I am a student about to commence articling with a law firm. For the past few years, I have maintained a personal Twitter account and gained a few hundred followers. I primarily tweet about political, economic, and legal issues in Canada. However, I often do not remain neutral and occasionally take a strong stand against certain actions or comments by political leaders. My question to you is, should I follow the Twitter account of my law firm and potentially reveal my Twitter identity to my law firm?
— Bay Tweeter
Bay Tweeter, the line between my obligations as an employee and my participation in a virtual space in my private capacity as Sandra the person is something that I have grappled with as well — in connection with this column, in fact. Firstly, I would strongly advise that you find out what your law firm’s policy is on employee participation in Internet social media like Twitter. What are we entitled to do in our private capacity and how far reaching is the employer’s right to monitor and impose limits on our behavior outside of the office, including online activities? Some of the employment law aspects of these questions were recently explored in an enlightening Globe and Mail article by Jeff Gray. In the practical here and now, fairness and rights may be beside the point when one gets fired or faces disciplinary action for violating the code of conduct because of inflammatory comments made on Twitter. As lawyers we face an even greater burden.
People assume that the Internet places new and unprecedented constraints on employee conduct. I’m inclined to think that what we do on social media websites, like any other behavior, is subject to the same old obligations and rules that apply to us as lawyers or employees even after we have left the office. While all employers are motivated by reputational and economic factors to regulate employee behavior, the bar (no pun intended) is higher for lawyers since we must adhere to our rules of professional ethics, which include professional behavior, respect for peers and the profession and the need to protect client confidentiality in our communications. The license to practice law is a privilege that must come at some cost, but it’s perfectly fair to ask how high.
A friend who worked for a national law firm also moonlighted as a freelance journalist. She landed a high profile assignment on firm rankings. When her firm’s managing partner found out, he demanded that the firm review her final draft before submission. An epic struggle ensued between her job and her journalistic freedom and integrity. She left the firm shortly afterwards. Bay Tweeter, this is a useful analogy for the online world because the stakes are just as high in your situation. Given the nature of your content and the “strong stand” that you take, find out what the worst case scenario would be if you reveal your Twitter identity to your law firm. Would it welcome such a disclosure? What benefit would you derive from it? Wouldn’t outing yourself defeat the very purpose of the freedom and anonymity of tweeting? The one caveat, of course, is the possibility that you might be unmasked anyway.
Sandra Rosier is a former Supreme Court of Canada clerk who has worked at large firms in Toronto and Boston. Having come to her senses, Sandra currently works as a tax advisor at a Toronto-based organization. Her etiquette column for lawyers appears every other Monday at lawandstyle.ca. Got a question for Sandra? Email us.
Photo by Rosaura Ochoa