Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Social Networking: Think Before You Post « The Nacol Law Firm PC

Social Networking: Think Before You Post « The Nacol Law Firm PC

Unlike abroad, the role of the internet in Philippine litigation is not that significant, although Filipinos are top SMS senders in the world and they rank high in the use of Facebook and perhaps Twitter, too, not to mention the fact that they are IT savvy when you talk of modern iPads and iPhones. But for most trial lawyers, especially the old ones, IT is not that indispensable to them in the courtrooms.


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You should exercise careful thoughtful judgment when posting on social networking sites.
Think before your post! Could this post , which is one click away to immortality, be potentially damaging to you, others you care about or business relationships?

In today’s world, many lawyers are asking very specific questions to their clients concerning email addresses, use of social networking sites and types of personal information the client has posted about themselves, or information publicly disclosed from other people’s social networking. Many lawyers now ask their clients to stop using or to deactivate their social networking sites during their litigation process. Better safe than sorry!

The use of Electronically Stored Information (ESI) is now starting to be addressed by the U.S. Government and many states regarding usage for legal issues. The Federal Rules have been recently amended to mention ESI and set up a framework on dealing with this information. The new rules include ESI to email, web pages, word processing files, computer databases, and just about anything that is stored on a computer. The definition of ESI also includes traditional email, instant and text messaging, voice mail, personal webmail, blogging and other new emerging technologies. Potential relevant information from any of these sources must now be preserved by litigants in the federal courts. Just remember what you do or say online can and will be used against you and distorted since “you said it”!


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