State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting speaker John Browning is a busy legal professional. In addition to practicing full time as a litigator with a downtown Dallas firm, Browning writes extensively on technology and the law. He’s the author of four books on social media and the law, the most recent of which, Legal Ethics and Social Media: A Practitioner’s Handbook, is soon to be released by the American Bar Association. He developed the first course ever taught at a U.S. law school devoted to social media and the law and serves on the adjunct faculty of 3 law schools. We got a chance to talk to Browning about why legal technology is so important. You can see Browning speak on two occasions during the meeting:
June 22 at 1:30 p.m. in the De Soto A Room — Ethical Implications of Social Media Commentary
June 23 at 10:15 a.m.in the Coronado BCD Room — They Said WHAT About Me? The Ethics of Responding to Negative Online Reviews and Social Media
You can also meet members of the LexBlog team in the exhibitor hall at booth #28. We are offering complimentary blog reviews and waived initial blog fees during the entire meeting.
How did you first get into the technology side of the law?
I first got into technology and the law as a young defense lawyer; long used to insurance companies paying private investigators to surveil plaintiffs who were exaggerating their injuries, with the advent of Facebook and other sites I soon realized people were unwittingly providing me with the very impeachment evidence I used to seek. I started using social media content in cases I was defending, and that practical expertise led to speaking and writing opportunities – which eventually led to even bigger speaking and writing opportunities. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Why are you so passionate about it?
I’m passionate about technology and the law because I’ve seen the evolution in the standard of lawyers’ “digital competence”: too many lawyers are doing themselves, and more importantly their clients, a disservice by sticking their heads in the sand and failing or refusing to become conversant in technology’s benefits (and risks).
What’s the greatest challenge in your work today?
The single greatest challenge, I feel, is keeping up with the virtually nonstop developments in this area oflaw. New causes of action, new wrinkles on concepts that I began writing about years ago now pop up regularly, from service of process via social media to seeing a tweet used as a deadly weapon to business disputes that now critically involve ownership of social media accounts or rights to followers. We live in an age in which even politics isn’t immune from the legal dimensions of social media, ranging from the constitutionality of “ballot selfies” to the legal ramifications of presidential tweets. And despite all the writing and speaking I’ve done to help lawyers manage the ethical aspects of social media use, hardly a day goes by without reading of some lawyer or judge in ethical hot water over social media misuse.
What’s the one message you want to leave with the Texas Bar audience members?
If I could leave my fellow Texas bar members with anything, it would be to echo the importance of adding some technology-oriented courses to their CLE load. Florida became the first state to add a “mandatory technology CLE” requirement, but given the existing offerings from TexasBar CLE as well as the tremendous volunteer efforts of Computer & Technology Section members to create and provide more practical CLE on technology-related subjects. These include everything from law practice management tips and e-filing to handling ethical issues involving technology to law firm cyber security concerns.
You can follow Browning on Twitter.