Family Law

Ethical Implications of Obtaining Witness Information on Facebook and MySpace Accounts

By Ben Stevens

The increased use of social media has brought with it some interesting ethical questions for attorneys.  For instance, consider the question of whether a lawyer can use a third party to obtain information from or about a witness on a site like Facebook or MySpace?  The Philadelphia Bar Association's Professional Guidance Committee issued an opinion in March that says the answer is "no."

While the information on someone's Facebook profile is discoverable, a lawyer cannot try to access that information through deception.  If the attorney wants to see what a potential witness says to personal contacts on his Facebook or MySpace page, he has one good option -- just ask for access.  You can download and/or read the full text of Opinion 2009-02 of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Professional Guidance Committee by clicking HERE.

Source:  "Attorney Can't Ask 3rd Party to ‘Friend' Witness on Facebook, Opinion Says" by Martha Neil, published at ABA Journal online; and "Ethics and Facebook" by Doug Cornelius, published at his Compliance Building blog.

Full post as published by SC Family Law Blog on June 12, 2009 (boomark / email).