Israel's National Ethics Committee for the legal profession released new guidelines Sunday governing how attorneys may present themselves on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. According to the directive, lawyers must maintain professional standards in their social media content and remove existing posts that fail to meet the new criteria.
The guidelines come in response to a proliferation of videos posted by Israeli lawyers on social platforms. The ethics committee aims to draw a clear line between legitimate professional outreach and educational content on one hand, and material it considers damaging to the profession's dignity on the other.
Among the restrictions: lawyers' use of songs, dancing, and animation in their videos may be deemed conduct unbecoming to the profession. The guidelines also flag prominent visual effects and cinematic music as potentially problematic.
The rules extend to attorneys' physical appearance in videos. According to the directive, a lawyer must appear in "court attire or other appropriate dress, as customary in the work of an attorney." By contrast, revealing clothing, including swimwear or tank tops, will be considered inconsistent with professional dignity. The committee is effectively applying to social media the same standards expected of lawyers in their professional practice.
