THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
October 22, 2010 | 23

BUSINESS
CAREERS

Social media
Continued From Page 20

she added. “It’s so easy to post
blurbs here and there.”
Macartney points to the Deloitte
and Touche LLP survey of U.S.
employees last year that found 27
per cent of respondents said they
did not consider the ethical conse-
quences of posting comments,
photos or videos online, and 15 per
cent admitted that if their employer
did something that they did not
agree with they would comment
about it online. Seventy-four per
cent also agreed it is easy to dam-
age a company’s reputation
through social media.

Managing expectations is essential. “A lot of employees don’t realize that they have implied duties to act in good faith. Some of those duties would apply to comments made in off-duty environments. Make sure you come up with very detailed policies that reflect your expectations,” said Eastwood.

Those policies act as a clear
reminder about responsibilities
and obligations that often get
overlooked by employees in the
world of social media, noted
Crouch. “The same rules apply
with social media but for some
reason there is a disconnect. Policy
can remind people what to do and
what will happen if you don’t fol-
low the rules.”
Start with existing policies and
build from there, Giesbrecht
advised. “It’s really important to
look at what you have and update
it. You need to comply with privacy
laws and also look at respect [in
the workplace] policies and confi-
dentiality agreements.”
Outlawing the use of social
media may not be the best
approach — not to mention the fact
that it simply isn’t possible. “The
more progressive companies are
adopting policies that are not as
stringent but come down to using
good judgement,” said Fraser.

Lawyers embracing technology

The latest technology survey from the American Bar Association (ABA) illustrates how firmly entrenched technology is in the practice of law and in the hands of practising lawyers. According to the ABA’s 2010 Legal Technology Survey Report, which analyzed responses from almost 5,000 members in private practice, lawyers are well connected — and becoming more so. Among the highlights: Little will separate lawyers from their technology. Sixty-four per cent of respondents admitted checking for e-mail while in the courtroom. Sixty per cent sent an email while there, and 46 per cent booked an appointment. Only a year earlier, the numbers looked like this: 52 per cent, 49 per cent, and 39 per cent, respectively.

Law firms are reaching out to clients online. Eighteen per cent of respondents reported that their firms provide self-help legal information on their websites (compared with 13 per cent in the 2009). Twelve per cent noted that online document preparation is offered on their sites (up from four per cent in the 2009).

Lawyers are reaching out to clients online — and virtually everywhere else. When it comes to practising law, 14 per cent of respondents said they are doing this virtually. That is, they do not typically meet with clients in person, preferring the contemporary approach to relationship building: e-mail, the Internet, texting etc.

2010
2009
Checked for e-mail while in the courtroom
64%
52%
Sent e-mail while in the courtroom
60%
49%
Booked an appointment while in the courtroom
46%
39%
Firms provide self-help legal information on their websites
18%
13%
Firms provide self-help legal information on their websites
12%
4%

previous study found that nearly 60 per cent of the companies surveyed have social networking policies that ban the use of social networking altogether.

Policies are of no use, however,
if they are not enforced. “This is
where education comes in,” said
Giesbrecht. “You can’t just hand
this to an employee on their first
day of work. You need to bring it
home. You need to address viola-
tions. Otherwise, you are condon-
ing it.”
Still, noted Eastwood, “there
are going to be limits on what you
as an employer can police.”
Or what you will want to
police. “Social media has become
an important form of communi-
cation for many people. Blocking
access sends the message that the
employer does not trust its
employees to use this form of
communication responsibly,” said
Macartney.

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