E-discovery

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For some, discovery is merely a necessary evil in the litigation process.  And so, it should come as no surprise that the discovery process is often ripe with gamesmanship.  A recent decision reminds practitioners, however, that discovery is meant to be cooperative, and gamesmanship – especially repetitive and intentional gamesmanship – may be met with “death penalty sanctions” (Heslin …
Continue Reading Court Reminds Parties That Discovery Orders Are Not a Hoax

A prior post (Keyword Searching – What is it? And How Do I Do It (Well)?) offered some tips for crafting effective search terms for use in the e-discovery process. Although those tips still hold true, today’s blog offers ways to utilize an ESI protocol to promote a more seamless electronic search process.*

An ESI protocol is…
Continue Reading Cheat Sheet for Effective Search Terms

My February 17th blog, “Judges Make the Case for TAR” discussed the widespread acceptance by federal courts of technology assisted review (“TAR”), which is acknowledged as cost effective, efficient, and likely superior to the tried and true keyword searching methodology.  Continuing with the theme of TAR, the District Court of New Jersey recently addressed the critical importance of…
Continue Reading Cooperation and Collaboration in E-Discovery is Still the TARget

There is an ever-increasing volume of data generated by businesses.  In an effort to reduce storage costs and ameliorate privacy concerns, companies have embraced ephemeral, or self-destructing messaging.  And, while ephemeral messaging may solve one set of problems, it has the potential to create preservation issues when legal matters arise.

Recently, the Sedona Conference released the “Commentary on Ephemeral …
Continue Reading Blink, And I’m Gone: E-Discovery Challenges and Considerations With Ephemeral Messaging

As the pandemic continues and businesses adapt to the realities of virtual workforces, the “Zoom-Bombing” pranks housemates played on one another are a thing of the past.*  Rather, we now must confront the discovery implications this virtual shift presents.  For example, the increased use of virtual platforms, replete with recording features, may expose a litigant to discovery obligations beyond…
Continue Reading Is Your Zoom-Bombed Meeting Discoverable?

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920, a prevailing party may have a right to recover certain costs associated with the litigation.  Many prevailing parties seek to recoup costs attendant to e-discovery, given the expense associated with collecting, processing and producing electronically stored information (“ESI”).  However, most federal courts confronting the issue have determined that e-discovery costs are recoverable only in…
Continue Reading The Costs of E-Discovery and What May be Recoverable Under 28 U.S.C. § 1920

A recent federal district court decision, Lawson et al. v Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc., US Dist Ct, MD Pa, 1:17-CV-1266, Carlson, J., 2019, reminds litigants of the need to tailor discovery requests for electronically stored information (“ESI”).

Before the Court was plaintiffs’ motion to compel defendants’ production of “all” text messages on approximately 100 company-owned…
Continue Reading Federal Court Denies Request for Wholesale Disclosure of Text Messages

Have you ever been involved in a meet and confer regarding electronically stored information and felt your adversary was speaking a foreign language?  Is active machine learning an unfamiliar concept to you?  Is BYOD an acronym for who-knows-what?

If you answered yes to any of the above, or if you lack fluency in the language of e-discovery and digital information…
Continue Reading The Foreign Language of E-Discovery

Electronically stored information (“ESI”) is ubiquitous and most people and companies are utilizing paperless documents in some form (i.e., e-mails, text messages, IMs).  The many forms of ESI coupled with the introduction of varying data sources such as smartphones, cloud storage, iPads, and tablets, has dramatically expanded the available potential sources of discovery in a civil litigation.  To obtain this…
Continue Reading The Document Demand That Seeks Electronically Stored Information