Book Description

Litigation is about winning. It's not like a game of horseshoes, where coming close is good enough. Placing second is not something that gets and keeps clients. Now flash forward to the social media era of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat—and the list could go on and on, with new sites springing up and gaining traction all the time. Social media—once the stomping grounds of a youthful, tech-savvy generation—is a phenomenon with an incredible impact in the legal arena. The oversharing that happens on social networking sites can make or break a case—and what's more, the online landscape is ever changing, ever morphing and evolving, nearly at the lightning speed of technology itself. It may sound like a brave new world out there (and it is), but the good news is that you can quickly get up to speed and have a desktop guide at your fingertips. And, once you become comfortable with social media, you're going to be pleasantly surprised by how much helpful evidence can be found on social networking sites. That's where Winning with Social Media comes in. In this new book by attorney Michelle Sherman, you'll discover how this modern form of evidence plays a key role in cases ranging from divorce and child custody to wrongful termination, from narcotics trafficking to invasion of privacy, from breach of contract to intellectual property, from DUI to professional malpractice. You'll learn how to: • conduct informal discovery for getting social media discovery from the opposition • execute personal service through social media when all else fails • lay a rock-solid foundation to get online posts admitted into evidence • overcome objections in discovery and at trial • authenticate "ownership" of social media accounts and the incriminating posts made to them • keep your clients from sinking their case through "loose lips" on social media • use and monitor social media posts— not just from the parties, but witnesses, jurors, and even the judge—from start to finish in your case What you won't come away with, Sherman advises, is any reassurance that you can ignore social media in your litigation matters. Lawyers who do or who dismiss its relevance do so at their clients' peril. In the twenty-first century, dealing with social media evidence is a crucial part of your discovery plan and trial preparation, and Winning with Social Media will help you meet that challenge.