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Social media privacy bill advances in California 

Published: May 16, 2012

Tags: Facebook, National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, privacy, social media, social networking, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Employers would be prohibited from asking employees and job applicants for their Facebook passwords under a bill moving swiftly through the California legislature.

Employer request for Facebook passwords yields legislation, investigation 

Published: March 29, 2012

Tags: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Department of Justice, Discrimination, DOJ, EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Facebook, job applicants, privacy, social media, social networking, Stored Communications Act

After recent reports that employers were requesting Facebook passwords from job applicants, state and federal legislators quickly responded with possible legislation and a request for a federal investigation into the legalities of the practice.

Survey: In-house lawyers using social media more often 

Published: February 16, 2012

Tags: Facebook, in-house counsel, social media, social networking, technology, Twitter

In-house attorneys are using social media more today than they were in 2010, according to a new survey.

The pitfalls of ‘frictionless’ social media 

By: Correy Stephenson
Published: December 21, 2011

Tags: Facebook, social media, social networking

Technological advances continue to make life easier and yet more complicated at the same time.

Preserving social media for electronic discovery 

By: Correy Stephenson
Published: September 21, 2011

Tags: e-discovery, electronic discovery, Facebook, social media, social networking, Twitter

As more and more individuals and businesses participate in social media, the amount of litigation-related information on sites like Facebook and Twitter is rising.

For lawyers, these sites can be an electronic discovery gold mine – or they can be the downfall of a case.

How can lawyers ensure that social media communications are preserved for trial? Conversely, how can they stop their clients from putting themselves at risk of sanctions for deleting information?

Facebook messages can’t be admitted in assault case 

Published: August 24, 2011

Tags: assault, Facebook, impeachment, social media, social networking

An assault defendant could not introduce messages from a social networking site for the purpose of impeaching the credibility of a key prosecution witness, the Connecticut Appellate Court has ruled in affirming a conviction.

Google Plus: The next big thing for small law firms? 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: August 16, 2011

Tags: Facebook, Google, legal marketing, LinkedIn, marketing, social media, social networking, technology, Twitter

Some law firm marketing gurus are going gaga over Google+ (Google Plus), the latest social media platform.

Recent NLRB activity

Published: June 28, 2011

Tags: Facebook, National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, social media, social media policies, social networking, Twitter

The NLRB has initiated several actions against employers who have taken employment actions based on an employee’s use of social media, but it has also refused to take action where it determined an employee’s behavior didn’t constitute protected activity.

NLRB aims at social media

By: Correy Stephenson
Published: June 28, 2011

Tags: Facebook, National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, social media, social media policies, social networking, Twitter

Employers – including law firms – need to take a closer look at their social media policies and how they enforce those policies in light of recent actions taken by the National Labor Relations Board.

Screening job applicants on social networking sites 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: May 20, 2011

Tags: EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Facebook, failure-to-hire, internet, job applicants, social media, social media policies, social networking, Twitter

Most employers are doing it. Few admit to it, and even fewer have considered the legal implications.