends to use social media for personal purposes but nonetheless identifies the name of her or his law firm (e.g., in a Facebook profile or Twitter biography).
