WHEN LESS IS MORE:
Why keeping quiet about legal issues helps in the long run

By: Brett W. Stedman, Esquire

We live in the time of the greatest and most rapid expansion of information and communication in the history of our planet. During the past two decades, our country has evolved from a nation of land-line telephones and the morning newspaper to cell phones, the internet, email, text messaging, instant messaging, social networking websites, and beyond. It is hard to say where or if this explosion of information and communication technology will end. While these new methods of communication and the benefits of being able to obtain information at the snap of a finger are astounding, too much of a good thing can often lead to unintended consequences.

This ability to communicate openly and freely is quite modern. Our founding fathers, on the other hand, felt that it was so important to be able to keep quiet that they created the 5th Amendment that gives us all the right to remain silent when we are held in custody by the police. We should all listen to our country’s founding fathers when we are likely to be involved in the legal system. At the very least, we should recognize when our words are not only heard but are available to be viewed or even saved to be used against us in the future.

Attorneys commonly engage in tactics that seek to discover the words of opposing parties and witnesses. In my experience, it is helpful to think about the following common sense practices when dealing with information or communications technology:

1) Don’t send emotional texts or emails. All too often, people’s emotions take over when they send texts or emails. A person often sends text messages or emails to others in the heat of the moment that he or she would never dream of sending if they had stopped to think about the situation. It is also problematic that you cannot take back a text message or email once it is sent. These messages often portray the sender as violent or unstable, when the sender is often neither. To make this worse, once texts and emails are sent, there is no way to generally go back and delete what you wrote. These items are frequently used as evidence in family law and criminal cases.

2) Be aware of social networking. Remember that whenever you post anything online, especially on Facebook or other sites, you are posting it for all the world to see. While these sites may allow you to limit sending the items to only specified groups, you have no control over who those “friends” send your messages or posts too. It is particularly unwise to air your grievances against opposing parties in pending litigation. These statements can and will be used against the person making them.

3) Think before you send or post a message. Remember that your messages could potentially be used against you. Do you really want the entire world to see what you’ve done on Facebook? Do you want the courts to see an angry tirade that you sent via text or email? While electronic devices have made communication more impersonal, we all forget about the fact that these messages are very rarely private.

These are rules that anyone should consider when using their cell phones, the internet, or other technology. This is even more important when people are involved in litigation. Never post anything about your case on the internet or discuss it with the opposing party. Put yourself in a position where your attorney can help you obtain a favorable conclusion to your case.

Brett is an associate in our firm’s civil litigation department. He also practices in our criminal law and family law departments.

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS ARTICLE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. NOTHING IN THIS ARTICLE IS INTENDED AS LEGAL ADVICE, NOR SHOULD IT BE INTERPRETED AS SUCH. IF YOU NEED ADVICE REGARDING LEGAL MATTERS, SEEK THE ADVICE OF AN ATTORNEY.

Protecting Your Reputation from Internet Attacks

With the rising use of computers, internet, and social media, internet attacks are occurring more frequently.

Cyber attackers are using fake facebook pages and anonymous email accounts. These accounts are set up by creating fictitious names, addresses, credit card information, etc, to victimize via the web by falsely attacking reputations of individuals and businesses.

Here are some steps you should follow if you have been the victim of internet – based activity that could damage your personal or business reputation. You can get the material removed from the websites, blogs and forums; but it may be a bit complicated. Listed below are the most expeditious methods of removing such anonymous attacks and identifying the offending party. You will also need to remove the offending material from Google after the host has taken the material down or it will continue to appear in Google search.

STEPS TO DISABLE INTERNET ATTACKS:

IDENTIFY THE OFFENDER OR HOST OF THE OFFENDING SITE BY DOING A QUICK SEARCH ON WWW.WHOIS.NET.
 This is a free website that will usually identify the host of a website and provide the Internet Protocol or IP address of the party posting the material.
 You may need to do “reverse e-mail” searches or other forensic ways to identify the person.

FILE AN INTERNET COMPLAINT USING THE SPECIFIC FORMS AVAILABLE ON EACH OFFENDING SITE.
 By contacting ISPs, webmasters, forum moderators, & major search engines, you can seek to have the malicious content removed.
 Most sites have their own specific form and you will be ignored if you do not use the form each site requests. After submitting the form you must be aggressive and follow up with the legal department of the site. You will need to identify the information that is false or malicious if you want to pursue a cause of action for defamation.
 Frequently, these sites provide services to bury untrue content on search pages using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to restore clients’ reputations.
CONDUCT DAMAGE CONTROL
 If you have been successful in removing the offending material off of the web, it may still appear in Google and other search engine results.
 Over time the data will no longer appear. However, until that happens, when your name is googled; the damaging, embarrassing or defamatory items will be linked to you, your blog, or your website.
 In today’s world of blogs, Twitter feeds, and facebook; it is easy and free to put out an opinion that can wreak havoc with reputations.

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

 Start the practice of online reputation management which entails the evaluating, monitoring and reacting to what is being said about you online.
 This step is very important because of the way people are using search engines to locate and learn about people or businesses. Having negative links ranked above positive links could ruin your reputation. Also, because of the anonymity factor, the dialog which one uses can become extremely harsh.
 Some ways to manage this include:
1. Evaluate the results using Google Alerts or Yahoo Alerts
2. Track behavior of those writing about you – find out if they are persistent blog posters, if they write in more than one forum, and most important, if their writing is affecting others views?
3. Create and execute a plan to react to the comments
 Start with your company’s website and then to linkedin, facebook, & other social media platforms.
 Post positive news, client testimonials, or even commentary on your industry.
 Search engines like fresh content and reward it with higher rankings.
 Create a number of blogs and make sure each blog is search engine optimized for your name and cross-linked between other sites you control.

Internet Attacks are not the easiest to battle but your reputation is worth the fight. Oftentimes the threat of legal action is enough to persuade website owners to remove libelous content. Always seek the legal advice of an attorney, if that is not the case.

Ekker, Kuster, McConnell & Epstein, LLP (www.ekmelaw.com) is Mercer County’s largest local law firm, with twelve experienced attorneys and qualified staff. We provide a diverse range of legal services to individuals and businesses throughout the Shenango Valley, Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. Through alliances with regional and national law firms and the use of modern technology, we have access to a global network to serve our clients needs in such diverse practice areas as civil and commercial litigation, corporate, business planning, estate planning and administration, domestic relations, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, and personal injury. We are dedicated to helping clients solve problems in a cost efficient manner.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is a marketing publication and advertisement of Ekker, Kuster, McConnell & Epstein, LLP. It is intended to alert the recipients to developments in the law and does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended as general information only. You are urged to consult your own lawyer concerning your situation and specific legal questions you may have. THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT.

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