by Jennifer Little

In today’s growing technological world, a big question arises: how is the legal system responding? As the use of new technology increases, attorneys must educate themselves about the impact of that technology on how we live and how we litigate cases. Attorneys have become more familiar with E-discovery and E-filing in recent years and, as new technology develops and social media sites experience surges in use, attorneys and the legal system are responding.

Social media sites are quickly becoming a great source of information and even admissible evidence. Messages, pictures, posts and comments in social networking sites now provide an avenue for the discovery of evidence for attorneys. According to a survey cited in the National Law Journal, 81 percent of legal responders said they had seen an increase of social media evidence in court cases they had witnessed. Workers’ compensation, domestic, personal injury, prosecutors and defense attorneys, just to name a few, are now using this form of evidence in courts of law. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says that 81 percent of its members have used evidence from social networks in court, 66 percent of which cite Facebook as the main source with MySpace following at 15 percent and Twitter at 5 percent.