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Recently, when the Malaysian plane went missing, Reddit (It is the front page of the Internet. User-generated news links. Votes promote stories to the front page) went boom. Everyone started the investigation with limited resources and information. These investigations which were posted on reddit by various people from various parts of world, actually helped the official investigation to certain extent. The point I'm trying to make is - people who really wanted to help were able to come together with less resources (computer with internet connection) through the platform like reddit.
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This example might have given you a sketchy idea of crowd sourcing. Crowd sourcing basically is obtaining information by enlisting the services of a number of people, and in this case via internet. Now this crowd sourcing can be used in legal profession as well for various purposes. In this blog post I will give a real life example, uses and legal questions related to crowd sourcing.
Reddit during Boston Marathon Bombing
- Reddit actually helped people work together on investigations, though it had some ugly effects.
How can internet crowd sourcing impact?
The internet (reddit) based crowd sourcing can be really helpful on criminal investigation. It's like having more than two eyes, hence better investigation. With platforms like reddit and 4chan it becomes really helpful for anyone to help with limited resources with just a computer and internet connection. Crowd sourcing through internet is still in it's early stage and it can play crucial role shaping the legal profession in future.
Can a legal advice be crowd sourced?
Well, with platforms like Quora and Reddit the answer is yes. There are dozens of question-answer website, where crowd can offer their advice and others can upvote (support) or downvote (oppose) the answers. But there are many factors which should kept in mind before using that legal advice, because, as I mentioned before crowd sourcing via internet is still in its early stage. It still has much room for development. And there are certain legal question involved with crowd sourcing which are discussed in the blog post.
Can a lawyer be sued for malpractice for giving a legal advice on a crowd sourcing platform?
Lawyers in search of potential client some times end up giving reckless or a temporary relief advice, which can lead to ending up with a malpractice suit. In the case of lawyers- what you "Think" can be implied as a "Legal Advice". Also, there might be unauthorized law practice inferences. Better safe than sorry. Right?[Tweet This]
I haven't found any legal precedent about it right now. (Please comment if you have any)
And yeah one more thing- This is not a legal advice, just some preventive measures from me. (Please don't sue me :P)
Should there be guidelines for lawyers, clients and websites?
With increasing flow of internet there should be some ethical rules for lawyers about giving legal advice. There should also be certain guidelines for the client or advice-seekers about asking for advice. Also the websites or platforms which are used for crowd sourcing have certain rules and regulations about question and answers.
Last Word
With increasing number of platforms it will be interesting to see participation of client and lawyers. This social media is free flowing and online 24x7, so it will be really tough job for websites like reddit to refine and funnel every question and answer, especially if the answer/question supports public view but not the law.
Please Comment your view in the comment box below.
Posted By : Harshal Morwale
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