Paralegals investigating witnesses, plaintiffs or defendants for trial often review medical records, financial documents, school records and employment history. Now, add to those avenues, social networking.
According to an article in this morning's Legal Intelligencer, it is now standard operating procedure for paralegals to include checking a person's page on MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter and other social sites to investigate personal injury claims. Written by Christine Flynn, a Philadelphia paralegal with more than 20 years experience, the article addresses the usefulness of information posted to these social networking sites. These postings often include personal background information, photographs, videos, blogs, hobbies and e-mails. The screening of profiles by paralegals opens various doors with respect to the locations or day-to-day activities of plaintiffs, defendants or witnesses.For example, perhaps a plaintiff in a litigation claim is alleging ongoing injuries resulting in pain and restriction of daily activities. A paralegal, following review of the appropriate guidelines and laws with respect to obtaining records from social networking sites, issues a request for information. This discovery request reveals that although the plaintiff is alleging the inability to complete certain activities, he is, in fact, playing baseball and working for a moving company. This information is confirmed by various photographs the plaintiff has posted on his Web page.
"For example, perhaps a plaintiff in a litigation claim is alleging ongoing injuries resulting in pain and restriction of daily activities," writes Flynn. "A paralegal, following review of the appropriate guidelines and laws with respect to obtaining records from social networking sites, issues a request for information. This discovery request reveals that although the plaintiff is alleging the inability to complete certain activities, he is, in fact, playing baseball and working for a moving company. This information is confirmed by various photographs the plaintiff has posted on his Web page."
It's no surprise that this information can change the course of the litigation.
Because of privacy policies, requests for information concerning user profiles must be submitted with proper legal service. Flynn suggests that when issuing a request for information contained on a social networking page, a paralegal should include the following information:
• complete contact information of requesting party;
• full name, birth date and address for the individual from whom you are seeking the profile;
• e-mail address of the user;
• user ID or Group ID number;
• period of activity.
Generally, with a valid subpoena, the agency will provide basic subscriber information and IP logs for a user account. Any additional information will require the consent of the account owner. For more information regarding privacy and subpoenas, please click on the link above.
As Flynn points out, "The role of social and professional networking sites has opened up yet another door in the field of electronic discovery. As courts continue to wrestle with cases involving social networking discovery issues, it is expected that this largely uncharted area will continue to grow.
It is also expected that expert testimony will be required in the future with respect to issues including management of social networking sites and a user's right to privacy, as well as authentication of Web pages. In the meantime, however, paralegals need to be mindful of the existence of this discovery tool with respect to the evaluation of a case.
That said, paralegals should not lose sight of the laws, rules and regulations with respect to the proper subpoena and use of this information during the course of discovery and trial of a case."
