The increase in the use of social media over the last several years has changed the practice of family law. Social media has provided opportunities for people to share their feelings and air their grievances 24 hours a day, often saying things that may come back to haunt them during legal proceedings.
Not only does the use of social media make it easier to gain information about opposing parties and their conduct, but this information is generally discoverable and admissible in a court of law. Trial judges will regularly consider not only the specific evidence presented during a hearing, but also a party’s character as a result of the information that is obtained. As attorneys, we need to ask ourselves: What do we need to explain to our clients about social media? Should we require access to a client’s social media accounts in our engagement letters? What beneficial information can we gain from opposing parties as a result of social media? How do we discover this information and how do we use such discovery to strengthen our client’s case?
