If you ask a lawyer how they use Facebook, they will likely talk about photo sharing, keeping up with friends and maybe some professional networking. However, an increasing number of lawyers may point to their use of Facebook as a valuable tool for their real discovery and investigative work. You might be surprised to find out that the world’s top social media site has become one of the most valuable research tools for legal professionals. The key to building any good case is research, and Facebook is a veritable treasure-trove of information about clients and their opposition. For many attorneys, particularly divorce lawyers, it may be the first place they look for evidence.
It used to be that in cases where it was one person’s word against another’s (think divorces and civil suits), lawyers would hire private investigators to get the dirt they needed. Now, lawyers simply open a browser window and start searching on Facebook for photos and conversation threads with which to build their case. It’s credible evidence too, since the persons themselves are the authors of the information.
Sure, there are elements of a profile that can be clearly incriminating, such as membership in a certain group, threads and messages, or tagged photos of a person and other parties to a legal action. At the same time, even a merely suspicious wallpost is often enough to point the way to a solid case. And no matter how many privacy settings a person uses, subpoenas probably don’t matter in ferreting out Facebook secrets: all it takes is a friend with access to the person’s profile to reveal information to the client and his or her lawyers.
The explosion of social media sites is thus making it easier for people to get caught, especially considering Facebook’s habit of gradually relaxing privacy standards. Many are unaware that their private information is no longer protected under newer rules. As in all legal matters, silence may be your best defense, but that may not matter if you post it on a social media site first!
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