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In connection with the publication of the latest issue of LexWeb, a magazine dedicated to digital law, Pierre-Xavier Chomiac de Sas had the opportunity to discuss lawyers’ presence on social media with Vince Gorlier.
Historically limited to publications in specialized journals, the development of the internet has facilitated the dissemination of legal information and content by legal professionals, particularly law firms. Among the new communication tools, social networks have enjoyed considerable success, which the professional sphere has gradually learned to leverage.
Sharing information, photos, videos, and podcasts with a community of partners and potential clients is indeed a significant asset for the development of law firms. Job searching, networking, information monitoring, professional visibility, and promotional campaigns are all examples of how professionals now use social media.
Social Networks and Lawyers: Leveraging Expertise to Promote Their Services
Law firms have gradually adopted communication tools, from the use of professional nameplates and business cards to, more recently, advertising in newspapers, on television channels, and in dedicated advertising spaces.
The profession is now undergoing a digital transformation, driven by the development of commercial services related to legal practice, which necessarily involves creating websites and increasing online visibility.
More and more firms are developing editorial strategies to create content published on their websites or content platforms and shared across various mass media, primarily social networks: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
Lawyers’ Communication: Responsible Freedom Stemming from Professional Ethics
The zealous innovation of law firms in the form and content of their publications highlights the legal requirements inherent to the specific nature of their profession. Indeed, in addition to the general legal provisions that apply to everyone, particularly those relating to advertising stemming from the Consumer Code, lawyers are also bound by the ethical rules of their profession, codified in the National Internal Regulations, primarily set forth in Article 10.
Lawyers have freedom to conduct business in matters of communication, but remain responsible for their publications, which are subject to oversight by institutions ensuring their compliance.
In 2016, the National Bar Council published its first guide to lawyer communication, prepared by its Rules and Practices Committee. This guide includes all the ethical rules applicable to lawyers, particularly with regard to new communication tools such as social media and online directories.
The Paris Bar is currently preparing an updated document reflecting the recent reform of Article 10 of the National Internal Regulations, which eliminates the distinction between advertising and professional information provided by lawyers.
Thus, lawyers’ communication is guided by the obligation to provide fair and truthful information related to their profession, to respect the various applicable laws and regulations, and finally, to act in good faith in their publications.
Lawyers’ Advertising: A Regulated Freedom
Applying to both their personal and professional lives, lawyers are subject to a heightened duty of care regarding social media, both because of the information or writings they might publish there, and because of those that might be published by third parties on their own page.
Article 10.6 of the National Internal Regulations specifies on this point that “Lawyers participating in a blog or online social network must respect the essential principles of the profession as well as all the provisions of this article.” Additional rules may also apply depending on the lawyer’s bar association, which has its own internal regulations.
In addition to the legal provisions relating to fair and truthful information, lawyers are bound to respect the essential principles of the profession, including dignity, integrity, tact, moderation, and courtesy. Any breach of these rules could constitute aggressive, false, or misleading advertising, or even an act of unfair competition.
Several examples of practices related to social media are therefore restricted by the profession’s ethical rules:
Prohibited social networks. The use of certain social networks, particularly dating platforms such as Tinder or Grindr, by lawyers in a professional capacity is inherently incompatible with legal and ethical rules.
Client names. Legally bound by professional secrecy, a lawyer cannot disclose the names of their clients, even with the clients’ consent. It is therefore the lawyer’s responsibility to protect the client contact list they may develop within a social network. Conversely, nothing prevents a client, who is not bound by professional secrecy, from revealing the name of their lawyer and expressing an opinion about them.
Discourteous remarks or illegal offers. Like other citizens, lawyers can be held professionally liable for posts on social networks, whether these posts violate fundamental principles—for example, a Facebook post insulting judges—or offer illegal services—for example, a LinkedIn post announcing a firm’s Black Friday deals offering consultations at reduced rates.
Mixed genres. Refusing to mix professional and private life, lawyers cannot publish texts, photos, or videos on their professional pages that are unrelated to their profession. This includes, for example, photos of lawyers displaying their title with their children or family members, or videos of them engaging in excessive alcohol consumption.
The future of communication within the legal profession depends on mastering new tools for working, processing, and disseminating our added value, of which social media is an integral part. It is up to lawyers to learn and leverage this tool for the development of their practices.
Read the full article and other publications in partnership with LexWeb:
Lawyers, Lockdown, and New Technologies
Lawyers, Virtual Reality, and Training
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