An attorney shares an article about a high-profile lawsuit against a construction company on his personal Facebook page with a comment: "It's pretty obvious this company is in some big trouble!" The next day, that attorney receives a furious phone call from his law firm's managing partner, saying that the firm was pitching to represent that construction company in the lawsuit. Now, the law firm has lost the opportunity because the company's owner discovered the public social media posting.

"I didn't know we were trying to get that case!" the attorney pleads, but the damage has been done.

While most attorneys recognize the value of social media in promoting their practices, they may not always apply the same level of care when using social media in a supposedly personal capacity. However, attorneys may not be able to simply take their attorney hats off and ignore their ethical obligations when using social media.