Would it be right for an advocate to be ‘a friend’ of a judge hearing his matter on Facebook? PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Lawyers are discouraged from unethical or unprofessional posts that may go viral.
The use of social media by advocates is now regulated as the Law Society of Kenya adopted the International Bar Association’s (IBA) Principles on Use of Social Media by the Legal Profession.
The LSK is mandated by statute to regulate the profession from time to time and, therefore, the directive to adhere to these principles is binding.
It is now tantamount to professional misconduct if an advocate uses his social media contrary to the guidelines.
The legal profession is the first professional association to regulate use of social media and perhaps other associations as well as institutions can take a leaf from LSK’s book.
The guidelines aim to promote and encourage professional responsibility in the usage of social media by advocates.
The IBA has set out six principles, the first one being on independence. Use of social media should ensure that advocates are impartial in giving advice.
Advocates are advised to consider the implications of an online relationship on their partiality. For example, would it be appropriate for an advocate to be ‘a friend’ of a judge hearing his matter, on Facebook?
The rules do not give examples or specific instances of relationships that would be considered inappropriate.
Lawyers are expected to uphold professional integrity when using social media and ensure that all their social media dealings uphold the integrity of the profession. Lawyers are, therefore, discouraged from unethical or unprofessional posts that are likely to go viral.
This, again, is subject to debate. There is no clear line between personal ethics and professional ethics. There are instances of some advocates or upcoming advocates being caught up in scandals bordering on personal ethics and morality.
Many advocates are public figures and it is inevitable that their personal lives are constantly subjected to public scrutiny often through the social media.
Lawyers are encouraged to use privacy settings for their accounts and also constantly review social media content. Where a lawyer presents himself as an online legal professional then he has to clarify to the public whether his comments are to be relied upon as professional advice.
Advocates should adhere to the Advocate’s Act in use of social media as regards advertising. Lawyers are required to uphold client confidentiality in use of social media and should develop sound social media policies for their employees.
The rules can be customised for each profession or institution as they are a good guide on usage of social media. However the rules seem to be limited as they serve as guidelines and not clear-cut legislation. For example, the rules do not criminalise misuse of social media.
There is a challenge of regulating or policing the cyber world. There are no geographical boundaries and there is a lot of use of aliases.
In my view, these guidelines may be difficult to enforce unless they contravene a specific legislation for example communication laws, defamation and hate speech.
However, the guidelines would be effective if the recommended standards are adhered to.
