Here's a meme I just don't understand. The bit about the Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers survey which found that 80% of its members have used Facebook and other social networking sites to gather evidence for cases. The AP ran the story a few days ago. None of the lawyers would divulge the details of cases, but they described some common threads to the AP:

• Husband goes on Match.com and declares his single, childless status while seeking primary custody of said nonexistent children.
• Husband denies anger management issues but posts on Facebook in his "write something about yourself" section: "If you have the balls to get in my face, I'll kick your ass into submission."
• Father seeks custody of the kids, claiming (among other things) that his ex-wife never attends the events of their young ones. Subpoenaed evidence from the gaming site World of Warcraft tracks her there with her boyfriend at the precise time she was supposed to be out with the children. Mom loves Facebook's Farmville, too, at all the wrong times.
• Mom denies in court that she smokes marijuana but posts partying, pot-smoking photos of herself on Facebook.

Here's what confounds me. Only 80% of lawyers are using the myriad digital tools at their disposal? Are you kidding me? It should have been 100% as of last year. Using a combination of Spokeo, Facebook, KnowEm, Twitter Search, Zillow, Google and critical thinking, I can get just as much information -- and in some cases, better information -- as I would using a service like LexisNexis, which is unforgivably late to the social media party.

I've said for a long time that this is a golden age for reporters. Likewise, it's a great time to be a divorce lawyer. Information is out there, readily available. Why not take advantage? Is it a lack of training, or a lack of interest, I wonder?