After all, what is prevarication? And privileged forum? I received an improper pix, now what? From doubts like these, lawyers are becoming popular on the networks by bringing the population closer to the world of law, with a language that escapes legalese.
Criminalist Fayda Belo, 40, explains what is and is not a crime on TikTok, where she has more than 850,000 followers (@faydabelo). “I realized that everyone was thirsty to hear about the law, but with the fancy terms, no one understood anything.”
Her followers, nicknamed by her as “crime lovers”, call her the Brazilian Annalize Keating, in reference to the protagonist of the series “How to Get Away With Murder”.
The idea of ​​explaining criminal law concepts on the internet came with the distance imposed by the pandemic. “Why not use my technical knowledge in an inclusive and simple way that an illiterate person understands and someone with a degree also understands?”
For Sólon Cunha, a professor at the FGV Law School (Fundação Getúlio Vargas), the attempt to bring the public closer to legal issues was already a trend, but it was accelerated with technology.
“We [advogados] we come from a very rigid culture and we are passing through new generations, which are changing that”, he says.
Sólon compares the use of online media to explain legal concepts to the work done by doctors like Drauzio Varella, who explain a technical topic. But he points out that “the number of followers doesn’t technically qualify someone, the goal is to spread content, and that’s what will attract people”.
PatrÃcia Ikuno, 36, a labor lawyer, finds on the networks an environment conducive to overcoming the stereotype that “lawyers are arrogant, inaccessible and distant from society.” With more than 1.6 million followers on TikTok (@vemfazerdireito), she answers questions about returning to face-to-face work, women’s rights and layoffs for just cause.
Why not use my technical knowledge in an inclusive and simple way that an illiterate person understands and someone with a degree understands too?
For PatrÃcia, digitization can also be an important tool for new graduates. “A lawyer at the beginning of his career probably doesn’t have clients or an office, but he has a cell phone and, with it, the possibility of producing content.”
Who also dedicates most of her time to the networks is the Bahian lawyer Kessya Jackeline, 29.
Specialist in consumer law, his Tiktok account is followed by more than 730 thousand people (@afadinhadoconsumidor). In the videos, she reproduces everyday situations and creates characters to address each theme.
With a relaxed way, she says she receives praise from other lawyers and has reached the public by putting aside the jargon. “When I put some more difficult term, they [os seguidores] complain.”
Popularity also helps attract customers, says criminalist Fayda. “Today I practice all over Brazil, and outreach helps with that.” “I have a team, but at hearings, people ask for Dr. Fayda.”
A 2021 Datafolha survey shows that 59% of Brazilian lawyers are in favor of using digital platforms to get new clients. Another 44% want to increase the flexibility of career advertising rules.
Greice Fonseca Stocker, federal adviser to the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), says that the internet is a great showcase, “but it, by itself, is not a guarantee of good results”.
The increase in the use of digital tools, accelerated with the pandemic, led the OAB to review rules for lawyers on social media.
A July 2021 provision made legal marketing more flexible and allowed the use of boosted posts, which were previously prohibited by some sectionals. “The goal is to encourage educational advertising,” says Stocker, who served on the review committee.
Some behaviors remain vetoed, including ostensible advertising of advocacy services, such as in radio and TV ads and the offer of online consulting.
For the counselor, the possibility of transmitting legal information is one of the social functions of the profession.
The opinion is shared by the criminalist and Augusto de Arruda Botelho, 44, who has more than 440 thousand followers on Twitter (@augostode ab).
His interest in the networks came with the popularization of high-profile trials. The intention is to improve the debate and show that “law is not an exact science, but analyzes need technical knowledge”.
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He, who takes a more progressive position, says he tries to separate his ideological position from his analyses. “It is important that Justice is discussed with less polarization and with more critical analysis.”
For those who do not comply with the directives of the order, there are punishments such as warnings and censures.
Cunha, from FGV, emphasizes the importance of seeing the internet as a public space, so professionals need to be careful and separate their personal and professional positions well. For those who are linked to an office, greater care must be taken not to “assign the company a position that it does not have”.
With more than 140,000 followers on Instagram (@thameadanelon), prosecutor Thaméa Danelon, 47, also uses social media to comment on news from the judiciary and topics such as corruption.
“In my publications I explain what is in force according to the law, but I also give my opinion”, says she, who assumes herself to be conservative.
The prosecutor also comments on cases in which she acted, which is not allowed for lawyers. They cannot talk about their own conduct or their own results at trial. “The lawyer cannot promise results for a certain type of action”, explains Stocker, of the OAB.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
