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#51: Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls on Social Media: Interview with Claude Ducloux from Affinipay/LawPays

Michael Eisenberg
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Using social media could be fun. But sometimes, a simple mistake could cause you a whole career. Knowing how to behave on social media is essential to anyone, but it holds vital importance for lawyers. This week, we are joined by Claude Ducloux to talk about ethical Pitfalls Lawyers Should Avoid On Social Media.

Claude is an Attorney at Law, National Speaker on Legal Ethics, Litigation, and Law Office Management, and is Board-certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law and Civil Appellate Law. He has 44 years of experience as an attorney and previously served as the president of the Austin bar association. His practice includes writing, teaching, lecturing, and representing clients on professionalism and legal ethics. He has written over 100 articles about conflict of interest, grievance prosecution, defense, and office management. He has earned professional honors such as the distinguished lawyer award, Luke souls award, and Professionalism award from the Austin bar association.

Join Claude and me as we discuss the following three questions and more!

  1. What are three ethical pitfalls attorneys should be mindful of regarding their social media presence,

  2. What are three ethical pitfalls attorneys need to be mindful of regarding their client's social media presence, and

  3. What are your three favorite war stories (or something to that effect)?

In our conversation, we cover:

[01.16] Tech setup – Starting the conversation, Claude shares his current technological setup and what his favorite products are.

[06.29] Favorite podcasts – Claude talks about some of his favorite podcasts.

[11.26] Software & equipment – Claude and Michael share information about some of the commonly used software and equipment.

[16.13] Ethical pitfalls – A simple mistake on social media can cause significant damage to your life. Claude talks about posting things on social media as one of the ethical pitfalls because people can understand the absolute opposite of what you meant.

[22.44] Tweeting – Claude shares how people use social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook in an unprofessional manner regarding their work.

[27.20] Practicality – Having a computer isn't enough. As lawyers, you have to make everything secure, especially things related to your work. Claude shares some of the practical things he had to learn over time about the security of his computer files.

[34.11] Being recorded – Claude shares the importance of keeping in mind that your phone calls could be recorded without your knowledge every time. Further, he dives into how he instructed his attendees not to engage in conversations on the other side. 

[41.58] War stories – Claude dives into some stories where attorneys and clients misused social media.

[44.47] Google reviews – Claude shares his opinion on responding to google reviews. He states bar opinions from Philadelphia bar, which you can use as a response for google reviews.

Resources:

Connect with Claude:

Equipment Mentioned in the Podcast:

Software & Services Mentioned in the Podcast: