Although there is still no ethics opinion directly on this issue in New Jersey, by now members of the bar should have a pretty good idea that contact with a represented party on Facebook or other social media is the same as calling the person up or knocking at their door, and likely an ethical violation. Similarly, a lawyer directing the “friending” of a represented party to gain access to their private information is also likely committing an ethical breach. On the other hand, plaintiffs who put damaging material on their public social media pages should expect adversary attorneys and investigators to take a good look, along with the rest of the world, with no ethical consequences.
What seems like a common-sense reading of ethics rules today may or may not have been so easy to discern several years ago. Following the refusal of the local District Ethics Committee (DEC) to docket just such a case in 2010, the Office of Attorney Ethics (OAE) later filed charges against two Bergen County lawyers, a partner and an associate, with directing a paralegal at that firm to make a “friend request” that gave her access to the private photos, postings and shared correspondence of the Facebook web pages of an 18-year-old personal injury plaintiff believed by counsel to be exaggerating his injuries.
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