I am in litigation. I am trying to find information about the opposing party who I believe is not being truthful. I have a secretary who is very good with the computer. Can I have this secretary become a friend of the defendant on Facebook or another form of social media. If the secretary then becomes a friend of theirs on Facebook, can I have that secretary get information from the Facebook page to use against the person in litigation?     

The answer is absolutely not. One thing a lawyer can never do is something in a dishonest fashion. Further, one can’t contact someone directly or indirectly when there is pending litigation and they are a party on the other side and represented by counsel. To do so would be very foolish and could create some substantial problems for the lawyer. The same would be true, for instance, with a district attorney or U.S. Attorney or the Attorney General’s Office that had agents using staff or informants to befriend a criminal defendant and then record those conversations when they are represented by counsel.

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