As lawyers use social media more and more to market themselves to potential business, they must be very careful about their own online footprints and conscious of how they will be perceived by juries. Tales of juror misconduct are as prevalent as ever and often times specifically involve the inappropriate use of social media. While jurors and prospective jurors alike are admonished not to conduct any independent research or inquiries, it’s a safe bet that a certain number of them will ignore this instruction and look up information about the trial lawyers litigating in front of them.
Nobody Likes a Braggart
For attorneys striving to promote their practices through the use of Twitter, Facebook and the like, they now have to balance that desire for publicity with delicate caution. Not only will jurors be able to view their professional boasts, but they’ll likely also have access to tweets, posts and Instagram photos that were intended for private consumption by friends and family. To put it more bluntly: you will be Googled, and anything that can be uncovered about you will be uncovered about you. This creates a whole host of pitfalls and dangers which attorneys would be wise to avoid.
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