Why the race to HR is the new race to the Courthouse
How a public profile can result in private consequences in the Social Media age.
Many lawyers have heard the phrase “race to the courthouse” in the context of litigants racing to the the first in line as the Plaintiff in a case. What has changed in the last few years is the introduction of employee punishment for public and social behavior by racing to punish an accused’s employer in addition to the accused.
For example, your client John Doe is accused of domestic violence and gross sexual imposition by his live-in partner of many years, William Witness. William’s family turns to social media to accuse John of all sorts of bad behavior, including posts on Facebook, comments on the local news pages, and TikTok videos. Paul Public tracks John Doe down through LinkedIn and starts an online campaign to email John Doe’s employer to get John fired, to post negative reviews of John Doe’s employer on his Google Business and Facebook pages, and to organize an internet based phone attack to clog up John’s employer’s business phone lines.
All of this - before John Doe has even had the chance to appear at arraignment, and before John Doe has even consulted with a retained attorney. Once he does, that attorney is focused on John’s innocence and freedom. That’s where pretrial public relations management is key.
Whether you hire a private public relations firm, designate a family member as the acting agent, or consult with me for my services, here are three key steps you must implement right away:
Inform the employer of the accusation, the representation, and the availability of third party protections.
There are a variety of steps you can take to contact Google and Facebook to have fake negative reviews removed. You can also issue a press release addressing the accusation and distancing the Employer from the situation. The Employer can retain their own attorney or use public relations services to issue specific cease and desist orders using metadata and ip address information.
Inform the family and supporters to lock down their social media feeds.
My preference is no social media use whatsoever by anyone. The family can use encrypted chat services like Telegram or What’sApp to discuss coordinating the support of the accused, if it must be reduced to writing. I have seen this applied in the context of coordinating flights and booking Air Bnb/hotel accommodations for hearings and trials. The family and supporters should always be counseled that the case itself and the accusations should be discussed with NO ONE but counsel. Now is not the time to accept new friend requests or launch a new online venture.
Inform your client, their employer, and the family that the place to argue your case is in the Courtroom first and social media later (if at all.)
Despite the temptation to respond to social media posts and inflammatory news coverage, responding publicly during the pendency of the case is a recipe for disaster, whether by the accused, their family and supporters, or Defense Counsel themselves. This is the space where an agent such as a family representative or retained public relations firm can best fill. A publicity specialist can help coordinate the protection of the family and the employer while also ensuring there is no tainting of the jury pool or accusations of misconduct of trial counsel.
