New and events of the Philadelphia Bar Asso.
Issue link: https://thephiladelphialawyer.epubxp.com/i/434516
the philadelphia lawyer Winter 2015 11 clients about the content of their social media accounts, and their obligation to preserve information that may be relevant to specific proceedings." Thus, "a lawyer should (1) have a basic knowledge of how social media websites work, and, (2) advise clients about the issues that may arise as a result of their use of these websites." Turning to the meat of the inquiry, the Committee emphasizes that although a lawyer may advise a client to change the privacy settings on the client's Facebook page, including making the page "private," the lawyer may not instruct a client to delete/destroy a relevant photo. In addition, the lawyer must obtain a copy of a photograph, link or other content posted by the client on the client's Facebook page in order to comply with a request for production, and must make reasonable efforts to obtain any photographs, links or other content about which the lawyer is aware if the lawyer knows or reasonably believes it has not been produced by the client. Social media – which seems to be evolving daily, is a critical area about which attorneys must be aware. Clients use social media without regard for its implications in their legal disputes, and there are many reported cases when courts have ordered that information on these sites is discoverable, and lawyers who instruct clients to permanently destroy information on these sites have lost their licenses and been subject to significant sanctions. Consequently, lawyers must be mindful that the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Rules of Professional Conduct apply to electronic information in the same way that they have always applied to other forms of information. Daniel J. Siegel (dan@danieljsiegel.com), principal of the Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel, is a member of the Editorial Board of The Philadelphia Lawyer. Turning to the meat of the inquiry, the Committee emphasizes that although a lawyer may advise a client to change the privacy settings on the client's Facebook page, including making the page "private," the lawyer may not instruct a client to delete/destroy a relevant photo.