Pennsylvania Bar Institute

This course addresses the impact of social networking on businesses. Regardless of their specific practice area, attorneys should be aware of the risks of social media faced by clients. Specifically, the variety of employment issues, including the use of SNS for pre-employment screening, potential harassment and discrimination claims that can result from employees’ use of these sites, as well as the risks to trade secrets and confidential company information. There are also intellectual-property issues that are linked to the increasing popularity of the sites. For example, there are potential infringement and ownership issues that can occur when employees generate content on behalf of their organization for its use online, as well as the potential for defamation claims and improper disclosures of private information. This session reviews these issues and provides best-practices examples to avoid risks whenever possible. This program is part of PBI’s Ethics Potpourri presented in April 2010. Other courses from the Ethics Potpourri are available for purchase in PBI’s online course catalog.