October Notes: The Facebook Post that Cost an In-House Lawyer Her Job

In-House Lawyer Fired for Intemperate Facebook Post: Expressing a lack of sympathy for shooting victims based on their perceived political leanings isn’t a good look on anyone. So it’s no surprise that CBS lawyer Hayley Geftman-Gold was unceremoniously fired for posting on Facebook, shortly after the mass shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival, that she was indifferent because “country music fans often are Republican gun toters.” It’s (yet another) example of how the quick-and-informal nature of social media posting can lead to permanent career damage. But should Geftman-Gold’s post also lead to disciplinary sanctions?  The answer is certainly no. Outside of limited circumstances involving their own clients and legal matters, lawyers still have a First Amendment right to express their opinions. But as this instance shows, there’s a lot more than merely legal ethics to keep in mind when thinking about sending out that oh-so-incisive tweet or Facebook post.

No “Excusable Neglect” For Cutting Corners on Anti-Spam Software:  I’ve never been one to get exercised about spam. Modern email clients sort it well, and it’s easy to quickly scan the “junk” file every few days and purge the offending items. But combine an inordinate distaste for spam with law firm frugality and you get an email system that automatically deletes valid and spam email alike – with no safeguards. Which can unhappily lead to important court documents finding their way straight to the memory hole, sight unseen. That’s, uh, bad – and malpractice-worthy. Or as a Florida appellate court put it, in denying a law firm’s request for leave to appeal an award of attorneys’ fees against its client: “Odom & Barlow made a conscious decision to use a defective email system without any safeguards or oversight in order to save money.” Ouch! One part of a lawyer’s duty of technological competence is listening to the experts – and not shining their recommendations to save a few bucks.

Court Doesn’t Buy the “Contract By Tweet” Concept: While some people are content to argue about whether twitter is really just a cesspool of logic-free argument and pet videos, others are trying to use it to cobble together contract claims. Here’s how it works: post your creative ideas, tweet them at actors and movies execs, and then when a movie that plausibly looks like your idea appears, pounce with the contract claim! Alas, as with all too many 1-2-3 PROFIT ideas online, this one has met a brick wall. It turns out that to make a contract claim – even on social media – you’ve got to have, you know, the elements of a contract. Things like “terms,” and “agreement,” and “consideration.” A shocking reminder that the rules applicable in real life still apply online.

Social Media News and Notes:

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley learns that retweets CAN equal endorsements.

Yeah, so it turns out that creating fake court orders to get negative online reviews taken down isn’t such a hot strategy.

And tempting though it might be, it’s best not to create bogus online postings about opposing counsel, either.