-- AustinShorter - 04 May 2025

The Decline of the Freedom of Expression and Where it May Leave the Legal Field

Social media has never really been my thing. My footprint on Facebook, Meta, X, Twitter, Instagram, whatever... has always been small relative to my peers. Quite simply, I was never especially interested in sharing my life online. While this caused me a bit of trouble socially at times now it is paying off big time. I had my first taste of the legal industry in the Summer of 2019 as an intern at a typical Big Law firm. Had no nerves about a background check. Served as a paralegal in at a large firm for a couple years after college, another background check, I was not much concerned then either. Fortunately, I was able to avoid any incidents with the law throughout my childhood and as a young adult. Now, I am going back once again, to the same firm where I was once employed as professional staff, and I am terrified by another social media background check. Even though my social media has only shrunk, not grown, since entering law school. I dugout my old Facebook password to see I had a posted anything slightly obscene as middle schooler, and even went through my X likes even though those are supposedly not public anymore. Not things I had posted myself but posts I had liked in passing were what had me most concerned. This year I was unsure what could be flagged as an issue in the background check. There is no reason to be confident that small issues may be overlooked. ICE and the NYPD surround the campus. Students get doxed for speaking out. Last week, there was a screening of the Oscar winning movie “Not Other Land” on campus. Under “normal” circumstances that sounds like a nice opportunity for students. A chance to relax for a bit on campus, before finals, watch a movie with friends and get a free meal regardless of the movie topic. Instead, the first question a fellow student spoke when discussing the screening was, “will attending students be doxed?”. The plot has been lost when students do not feel comfortable attending a movie on campus out of fear of losing a job, unsure if liking a post on social media will cost them a job. This form of oppression is a clear depiction of the decline of the First Amendment. The issue with limiting freedom of expression, other than the Constitutional breach, is those with opinions outside the lines of the norm will be left on the outside of society. The legal field with all common groupthink is a scary thought. Lawyers with different opinions, goals, and motivations is crucial to the industry. The law cannot progress without diversity. These changes will ensure that diversity will not be brought into the field. What will be left of the legal system then? What is the proper way to respond to these changes? I did not want my social media messages to stand between myself and my goal as an attorney. While working at a law firm is not the only option there are reasons for why I want to be there. However, deleting my social medias felt like a capitulation in a sense. A loss which may be the beginning of weak comprises I reason to make so that I may survive in the new society. I hope to find ways where I can make a meaningful impact with the law while at a firm and outside of it. The environment in which I return to the firm does not feel the same. I know I will not act the same. I assume many of my peers will do the same. It is likely that many young lawyers who do not fit the common mold will be more dissuaded than ever to join a firm. Which only leaves certain groups more power at these firms. Perhaps one goal of mine is to try and survive at one long enough to make a real difference there. We will see if they let me.