Social Media News Round-up

November is Social Media Law Resources Month at the Harris County Law Library. As the week wraps up, here are a few of the social media stories making news this week. 

In a Divorce, Who Gets Custody of Electronic Data? The Lawyers

The use of social media as evidence in divorce cases has increased dramatically over the last three to five years. Lawyers introduce text messages and social media posts into almost all of their hearings and trials. How and what a person communicates via social media can reveal a lot about a person's character and may also offer clues about one's finances or hidden assets. Christine Leatherberry, a family lawyer in Dallas who is quoted in the article, advises her clients to expect that anything shared via email or posted on a social network will be blown up on a poster board and displayed in a courtroom.

K Street Says Social Media is Growing Faster than Traditional Lobbying as Way to Influence Washington

According to a recent survey of lobbyists, lawyers, think tank leaders, and other advocacy groups, social media is the fastest-growing communications channel for influencing the political process. Those who aim to persuade policy makers understand the importance of social networks and the power of public opinion. They are increasing their allocation of funds to engage with social media on a larger scale.

Can You Take a Voting Selfie? States Wage Legal Battles Days Before Election

Ballot box selfies are prohibited in 18 states, but challenges to the law have been advanced in Colorado, Michigan, and New York just days before voters head to the polls. Opponents of laws that permit election-day selfies say that photographs taken at the polls compromise the integrity of the election. Supporters dispute this claim, saying that no evidence of voter intimidation exists. Muddled laws in several states are sure to create confusion as voters test the limits of what is prohibited and what is actually enforced.    

Latest & Greatest: Social Media 101 for Lawyers

To kick off Social Media Law Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library, we're highlighting a couple of very helpful resources. The first is a Pocket Guide published by the Texas Young Lawyers Association called Social Media 101. The second is a white paper, recently published by Thomson Reuters and FindLaw, called From Novelty to Necessity: Pragmatic Social Media for Law Firms. 

TYLA's Social Media 101 provides an excellent review of electronic communication as regulated speech and the requirements that all attorneys must meet when advertising online. According to the State Bar's Advertising Review Committee (ARC) and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, any content posted to social media for marketing or solicitation purposes must be filed with the ARC. However, according to an exception in Rule 7.07, content that is not "prepared to secure paid professional employment" is exempt. Communications that inform potential clients about the law (such as an article you might write for your firm's blog) and content that is more social in nature (photographs on Facebook of your firm at a charity event, or a link on Twitter to an inspiring TED Talk, for example) need not be submitted. Even so, the TYLA Pocket Guide advises that, when in doubt, it is best to file any electronic content that can be construed as advertising to the ARC. 

From Novelty to Necessity, covers a different aspect of social media, namely the imperative that all lawyers maintain a digital presence. Based on data that show the advantages of using social media to market services and build professional networks, the authors assert that having a digital presence is no longer optional. They also discuss how to use social media effectively. Identify the factors that set your firm apart, they say, and develop a marketing strategy that differentiates your brand. Spell out the qualities that make your firm unique, including the benefits of retaining your services, and present them in ways that resonate with potential clients. Then, communicate the benefits consistently across all social media platforms. Try to achieve a sort of "calculated authenticity" so that clients and potential clients see you as approachable, open, accessible, and willing to interact. Community-based lawyers, in particular, must be willing to share part of themselves before clients are willing to share their personal needs. When executed in accordance with the State Bar's requirements for electronic communication, the benefits can be substantial. 

Latest & Greatest – Texas Bar College Annual Summer School Course

Summer School. Those two words can conjure up feelings of dread in almost all school-age children (and a few parents as well). The last thing we wanted to suffer through as kids was more school, especially during the summer when the rest of the entire world, it seemed, was on vacation and having fun. As adults, our perspectives change, and we realize (maybe) that summer school might not be so bad. Case in point: each summer Texas Bar College, in collaboration with the State Bar of Texas, offers its Texas Bar College Annual Summer School CLE course. It’s an opportunity for lawyers to not only get those CLE credits that they might desperately need as their birthday month approaches but also an opportunity to be exposed to varied and timely legal topics. Unlike the more focused Advanced Family Law or Advanced Real Estate Law courses, the Texas Bar College CLEs cover the latest developments in such areas as criminal law, immigration law, business law, and employment law, and emerging issues in technology, like social media and electronic discovery, all in one two- or three-day seminar. The articles can be of great value to general and/or solo practitioners or anyone who is seeking to broaden their legal knowledge.

If you were unable to attend any of these useful courses and want to see what topics were presented, come to the Harris County Law Library. The library acquires the coursebooks from these as well as many other State Bar CLE classes and maintains them as part of its CLE collection, providing you with access to all that the State Bar of Texas offers. Check out the library’s online catalog to see what coursebooks are available.

For those of you who are interested, the next Texas Bar College Summer School is scheduled for July 13-15, 2017. See the website from Texas Bar College for more information.