We never think about the impact of social media on different professions. For some, it is not as simple as we think it is. According to a ruling by the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee of the Florida Supreme Court, a lawyer who appears in front of a Judge, cannot add him as a “friend” on a social networking website.

Here’s ^[1] the actual link to the ruling and below are the exact wordings:

Whether a judge may add lawyers who may appear before the judge as “friends” on a social networking site, and permit such lawyers to add the judge as their “friend.”

ANSWER: No.

The other interesting parts of the ruling allows a Judge to post comments on a social networking site and allows lawyers to be ‘fans’ of Judges as long as the fan page is not managed by the judge himself.