UM speaker says lawyers must use social media with caution

An attorney and author of a book on modernizing managementtechniques in law offices warned students, faculty and lawyers onThursday of the inherent ethical dilemmas that can arise in a worldof electronic communication and social media.

Modern research can enhance efficiency and, in one respect,it's a lawyer's obligation to understand and participate in thisincreasingly electronic world, said Roberta Cooper Ramo, the firstwoman elected president of the American Bar Association. At thesame time, it's important to remember client confidentiality andtake the necessary precautions to uphold that responsibility,especially when trying to reduce costs through outsourcing or"cloud computing."

"Do more face-to-face instead of Facebook-to-Facebook," shesaid. "Too much innovation blunts our senses to pain andinjustice."

During Ramo's talk, titled "Ethics for American Lawyers in theAge of Twitter and the Cloud," she expressed astonishment at theconfidential information that some lawyers send in emails and theinformation they post on their Facebook pages. Social media likeTwitter and Facebook and the increasing dependence on electroniccommunication raise ethical issues not earlier encountered byattorneys.

Ethical obligation to stay abreast of thebenefits

Lawyers have an ethical obligation to stay abreast of thebenefits and risks of using innovation. It's important to know howto file, access cases and obtain rulings electronically. Not onlyis that the way the industry is headed, nevertheless it's more productive insome cases and more economical both to customers and to the firm.

Ramo didn't tell people to put down their BlackBerrys, Droidsand iPhones. Nevertheless she discouraged anyone from using a phone or acomputer that's not password protected because of the potential forprivacy invasions.