International Bar Association Publishes First Global Report on Impact of Social Media on Legal Profession

http://ow.ly/9jpAD

An article by Michel-Adrien Sheppard posted on the slaw.ca website.

The article looks at a recent report provided by the International Bar Association, which analyzed the use of social media by attorneys and judges.

Many statistics are provided in the article.  Of interesting note, some of the statistics referenced are as follows:

• Almost 70 per cent of respondents felt that it is acceptable for lawyers and judges to have each other as contacts on online social networks.
• Over 90 per cent of respondents considered it unacceptable for lawyers and judges to post comments or opinions about fellow lawyers, judges, parties, or cases in progress on online social networks.
• The vast majority of respondents from jurisdictions comprising a jury system found it unacceptable for jurors to post comments or opinions about the judges, lawyers, parties, and/or cases which they are observing on online social networking sites.
• While a majority of respondents found it unacceptable for lawyers, judges, and jurors to post updates about proceedings (by posting ‘status updates’, ‘tweeting’, blogging, etc) on online social networks while a matter is pending before the courts strictly for informational purposes, the majority deemed the conduct acceptable for journalists.
• Over 85 per cent of respondents deemed it acceptable for lawyers to access and use the information found on the online social networking profiles of the parties in a case, which forms part of the public domain, as evidence in proceedings.