Law360 published a little ditty about how small firms are setting the pace for social media law. Indeed we small firms are uniquely poised to tackle new media. When it comes to plaintiff work for victims of social media harassment and abuse, time is of the essence. Within a matter of minutes after completing an intake call, we can do a conflicts check, send a retainer agreement and receive the retainer by credit card. These cases are all about triage. When a victim is under attack, all less pressing issues are temporarily set aside so we can act fast. We screen capture the online evidence via PageVault, fast track complaints on the social media platforms by submitting request forms and then reaching out to the contacts we have at each respective major social media company. Within hours we are frequently able to de-anonymize the offender and send a cease and desist letter by email and mail. When the offender is a former romantic partner of the victim, as is often the case, we can obtain a same-day order of protection through family court. If the harm is occurring at school, we will not hesitate to get their legal counsel on the phone immediately.
We all know that with the Internet, there are no borders. With the law, there are. Each state and country has its own legal regime. Because there are so few of us with expertise in the practice area of social media and Internet attacks, many of our clients are out of state. As a nimble small practice, it is very simple for us to pair up with local counsel if litigation is necessary.
The point is that retaining a small firm is a smart strategic decision when fast action is required. Fast action is always necessary in the context of social media. The Internet is sonic. Your legal counsel must be supersonic.