Professionalism Week

This week is Professionalism Week at Capital Law.  Last night, I attended an event entitled, "Ethical Landmines that New Attorneys Face in the 21st Century - Twitter, Facebook, Blogging . . . How much is too much?"  Hosted by the SBA, Phi Alpha Delta, Legal Professionalism Society, and the Office of Professional Development, this event highlighted ethical dilemmas dealing with social media.  Jonathon Coughlan, Disciplinary Counsel for the Supreme Court of Ohio, and The Honorable Kim Cocroft of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas sat on the distinguished panel.  Former Dean and current Professor, Jack Guttenberg, served as the moderator.

I thought it was very interesting to hear that jury monitoring via Facebook is a common practice these days.  Jon Coughlan joked, "It is practically malpractice if [an attorney is] not doing it."  When someone sits on a jury, that juror should be aware that the attorneys are searching the internet for any information that may reflect his or her opinions and biases.  No ethical violations are imposed on attorneys who search public pages, like Facebook and Twitter.

Attorneys are not the only ones watching these social media sites.  During a long trial, jurors are admonished not to speak about the trial outside of the courtroom.  If a judge finds out that juror number four has been posting status updates on Facebook or tweeting about how he thinks the defendant is guilty, severe consequences could result.  Not only will the juror be removed, and possibly fined, but this may be grounds for a mistrial.

Everyone, especially law students, need to be cognizant of how they hold themselves out to the rest of the world.  In fact, it does not hurt to Google yourself.  An unprofessional social media site or other inappropriate online material can easily hurt your chances when applying for a job.  Last night, Judge Cocroft said it well, "All you have is your name and reputation, and once those are ruined, it is over."

Professionalism Week continues on Thursday.  Jonathon Coughlan will return to Capital to lead a discussion on the unauthorized practice of law.  This event is presented by the Legal Professionalism Society and the SBA Professionalism Liason Committee.  This event will be particularly beneficial to 1L students since many of them will soon be working at their first legal internship this summer.  Hope to see you there!