Social media has truly become the defining tool for communication in the Information Age. Social media is the new mass media: it provides effective outlets for journalism, advertising, public relations, marketing, and other crucial communication purposes.

This hasn't exactly been the case for the legal community and the State Bar Associations. While online social media has been around in different forms since the late 1990s, most State Bar Associations finally took notice of the emerging technology when it captured the attention of news media outlets circa 2007; a few months after social networking giant Facebook made itself available to anyone who wished to register. By that time there were only a handful of attorneys and law firms using social networking. According to recent surveys conducted by the American Bar Association, more than half of all practicing attorneys keep an online presence in the different social networks.

The initial reaction of most State Bars towards social media has not exactly been favorable. This reaction was almost expected, as many State Bars focused on news reports concerning questionable uses of social networking. Several State Bar Associations issued cautionary statements to their members about the contents of their blog posts and the use of social media websites for ex parte communications.

Once again many State Bars issued warnings to their members about the legal consequences of social networking. Some State Bars also instituted new policies limiting the use of blogs and social networking sites by their own administrative employees. In the eyes of some State Bar Associations, social media platforms and websites are filled with ethical issues for legal practitioners. One of these issues deals with the natural potential of social media as a marketing tool. Internet-savvy attorneys and law firms can foster client development through the effective use of social networking websites. Some State Bar Associations, however, have taken extreme views regarding their members' use of social networking for marketing purposes. These State Bars practically consider that every online posting made by or about an attorney is an advertisement and thus subject to rules governing ethics and professional conduct. For this reason, attorneys who plan to use social media as a marketing strategy should keep themselves up-to-date on their respective State Bar rules; or else seek the advice of an online legal marketing expert.

Even the online profiles of attorneys can be interpreted as advertising and thus become subject to State Bar rules. The Tennessee Bar Association, for example, considers LinkedIn profiles advertisements. Other State Bars such as South Carolina's require their members to constantly monitor their profiles to ensure that even comments left by other users conform to the Bar's rules.

Thankfully, not all State Bars have such narrow views on social networking. The Wisconsin State Bar Association was one of the first State Bars to offer Continuing Legal Education courses focusing on social media as a legal marketing tool. As the growth of social media and Web 2.0 continues, attorneys can only hope that their respective State Bars revise their rules and relax their stance on social media.