Online Activity Policy
Firm encourages development of business and personal relationships, including through social networks and other online activities. While this commitment to online activities is important, we also have substantial legal and ethical responsibilities that must be observed when posting online. These responsibilities include obligations to protect the privacy, confidentiality, and legal interests of Firm and its clients.
In light of these obligations and risks, Firm has adopted this Online Activity Policy. This Policy applies to any Firm-related online activity. Even when engaging in activities not related to the Firm or clients, you are encouraged to recognize that these guidelines may suggest best practices and, when possible, to observe these guidelines even in purely personal activities.
Scope
This policy governs all Firm-related online and internet activities. Online activity is Firm-related if a post (1) contains the Firm’s name, address, contact information, or Firm’s email suffix or link to Firm’s website, or images of persons working at Firm or at Firm functions or (2) is created or maintained at Firm or using Firm computers or other equipment.
Risk of Online Activity
Online activities create risks for Firm, including inadvertent client relationships or the practice of law where Firm’s lawyers are not licensed. Firm asks you to be mindful that any online post should be presumed public and permanent. Presume that your client, any relevant court, opposing counsel, disciplinary counsel, and anyone hoping to sue Firm may have access to and use of your online statements. If you place it on the internet, it can be copied, forwarded, or subpoenaed. You will likely have no control over a post’s ultimate use or dissemination.
Questions about Policy
If you have any questions about this Policy or its application, or believe application of the policy to certain circumstances is not appropriate, please contact [designated person] to discuss such issues.
Responsibility for Online Activities
The Firm considers you personally responsible for any online activity that is linked to or may be traced back to Firm. This includes any use of Firm’s name, internet domain, or property including computers. When you use (a) Firm’s name, domain name, email address, or other contact information, or (b) images of Firm property or personnel, or (c) Firm’s computers and other resources, this may imply that you are acting on Firm’s behalf.
Do not post anything embarrassing to Firm, colleagues, or clients, or others associated with Firm. Obtain permission before posting information from or about others at or associated with Firm.
Respect Clients and Colleagues
You should respect the privacy, opinions, and interests of clients, colleagues and others online.
Also, you should respect everyone else online. While a rude response may appear witty at the moment, it may be damaging to Firm and to you in the long run. Thus, we advise to avoid such circumstances.
Protect Client and Firm Confidences
Both you and Firm itself owe very significant legal and ethical obligations to Firm’s clients. These obligations include duties to keep clients’ confidences and to pursue the client’s interests first and foremost, even before our own interests. Also, you have obligations not to endanger unnecessarily Firm’s as well as its clients’ interests.
Lawyers have a broad obligation to protect client and Firm confidences. This includes a duty to protect client information even when that information is otherwise publicly available. Under no circumstances should you use or disclose, directly or indirectly, client-related information— including that Firm represents a client, as well as filed pleadings—or Firm confidences online without the express permission of affected clients and Firm.
Protect Contact Information
Often you will receive requests to befriend, connect, or link to other social network users. When considering including clients, referral sources, and others you deal with professionally in your network, please be aware that you may be opening that information up to others accepted in your network. Contact information of Firm’s clients and business associates is important, often confidential, information. Under no circumstances should you post or share such information online. This includes that you should not upload your Firm contact list to a social network site, because this may expose your contacts to outside review.
Think Before Connecting
Firm discourages providing legal advice to someone not otherwise a client based solely upon an online post. In particular, Firm is concerned about the risks of giving legal advice without knowing all the relevant facts and engaging in unauthorized practice if the person giving advice is not licensed where the person receiving the advice or the matter is located.
Beware Giving General Legal Advice
If you believe it is appropriate to provide general guidance, you should state you are not intending to provide legal advice, and that the person should seek counsel from his or her own lawyer. A suggested disclaimer may read: “I don’t know all the relevant facts, so I cannot give you legal advice. You should consult your own lawyer. However, from what you have written, it sounds like…” Also, if you are not licensed in the applicable jurisdiction, you should warn of this fact in your communication.
Finally, if you want them to consider retaining you, you may make this clear in the post: “If you think you need a lawyer on such matters, please feel free to contact me offline at [contact information]. Then, if the person does follow up with you to receive specific legal advice, open a file through Firm’s ordinary client intake process. This will ensure that Firm does not have a conflict, and that other proper procedures for opening and handling the file are observed. Also, make sure that a lawyer licensed and knowledgeable of the law in the correct jurisdiction is involved in the representation.
In addition, you should ensure that any online website or post you create bears all required notices and disclaimers. In particular, our jurisdiction prohibits a lawyer from [add appropriate language, such as “using client recommendations and testimonials”]. Also, our jurisdiction requires special disclaimers when [add appropriate language, such as “claiming a specialty or discussing past results”].
Run a Conflict Check Before Discussing Real Matters
Before discussing any specific legal matter online, you should determine whether Firm has any involvement in that matter. Therefore, before (a) answering a law-related question or (b) writing about a law-related news story, decided case, or other matter, please request a conflict check from New Files. This includes running a conflict check before posting comments on stories or posts others have authored. If Firm does have some involvement, please consult the lawyer responsible for the matter or [designated person] before proceeding with your post or online activity.
Honest Communications
You should avoid dishonest behavior and misrepresentations online. This includes engaging in online activity, such as communicating electronically or creating websites, while employing a misleading alias or suggesting that you are someone else.
If you realize that you have made a mistake in an online post, apologize and/or correct the mistake.
Advertising Rules Apply Online
The Rules of Professional Conduct that govern lawyer advertising and solicitation generally apply to online activity. Therefore, you should avoid any false or misleading statements while posting online.
Preserve Online Communications
The Rules of Professional Conduct, as well as malpractice and other concerns, generally [require/support] that a lawyer should maintain a copy of all communications about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services for a period of [two] years [confirm with your state’s version of ABA Model Rules 7.2 and 7.3 as appropriate]. Please make sure that you arrange to access any Firm-related communication you post online for a period of at least [two] years.
Link to Firm Profile
To help monitor its online profile, Firm operates a “Law Firm” profile on the following social networks: LinkedIn, Legal OnRamp, Martindale-Hubbell Connected, and Twitter [add additional sites as appropriate]. If you are creating a profile on these networks, please connect to or befriend the user “Law Firm,” and ensure that you allow “Law Firm” to observe information on your site that is viewable by other network participants.
Obedience to Applicable Rules
You should obey the law and the rules of the website or social network site in which you participate. Further, even if not explicitly directed by this Policy, you should obey other applicable legal and ethical rules. This includes that you should not send mass emails to persons whom you do not know to advertise legal services or solicit potential clients.
Right to Discipline
Firm reserves the right to take disciplinary action against, including to terminate employment or association of, any person who engages in any online activity that violates this Online Activity Policy, the law—including the Rules of Professional Conduct, or any activity which otherwise reflects poorly upon or otherwise damages Firm or its clients.
Prohibited Sites
Because of issues with security policies or similar concerns, Firm prohibits the use of the following social network sites for Firm-related activities without authorization from Firm IT: [identify sites].