E-Discovery

Two recent changes have lawyers discussing electronic discovery with renewed interest. On December 1, 2006, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure became effective. The new rules provide specific procedures for discovery of electronically stored information (ESI).

In late November, Microsoft began release of its Vista operating system. The higher-end versions of Vista have at least three features that will affect e-discovery: shadow copies of all versions of files, increasing significantly the amount of potentially discoverable ESI; close tracking of each user’s activities on the system; and encryption that may make forensic examination impossible.

If you have been ignoring discussions of e-discovery, assuming that it will not apply to the types of cases you handle, check out the podcasts and articles below:

Lawyer2Lawyer: The Misconceptions of E-Discovery (Mar. 29, 2007), Legal Talk Network (33.1 min.).

Litigation Podcast: Ten Rules for Managing Electronically Stored Information (Mar. 29, 2007), ABA Section of Litigation (4.6 min.).

Conrad J. Jacoby, Separating E-Discovery Myths from Realities (Mar. 18, 2007), LLRX.com.

Craig Ball, Microsoft Brings an Altered Vista to EDD (Mar. 14, 2007), Law Technology News.

Dennis Kennedy, Evan Schaeffer & Tom Mighell, Incorporating EDD into Your Depositions — the 5Ws of EDD Depositions (Mar. 2007), DiscoveryResources.org.

For further information see:

• Stratify, eDiscovery Resources: The FRCP and eDiscovery (http://www.stratify.com/e_discovery_resources/frcp.html)
• Craig D. Ball, P.C.
• www.fiosinc.com
• DennisKennedy.com: Electronic Discovery Resources (http://www.denniskennedy.com/resources/legal-tech-central/edd.aspx)
• The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog: Discovery
• In Re Discovery (http://sochaconsulting.com/inrediscovery/)