Article by Leonard Deutchman posted on Law.com, May 25, 2007:

The recent changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require litigants to have early discussions to address issues relating to the disclosure and production of electronically stored information. In the last several articles I have used preparing for the “meet-and-confer” as a model for understanding and addressing your case’s e-discovery issues. Issues not settled through the meet-and-confer will go to the court at the pretrial conference or after.

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Article by Reza Alexander, DLA Piper UK LLP, posted on Strategic Risk, April 2007: Reza Alexander believes that new US electronic disclosure rules herald a wake up call which will reverberate throughout the rest of the world.

Globalisation means that European-based multinationals cannot ignore the effects of US legislation. Anyone who doubts this needs only to look at Sarbanes-Oxley. So the recent amendments to the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), which came into effect on 1 December 2006, will have a far reaching effect on how electronic records are managed within most organisations….

Article by Reza Alexander, DLA Piper UK LLP, Feb. 14, 2007: The recent amendments to the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), which came into effect on 1 December 2006, will have a far reaching impact on how electronic records are managed within most organisations according to Reza Alexander, DLA Piper UK LLP.

Under the new rules most corporations will now be obliged to operate and enforce an enterprise wide, resilient and consistent records management program.

As remote as they may seem to practitioners outside the USA these rules are worthy of serious consideration. Lessons can be learned on how organisations should proactively handle the proliferation of electronic documents and ensure they have effective policies and procedures in place not only to respond effectively to disclosure obligations but also to successfully manage the flow, storage and retrieval of information. Read the rest of this entry »

Article by Ronni Abramson posted on Law.com, May 10, 2007:  “Federal judges have published opinions for more than 50 e-discovery disputes since the landmark amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing the discovery of electronically stored information went into effect on Dec. 1, 2006. These cases give — in almost real time — valuable insight into how judges are interpreting the amendments. These cases provide direction on how to handle the identification, preservation, collection, review and production of ESI in litigation going forward….”

Eastern District of Arkansas

Local Rule 26.1

Outline for FED.R.CIV.P. 26(f) Report

The Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(f) report filed with the court must contain the parties’ views and proposals regarding the following: Read the rest of this entry »

Electronic discovery proposed protocol: “In light of the recent amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure regarding discovery of electronically stored information (“ESI”), a joint bar-court committee consisting of Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm and members of the Bar of this Court as well as technical consultants has developed a proposed protocol for use in cases where ESI may be involved. This is a working model that has not been adopted by the court but may be of assistance to counsel. It is the intent of the joint committee to review the Proposed Protocol periodically to determine if revisions would be appropriate, and after a sufficient period of time to evaluate the proposed protocol has passed, to determine whether to recommend to the Court that more formal guidelines or local rules relating to ESI be considered for adoption. To further this process, any comments and suggestions may be e-mailed to: mdd_voyager@mdd.uscourts.gov.”

Blog entry by K&L Gates posted on electronic discovery law, May 1, 2007:  “At least 28 United States District Courts have enacted special rules addressing electronic discovery.  Here is an updated and current collection of United States District Court local rules, standards, guidelines and forms that specifically address e-discovery issues….”

Electronic discovery book:  George L. Paul and Bruce H. Nearon. 213 pp.  December 2005.  American Bar Association.

Electronic discovery webinar: April 25, 2007.  Noon - 1:00 pm Central.  Law.com.

Article by Pamela A. MacLean posted on Law.com, April 18, 2007 (subscription required): “A major fight over alleged spoliation of evidence and the potential for sanctions over electronic discovery may be shaping up in San Francisco federal court for the Oracle Corp. securities class action.

“The dispute centers on a British author’s audio files of interviews with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison for ‘Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle’ that now seem to have vanished. The digital recordings were made during the very period of class claims in In re Oracle Corp. Securities Litigation, No. C01-988MJJ….”