Students are required to comply with standards of conduct established and announced by the School of Law. Students also should be aware that the Northeastern University Academic Catalog and Student Handbook contain academic policies and standards, as well as standards of conduct, which are applicable to all university graduate students, including students of the School of Law.
Professionalism and Online Decorum
Be aware that if you have your own website or blog, or you use social media, your information may be available to anyone who wants to view it, including prospective employers, many of whom routinely check internet sources before interviewing or hiring an individual. Remember that if you put information and/or photographs on the internet, you have no control over who may copy, forward, or change the material.
Additionally, every state to which a student may apply to take the bar exam and for admission as an attorney has a provision for reviewing the character and fitness of applicants. Although each state has its own requirements, all of them require a certification by the dean of the law school. That certification requires the dean to report certain matters, often broadly defined, that the dean believes may reflect adversely on the applicant’s character or fitness. As an example, the language of the Massachusetts application is instructive. In relevant part it requires the dean to report “anything which appears to be adverse in respect to the moral character or fitness of this graduate or . . . anything concerning this graduate/petitioner which should be investigated.” Information that you have posted on the internet may well fit into that definition.