Inconsistency and lack of process around client social content will cost you. If it hasn’t done so already, it’s only a matter of time.
Inconsistency and lack of process around client social content will cost you. If it hasn’t done so already, it’s only a matter of time.Most law firms believe they handle social media evidence responsibly because someone on the team reviews client’s posts. In reality, what passes as “review” is often a manual, inconsistent effort – legal staff scrolling through Facebook timelines, capturing screenshots from Instagram, and saving files in scattered folders or PDFs. These efforts, if done at all, take time and therefore feel diligent, but diligence without structure creates exposure.
If gathering and reviewing your client’s social media content is not embedded in your firm’s onboarding, clearly outlined as a task in your case management platform for one of more team members, you’re gambling every case. Each unchecked account represents an undiscovered risk that can weaken credibility, damage case value, or trigger sanctions in discovery. When opposing counsel identifies content your firm overlooked, the fallout reaches far beyond one file. In that moment, the absence of a consistent process becomes a professional liability and a failure in Standard of Care.
Manual Social Media Evidence Review Assumptions Do Not Replace Accountability
Personal injury firms almost always have a clear process for collecting medical records, police reports, and employment documentation. Social media should be treated with the same level of importance.
Unfortunately, social media evidence is still handled as an informal task rather than a discovery requirement. If “Request Client Social Media” does not appear in your case management system’s intake checklist – whether on Filevine, SmartAdvocate, Litify, Clio, or any other platform – the task will eventually be overlooked. There is no way to predict which file will burn you and expose the gap in your processes.
The ABA Model Rule 1.1 establishes that technological competence is part of an attorney’s duty of competence. Understanding how client-generated online content can affect a case is a professional obligation, not an administrative “nice to have”. Failing to include social media review in onboarding exposes your firm to reputational, financial, and ethical risk.
The True Cost of Manual Social Media Review
The manual process for reviewing social media evidence in case preparation is time-consuming and inconsistent. Staff can spend hours navigating multiple platforms, capturing screenshots, labelling content, and manually inserting timestamps.
Beyond this time drain, the larger cost lies in uncertainty. Federal and state courts continue to affirm the admissibility of social media evidence, citing its importance in evaluating emotional distress, physical capacity, and truthfulness. A single overlooked post can alter the trajectory of negotiations, undermine a settlement, or create a credibility problem during testimony.
Social media content does not need to be inflammatory to be damaging. A photo of a client smiling at a family event, posted two weeks after an accident, can raise questions about pain and suffering. A check-in at a bar or a tagged group hike may be used to challenge restrictions on mobility or medical leave. Even emojis or jokes taken out of context can be presented to cast doubt on the seriousness of claimed injuries.
These are not fringe cases – they are routine exhibits in modern litigation. Knowing this material exists before opposing counsel is now part of competent representation.
Embedding Plaintiff Social Media Review as a Standard Practice
Gathering plaintiff social media evidence during onboarding, rather than racing to produce it mid-discovery, allows it to become part of a case foundation, not a reactive task. The firm gains early visibility into potential risks and can plan accordingly.
Private Footprint provides a structured, permission-based process that integrates directly into this stage. For $100 per file, our service facilitates access to your client’s social content, obtained with their consent. Your firm gets access to client posts from multiple social media platforms, all organized chronologically for easy review by your team. You can search posts, flag problematic content, and build the client’s backstory with the hundreds of photos and videos the client has been posting. You can generate production-ready reports in minutes, and extract the content to use for exhibits throughout discovery and at trial.
With Private Footprint your team avoids hours of manual work while maintaining control over interpretation and strategy. The Private Footprint process supports evidentiary standards, minimizes clerical strain, and produces review-ready files that can be disclosed or referenced in minutes.
Meeting the Standard of Care in Digital Discovery
As the world goes online, the legal field is increasingly defined by digital behavior. Ignoring social media evidence in onboarding no longer reflects oversight; it signals a deviation from the standard of care. The ABA’s inclusion of technological competence underscores that attorneys must understand the digital landscape and take reasonable steps to identify and preserve relevant content.
Embedding social review within intake procedures ensures that each case begins with consistency and compliance. Firms that institutionalize this step protect clients, strengthen their credibility, and demonstrate adherence to professional responsibility. Those that fail to do so risk allowing one unreviewed file to compromise years of hard-earned trust.
Move Social Media Review Where It Belongs
Protecting your case values begins with awareness. Incorporating social media review into onboarding eliminates guesswork and reinforces professional discipline, while signalling to clients and courts that your firm is meeting the current standard of care.
Private Footprint was designed specifically for plaintiff attorneys seeking to remove inefficiency and uncertainty from digital discovery. For a predictable, one-time cost, your firm strengthens its process, safeguards client credibility, and ensures compliance without adding to staff workload.
Stop betting on hope as a strategy. Build social media review into your process and maintain control of your files from the start.
Book a demo today to see how Private Footprint helps your firm meet the standard of care before the next case puts it to the test.