I never set out to become an expert witness. In 2019, ten years after founding Reputation Communications, I got an email out of the blue from an attorney looking for someone to evaluate a defamation case. I put together a short proposal, was engaged, and found myself in a field I hadn’t planned on entering. That first case turned out to be the start of something ongoing: since then, while running Reputation Communications, I’ve worked on cases referred from law firms across the country.
I recently wrote about all of this in a piece for PLI Chronicle, the publication of the Practising Law Institute. It covers the full arc of my experience: from that first email, through building a network, navigating case challenges, and marketing an expert witness practice ethically. I also address a topic that’s especially relevant right now: the risks of using AI in expert witness work, including why AI prompts can be discoverable and why case materials shouldn’t be uploaded to AI platforms without real safeguards.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your professional expertise could translate into expert witness work, or you’re already doing this work and want to compare notes, I think you’ll find something useful in it.
Much of the coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein files has focused on who knew what, and when. But buried inside thousands of pages of correspondence is a quieter lesson — one that applies not just to the powerful and the infamous, but to anyone who sends a text or email without thinking twice.
Epstein’s own emails are now evidence. So are those of his associates, his fixers, and the various professionals who communicated with him over the years. Some of those individuals are household names. Others were simply doing business. All of them are now reading their words in the press.
Emails Are Forever — and Discoverable
In litigation, emails, texts, and direct messages are among the first things attorneys request. They are routinely subpoenaed, searched, and introduced as exhibits. A message dashed off in frustration, written casually to a trusted colleague, or sent in confidence to a friend can surface years later — out of context, stripped of tone, and read by a jury.
This is not a hypothetical. It happens in business disputes, employment lawsuits, divorce proceedings, and defamation cases every day. We have little to no control over who saves (and shares) our personal and business digital communications.
The Epstein files remind us that even the most carefully managed public persona cannot survive a paper trail that tells a different story.
The Rule Every Professional Should Follow
The test is simple: before sending any email or text, ask yourself whether you would be comfortable seeing that message on the front page of a newspaper — or read aloud in a courtroom.
If the answer is no, rewrite it or pick up the phone.
Lawyers have advised clients this way for decades. But in an era when we communicate faster than ever, across more platforms than ever, the advice is easier to forget and more consequential to ignore. A Slack message, a WhatsApp thread, a Gmail sent from a personal account — all of it can be photographed and saved by the recipient, and be discoverable.
What This Means for Your Reputation
Reputation damage from exposed communications is particularly hard to repair, because the harm comes not just from the content of the message but from the perception of who you really are behind closed doors. When private words become public, they often define a narrative that no amount of subsequent messaging can easily undo.
This is true for public figures. It is equally true for executives, business owners, professionals, and anyone whose name and standing matter in their field.
A few practical habits can make a significant difference:
— Write emails as if they will be read by the person you are discussing.
— Avoid venting, sarcasm, or speculation in writing — save those conversations for an in-person or phone call.
— Never commit anything to text that you would not want attributed to you publicly.
— Periodically audit the platforms and accounts through which you communicate, and consider who has access to those records. Routinely delete your sent and saved emails.
The Bigger Picture
The Epstein files are an extreme case. But the underlying dynamic — the way private communications eventually surface, and the reputational consequences that follow — is not extreme at all. It is routine.
In my work as both an online reputation management professional and an expert defamation witness, I have seen how quickly a single email or text can become the centerpiece of a legal proceeding or a media story. The clients who fare best are those who have always treated their written communications as a matter of professional discipline, not just legal caution.
I’m proud to have been featured as an expert in Interfor International’s recent blog post on social media risk management. In today’s digital landscape, the intersection of online behavior and reputation has never been more critical.
The Hidden Dangers of Social Media
As I shared with Interfor International, the risks associated with social media are far more serious than most people realize. What might seem like a harmless post in a moment of frustration can have devastating consequences for your career, reputation, and future opportunities.
The article highlights a sobering reality: we scroll through Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms without the same wariness we’d have walking down a dark alley at night. Yet the dangers can be just as real, and the fallout can be swift and devastating.
The Real Cost of Impulsive Posts
In my work as CEO of Reputation Communications, I’ve seen countless examples of how a single intemperate social media post can destroy careers and reputations. The current era of ideological divisiveness has created an environment where people get cancelled every day, jobs are lost, and reputations are shattered.
What’s particularly concerning is that many of these consequences happen behind the scenes. As I noted in the article, there are countless examples of people simply not getting hired, not being accepted to schools, or being excluded from opportunities because organizations are becoming increasingly sophisticated in evaluating social media histories. You might never know that your past posts cost you a major job or an important opportunity.
The Defamation Factor
As an expert witness in defamation cases, I’ve seen firsthand how social media can function as what the article aptly calls “defamation factories.” People often have no grasp of the legal and reputational risks they’re taking when posting harsh attacks online. With the proliferation of AI and deepfakes, these challenges are only becoming more complex and dangerous.
My Advice: Pause Before You Post
The guidance I shared with Interfor International is simple but crucial: “People post too quickly, and they let emotion drive them. It would be helpful if people ask themselves if posting something harsh is the most effective way to use your political capital.”
When emotions run high, time is your friend. Before posting anything controversial or harsh, take a break, take some deep breaths, and ask yourself:
Will this post serve me well in the long run?
Could this come back to haunt me?
Is this really the most effective way to make my point?
Sometimes the best way to protect yourself on social media is to simply do nothing. The same is true with sending heat-of-the-moment texts and emails.
Prevention Is Better Than Repair
While I’m here to help clients repair damaged reputations and rebuild their professional standing, my greatest hope is that people won’t need my services in the first place. The work I do helping people dig out of reputation crises is essential, but it’s far better to avoid creating the crisis altogether.
For more information about reputation management and protecting your digital footprint, visit Reputation Communications. If security and reputational threat monitoring concerns are uppermost in your mind, check out Interfor Academy, which provides elite speakers and one-of-a-kind training programs in those areas for businesses and organizations worldwide.
About You(Online)
Reputation Communications publishes You(Online) to help educate CEOs, C-Suite executives, rising stars and high net worth individuals about online reputation management.
Reputation Reboot addresses real-life online reputation management (ORM) challenges faced by CEOs, executives, VIPs and their organizations. Unless they are public figures, their names and related descriptions of all individuals and companies discussed are changed to protect their privacy. For a quick look at the types of situations facing many professionals, scroll down and check out the headlines.
Online reputation management enables you to take more ownership over what appears about you on the Internet.
Without it, the world controls how you look online.
Here are ten examples of the ways online reputation management is used by individuals, companies and organizations.
To ensure up-to-date and accurate information dominates search results for an organization or individual’s name.
To ensure that factual, credible reference material is readily available online.
That reduces the chance that fraudulent information will impact a brand.
To remove unwanted or inappropriate information, photographs or other content from the first few pages of Google search results.
To monitor social media and online forums for red flags signaling potential on- and offline threats against high-profile individuals and their organizations.
To create a strong online presence about a topic.
That presence acts as a barrier against potential distortions from third-party content, including anonymous and defamatory material. Without it, such items can go straight to the top of searches – and stay.
To ensure that your story is told by you and not by former partners or other potentially biased parties.
To establish a reputation within your area of expertise on multiple online platforms.
To create an online legacy for a VIP who is preparing for retirement or to exit an organization.
