Solicitors should be cautious about adding a client on sites such as Facebook, the Law Society has warned.

The social networking site is widely recognised as a site for personal rather than business use and there is a risk of merging professional and personal lives, which could result in a breach of client confidentiality.

To assist practitioners and practices in using social media, the Law Society has issued professional guidance outlining the benefits and risks, the importance of individuals and businesses reviewing their social media ‘presence’ and
privacy settings as well as information on setting up social media for business.

Online social networking provides opportunities for the legal profession, both commercially and in terms of professional networking, but also presents challenges to the core duties of solicitors.

If you make ‘friends’ with clients on Facebook, for example, you should evaluate whether this may affect any of your ethical obligations.Law Society president John Wotton says that adding clients on social media sites, even if you have a very good relationship with them, could cross boundaries and breach the solicitors’ code of conduct.

“There could be several implications in adding a client on some social media sites,” he warned.

“Your professional integrity could be questioned if details of your private life is revealed, while the client could unwittingly post sensitive information on your page, which would compromise confidentiality or impact ongoing cases.

“You may think your profile is reasonably innocuous, but you cannot always control the information other people share, such as comments or photo tagging.

“We advise keeping your professional life separate from your personal social networking activities. Anything posted online is accessible in the public domain.”