Social media use in the legal profession

Abstract

There has been a large uptake of social media use by legal professionals over recent years, but with the embrace of the 21st-century lawyer comes an obligation to not only use social media but to do so ethically. Undoubtedly, social media presents a number of ethical challenges for the profession. However, with risk mitigation strategies, Web 2.0 can be used to gain clients through advertising, gather important evidence, serve court documents, network with others in the field and, most importantly, educate the public.