Taniiiiiiiiii

A colleague tweeted about inserting a “wicked” clause into a contract and suggested that it would be problematic if opposing counsel failed to spot it. The tweet made its way to Instagram, where a senior lawyer commented: “Things have really changed.” A very short but pregnant comment. There are colleagues here whose niche is tweeting very alarming and inaccurate positions to court controversy, but nothing has been done. Recently, a colleague tweeted that men are not given custody of their female children by the courts so that they won't sleep with such children. Why is the NBA or LPDC silent on such a serious claim? I am a little over a decade at the Bar, and I almost always come across tweets that elicit a “What?” from some colleagues. At what point exactly did lawyers begin to elevate content creation above professional ethics and comportment? Is it this "put yourself out there" thing or there is more to it? My understanding of a written contract is that it should spell out the terms of the relationship between the parties, their respective rights and obligations, and the protections available to them. The idea of drafting a contract as though one party is actively setting a booby trap for the other and hoping they fall into it is a new development. Besides, I have always thought that every lawyer wants a contract between their client and the other party to be successfully performed, with the parties eventually moving on. Finally, from admission to study law at the university, through admission to law school and call to the Bar, and even throughout the continuation of legal practice, I think there is a need for a serious review of the conditions and terms of admission and continued practice. Beyond grades, I think a candidate’s mental disposition and maturity should be assessed. Lawyers cannot publicly be posting central details of matters they handle or proceedings they witness in court for entertainment or gossip. If possible, the practice and conduct of lawyers, particularly as they relate to their standing as members of the profession, should be reviewed every three or five years. Anyone who fails to meet the expected standards should be required to demonstrate their fitness to continue practising. The way many lawyers conduct themselves online should seriously worry the Bar, the Bench, and every lawyer. To me, it doesn't seem to worry anybody and it is a troubling thing. @NigBarAssoc and @MrsBBold, things cannot continue this way. Please, do something. If I am called upon to do a memo on this, I am willing to. Lawyers cannot afford to behave anyhow. If our training extended to the level of dining etiquette, and law students were punished for infractions in that regard, it should not be considered normal for colleagues to make reckless tweets that are unbecoming of a lawyer or the profession. Few other professionals have attracted as much censure and embarrassment to their profession as some lawyers have in the past one or two years. Yet, our training is amomg the most discipline-centred ones. Something has to be done, and it has to be now.