eDiscovery for In House Counsel

Abstract

eDiscovery is on the rise. In 2015, we’ve seen an uptick in data breaches and cybersecurity threats. With the Internet of Things and the information flooding in the cloud and on the internet, there’s an increasing risk for corporate organizations. To address this, organizations and lawyers have to proactively learn and prepare for eDiscovery and its evolving use of technology. Being prepared is an iterative process. To that end, this paper will discuss how to classify information for retention and destruction purposes for eDiscovery under the umbrella of an information governance strategy. It will introduce and review all of the current eDiscovery software. We will review the underlying technology and even show you how to get free “Open Source” eDiscovery collection, review and predictive coding software you can use. You will learn for federal courts within the United States, how you can issue discovery requests before the parties’ Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) via the Rule 26(f) “meet and confer” conference and how to avoid FRCP Rule 37(e) sanctions. Moreover, you will learn the key concept of FRCP Rule 26(b) on “proportionality”, i.e., that the information sought during discovery is “proportional to the needs of the case.” To finish, we will review trends and the future of eDiscovery from the vantage point of the new FRCP rules (effective December 1, 2015) and evolving technology as well as some additional tips, techniques and guidelines for practitioners.