Ethical Dilemmas Presented by Social Media and e-Discovery

With Americans spending nearly a quarter of their time on social media websites and new social media sites, like Google Buzz, which already accumulated more than 25 million users before even launching, it is no surprise that social media is changing the way we litigate. Both in-house and outside counsel can use social media to investigate opposing parties, potential witnesses and even jurors. In addition, corporate counsel face the unique challenges of having to determine when the use of social media at or after work violates company policies and may even amount to a crime. A growing number of sanctions cases place as much burden on in-house as outside counsel, forcing corporate counsel to become experts in this emerging area of technology that is not only changing workplace norms, but also the way they litigate.