This paper begins with a brief overview of the social media websites that employment lawyers should have a working knowledge of, and explores the nature of potentially relevant evidence found on these websites. The author outlines of how social media evidence can be preserved before and throughout the litigation process by providing an overview of spoliation and preservation orders. The paper concludes with a discussion of how lawyers must ‘click with caution’ when gathering social media evidence due to privacy and ethical issues. The admissibility of social media evidence obtained through improper means is also discussed.

This paper was presented at the Employment Law Update program held in October and November of 2012.