Incoming Social Media Linking and Posting Policy

Date: October 31, 2017

Welcome to the California Lawyers Association (the “Association”) posting and linking policy. Association members, Section and Committee members, and members of the public are encouraged to use the Association’s social media channels and to participate in the Association’s social media communications. In this policy, you will be able to find information about what you can and cannot do when posting on or linking to the Association’s website or any of the Association’s social media pages. The Association may modify the terms of use, or discontinue any of its sites in the Association’s sole discretion, with or without advance notice, Your use of any of the Association’s websites or social media platforms is at your sole risk, and there is no warranty that access or use of any of its sites will be uninterrupted or error free. The Association is not liable for any viruses or other destructive materials possibly contained within any of its sites or any third-party sites.

Linking

Any website may link to any Association website or social media page so long as the linking conforms and complies with the following guidelines and all applicable laws.

1. Do not replicate the Association’s content.
2. Do not create a browser or border environment around the Association’s content.
3. Do not imply the Association is endorsing you or your products or services.
4. Do not misrepresent your relationship with the Association, its members, officers, or directors.
5. Do not present false information about the Association, its services, or activities.
6. Do not use the Association’s logo, screen shot, splash screen or any of the Association’s trademarks without permission from the Association.
7. Your website must not infringe any intellectual property or other right of any entity or person, including, but not limited to violating anyone’s copyrights or trademarks, violating any law or advocating illegal activity.
8. Your website may not contain content that could be construed as distasteful, offensive or controversial.

The Association expressly reserves the right to request that any link to an Association website be removed and to undertake whatever other action it deems appropriate.

Posting

Please note the following rules for posting on Association social media forums or pages:

1. The Association encourages transparency and honesty in its activities. Please use your real name when posting. The use of pseudonyms and aliases is not permitted.
2. Do not say anything that is dishonest, untrue, or misleading. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, point it out. But also be smart about protecting yourself and your privacy. What you publish will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully and also be cautious about disclosing personal details.
3. The public in general, and Association’s members, reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, but do so respectfully. This includes not only the obvious (no ethnic slurs, offensive comments, defamatory comments, personal insults, threats, harassment, obscenity, etc.) but also proper consideration of privacy and of topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory – such as politics and religion.
4. Do not post falsehoods or misrepresentations that could damage the Association or any third party.
5. Do not post any content that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third-party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from the rightful owner to post the material.
6. Do not post anything that is unlawful, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, violate any law or is otherwise inappropriate.
7. Do not post advertisements or solicitations of business.
8. Do not impersonate another person.
9. Do not post any content that may contain computer viruses or any chain messages.
10. Do not use any of the Association’s social media accounts for the purpose of spamming anyone. Some of the factors that we take into account when determining what conduct is considered to be spamming are:
• if your posts consist mainly of links without any commentary;
• if a large number of complaints have been made against you;
• if you post duplicate content over multiple accounts or multiple duplicate updates on one account;
• if you create false or misleading content;
• if you post misleading links (e.g. links to malware/clickjacking pages, etc.).
11. Nothing you post will be subject to any obligation, whether of confidentiality, attribution, or otherwise, on the Association’s part and we will not be liable for any use or disclosure of any content. Please do not transmit anything to or through our website or, third-party platforms that you consider to be confidential or proprietary.
12. All users are reminded that they are to abide by the principles of the California Rules of Professional Conduct and this policy is complementary to the Rules.
13. Unless you are posting in your capacity as a Section or Committee member, you must agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Association from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any violation of the Association’s terms of use.

The Association expressly reserves the right to remove any post and to undertake whatever other action it deems appropriate. The Association further reserves the right not to friend, fan, follow, like, or link to any official social media accounts for any reason. If you have questions about this policy, feel free to contact us at info@calawyers.org.