Social Media and Family Law
Words of wisdom that many a parent has told a child, "don't take/post a photo or say something that you might regret later." But yet, plenty of adults post their personal information, unsavory photos, and regretful words. Many experienced attorneys especially in the family law arena use social media sites as a tool to gather information about an opposing party. So should you delete that post or change your settings? Not so fast says the Florida Bar.
A recent ethics opinion has come out on the topic of attorneys advising clients to destroy data on their social media sites. In fact this type of advice led to a 5 year suspension of one attorney who advised a client to remove photos and postings following a discovery request. There seems to be a distinction is what an attorney can advise pre-litigation versus during the course of litigation and another distinction on deleting and still preserving the post in the event of discovery later.
A good rule of thumb...don't post anything you wouldn't want your mother to see! Remember the world is watching!
