Publications

Illinois Bar Journal
Articles on Social Media

Marketing Your Practice via Social Media By Maria Kantzavelos April 2013 Article, Page 180 You can find clients on Facebook and LinkedIn. Or, more to the point, they can find you. But be sure to go about it the right way or you'll lose business and run afoul of ethics rules.
#Oyez, #Oyez: Why Judges Should Let Reporters Tweet from the Courtroom By Esther Seitz January 2013 Article, Page 38 The author argues that Illinois courts should embrace tweeting and other microblogging by reporters as an immediate and non-disruptive way to acquaint the public with the workings of the judiciary.
Lawyers and LinkedIn endorsements: proceed with caution By Adam W. Lasker January 2013 Lawpulse, Page 10 LinkedIn members know that "endorsements" are popping up everywhere. Can you make and accept them? Yes, but mind your ethical ps and qs, an authority warns.
Tips for Authenticating Social Media Evidence By Nicholas O. McCann September 2012 Article, Page 482 Illinois practitioners should prepare to meet strict authentication requirements until clear rules are established. Here's a look at the cases and advice about how to proceed.
Proposal would stop employers from seeking social network passwords By Adam W. Lasker May 2012 Lawpulse, Page 234 Proposed legislation would forbid employers from asking for employees' and job applicants' social-media passwords, but some lawyers argue for a public-safety exception.
Ethics Puzzlers: Facebook, Fees, and More By Peter L. Rotskoff and Melinda J. Bentley February 2012 Article, Page 84 What if opposing counsel wins a continuance to go to a funeral but takes an island vacation instead (and posts photos on Facebook)? Ethics authorities explore these and other hypotheticals.
Friending Your Enemies, Tweeting Your Trials: Using Social Media Ethically By Helen W. Gunnarsson October 2011 Article, Page 500 A look at the special ethical challenges that arise when lawyers use Facebook, Twitter and the like and how to address them.
Exile on Face Tweet: Lawyer Networking on Social Media By John G. Locallo September 2011 Column, Page 432 You can't afford not to use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
To Tweet or Not to Tweet? By Helen W. Gunnarsson August 2011 Article, Page 396 Don't get Twitter? You're not alone. But lawyers are using it to reach out to fellow practitioners and communicate with the public.
Tweeting the law By Helen W. Gunnarsson August 2011 Lawpulse, Page 382 Lawyers, bar associations, courts, and others use Twitter to push out news, cases, job openings, and more.
A Business Lawyer Plugs into the Business of Law By Helen W. Gunnarsson July 2011 Article, Page 340 ISBA President John G. Locallo will use his bully pulpit to help lawyers understand the power and importance of practice-oriented technology.
Loose-Lipped Jurors in the Facebook Age: What Courts Can Do About Unauthorized Electronic Communication By Jasmine Villaflor Hernandez and Jessica LeeAnn Cummings July 2011 Article, Page 344 Inappropriate posting, texting, and tweeting by jurors can wreak havoc with the trial process.
Who Posted That? Anonymous Online Speech and the First Amendment By Sarah A. Smith April 2011 Article, Page 194 There's a trend in defamation litigation to use pre-suit discovery procedures to uncover the identities of anonymous online commenters. The author considers the implications.
Ethics in the age of Twitter By Helen W. Gunnarsson January 2011 Lawpulse, Page 10 An ABA ethics commission is looking for suggestions about how to bring the model ethics rules in line with globalization and 21st Century communications technology.
Does What Happens on Facebook Stay on Facebook?Discovery, Admissibility, Ethics, and Social Media By Beth C. Boggs and Misty L. Edwards July 2010 Article, Page 366 What are the limits on discovery and admissibility of content gathered on social media sites? This article looks at the emerging case law.
Like it or not, you're on the 'Net By Helen W. Gunnarsson April 2010 Lawpulse, Page 174 Do you know what they're saying about you out there? Or what you said that you probably shouldn't have? Here's how to find out and what you can do about it.
Sexting: It's No Joke, It's a Crime By Joshua D. Herman April 2010 Article, Page 192 A look at the high-stakes legal issues raised by adolescent "sexting" and their implications for counsel to teens, parents, and schools.
Will You Be My (Facebook) Friend? By Karen Erger April 2010 Column, Page 210 Those pesky ethics rules follow lawyers everywhere, even onto social-media pages.
Read the letters to the Editor March 2010 Column, Page 118 Distracted Drivers
Looking for "facts" in all the Wrong Places By Hon. Ron Spears February 2010 Column, Page 102 Social networking sites are great - unless jurors are using them in ways that threaten a fair trial.
Illinois outlaws DWT (driving while texting) By Helen W. Gunnarsson December 2009 Lawpulse, Page 598 Effective January 1, drivers aren't allowed to "compose, send, or read an electronic message." Is PA 96-0130 overregulation or overdue?
Sex offenders banned from using social networking Web sites. PA 096-0262 December 2009 Illinois Law Update, Page 604 Illinois lawmakers recently added new language to the Criminal Code of 1961 to prohibit convicted sex offenders from using social networking Web sites.
Social media and legal ethics By Helen W. Gunnarsson September 2009 Lawpulse, Page 438 May an Illinois lawyer list his or her "Specialties" on LinkedIn without running afoul of Illinois RPC 7.4?
Social networking 1.0 By Helen W. Gunnarsson June 2009 Lawpulse, Page 278 Despite the newfangled options, blogs and e-mail discussion groups are still excellent ways to connect with other lawyers.
Twitter and Linkedin and Facebook. Oh My! By Helen W. Gunnarsson June 2009 Article, Page 288 Are you Linkedin? Facebooking? Tweeting? Or still figuring out what it's all about and why you should care? Here's a lawyer's guide to social networking.
R U monitoring employees' text messages? By Helen W. Gunnarsson September 2008 Lawpulse, Page 438  An employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy in private e-mail he sent during work hours on his employer-issued pager, the federal ninth circuit rules.
Do We Blawg and How? By Helen W. Gunnarsson May 2006 Article, Page 236 Blogs are sprouting like mushrooms these days, it seems. Why do lawyers blog? Should you join them?
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