The Unforeseen Pitfalls of Delegating Social Media Investigations

Pitfalls of Paralegal or Investigator Social Media Investigations

Let’s face it, our paralegals and investigators are sometimes much more social media savvy than some of our attorneys, especially some of our more senior attorneys. But there are some unforeseen pitfalls with delegating the social media investigations to a paralegal or investigator that might not be on your radar. What are these pitfalls?

First, different people searched social media differently. Meaning, a paralegal might take a different approach to how they search Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter then perhaps an investigator in the very same case. By delegating your social media searches to different members of your team, you risk missing out on key evidence. 

Second, our paralegals and our investigators aren’t always up to speed on the legal ethics rules that govern our ability to collect social media evidence. Our attorneys take several hours of continuing legal education every year to make sure they search online evidence correctly, but our investigators may not know the ins and outs of the legal ethics rules. They can therefore get in serious ethical trouble in the event they create fake profiles or communicate with a represented party or represented witness on social media. 

Finally, and most importantly, you are responsible for the actions of your agents. As an attorney, you can be held liable for the actions of your paralegals, investigators, and other people that you hire on behalf of the firm. So, if those third parties aren’t following the ethics rules carefully, you can be held responsible for a serious ethical violation.