Electronic Discovery Ethics, Principles, Rules & Guidelines Richard K. Herrmann

2 The New World 93% of all documents in the US electronic 31 billion s daily

3 Rules of Professional conduct Rule 1.1. Competence Rule 1.3. Diligence Rule 1.4. Communication Rule 1.6. Confidentiality of information Rule 3.3. Candor toward the tribunal Rule 8.4. Yada, Yada, Yada...

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7 Cases Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC: 220 F.R.D. 212 (S.D.N.Y. Oct 22, 2003) 2003 WL (S.D.N.Y. May 13, 2003) 217 F.R.D. 309 (S.D.N.Y. May 13, 2003) 216 F.R.D. 280 (S.D.N.Y. Jul 24,2003) 2004 WL (S.D.N.Y. Jul 20, 2004)

8 Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC: The world was a far different place in 1849, when Henry Davis Thoreau opined.. That [t]he process of discovery is very simple. 217 F.R.D. 309 (S.D.N.Y. May 13, 2003)

9 Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC: The conduct of both counsel and client thus calls to mind the now-famous words of the prison captain in Cool Hand Luke: What weve got here is a failure to communicate WL (S.D.N.Y. July 20, 2004)

10 Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC: Zubulake suing UBS Warburg for gender discrimination and illegal retaliation. Salary $500,000 Potential claim $13M + punitives and fees 2004 WL (S.D.N.Y. July 20, 2004)

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22 State and Local District Court Rules Mississippi Court Order 13 (May 29, 2003) amending Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 26 Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 193.3(d) and Rule (privilege not waived by production) (electronic or magnetic data) District of Arkansas, Eastern and Western, Local Rule 26.1 District of Delaware, Default Standards District of Kansas, Electronic Discovery Guideline District of New Jersey, Local Rule 26.1 District of Wyoming, Local Rule 26.1 (from Kenneth J. Withers

23 The Sedona Conference Founded in 1997 by Richard G. Braman Dedicated: advanced study of law & policy Best Practices in Electronic Discovery –October 2002 working group –First principles March 2003 –Last revision January 2004 thesedonaconference.org

24 Sedona Principles (1-7) 1.Preserve Electronic Data 2.Apply balancing standard: FRCP 26(b)(2) 3.Early meet and confer 4.Make eD requests and responses clear 5.Reasonable - not foolproof - preservation 6.Responding party best knows capability 7.Burden on requesting party

25 Sedona Principles (8-14) 8.Active data - primary source of discovery 9.No access to deleted data w/o special need 10.Responding party to protect privilege 11.Make eD requests and responses clear 12.Use eD tools to show good faith 13.Costs generally on producing party 14.Sanctions only on special showing

26 ABA Amendments to Civil Discovery Standards The 2004 amendments update the Civil Discovery Standards insofar as they relate to electronic discovery, which is a rapidly- evolving area that has grown dramatically in importance over the past 5 years since the Standards were originally adopted. (ABA Executive Summary)

27 Proposed Amendments to Fed. Rules Fordham Law School Feb AOC April 2004 Published for comment in Aug FJC Approved September 20, 2005 Effective Date December 1, 2006 Includes Rules 16, 26, 33, 34, 37 & 45

28 Federal Rules (continued) Electronic discovery exhibits several distinctive features that may warrant treatment in the rules. Perhaps the most prominent is the exponentially greater volume that characterizes electronic data, which makes this form of discovery more burdensome, costly, and time-consuming

29 Federal Rules (continued) Uncertainty as to how to treat these distinctive features under the present rules exacerbates the problems. Case law is emerging, but it is not consistent and discovery disputes are rarely the subject of appellate review.

30 Federal Rules (continued) Proposed amendments address 5 areas: (a)Early attention to issues (b)Discovery of data not easily accessible (c)Assertion of privilege after production (d)Application of Rules 33 & 34 to eD (e)Restrictions on sanctions for loss from routine operations

31 District of Delaware Default Standards The Discovery Conference 2. The parties shall discuss the parameters of their anticipated eD at the Rule 26(f) conference, as well as at the Rule 16 scheduling conference with the Court... D.N.J. L. Civ. R. 26.1(d) Sedona Principle 3 Proposed FRCP R26(f) ABA Standard 31

32 District of Delaware Default Standards Coordination of Electronic Discovery 3. In order to promote communication and cooperation between the parties, each party to a case shall designate a single individual through which all eD requests and responses are made (the eD liaison). D.N.J. L. Civ. R. 26.1(d)(1) Sedona Principles at 15 [focus on Team]

33 District of Delaware Default Standards Scheduling Production of eD 4. Discovery of electronic documents shall proceed in a sequenced fashion. D.N.J. L. Civ. R. 26.1(d)(1) Sedona Principle 8 [active data first]

34 District of Delaware Default Standards Search Methodology 5. If the parties intend to employ an electronic search to locate relevant electronic documents, the parties shall disclose any restrictions as to scope and method which might affect their ability to conduct a complete electronic search of the electronic documents. D.N.J. L. Civ. R. 26.1(d)(3)(a) [meet & confer on procedures for producing] Sedona Principles at 39 and Principle 11 [use of electronic tools] FRCP Rule 26(b)(2) [court can require restrictions]

35 District of Delaware Default Standards Formats for Production 6. If, during the course of the Rule 26(f) conference the parties cannot agree to the format for document production, electronic documents shall be produced to the requesting party as image files. D.N.J. L. Civ. R. 26.1(d)(3)(a) [meet & confer on format for producing] Sedona Principles at 42 FRCP Rule 34(b)(2)

36 District of Delaware Default Standards Preserving Electronic Discovery 7. Within the first 30 days of discovery, the parties should work towards an agreement that outlines the steps that each party shall take to segregate and preserve the integrity of all relevant electronic documents. D.N.J. L. Civ. R. 26.1(d)(3) [meet & confer on preservation] Sedona Principles at 33 ABA Standard 10

37 District of Delaware Default Standards Protecting Inadvertent Disclosure of eD 8. Electronic documents that contain privileged information or attorney work product shall be immediately returned if the documents appear to have been inadvertently produced. D.N.J. L. Civ. R. 26.1(d)(3)(a) [meet & confer on inadvertent production] Sedona Principles at 36 and Principle 10 FRCP Rule 26(b) ABA Standard 32

38 District of Delaware Default Standards Allocating the Cost of Production 9. Generally, the costs of discovery shall be borne by each party. D.N.J. L. Civ. R. 26.1(d)(3)(b) [meet & confer on who bears cost] Sedona Principles at 44 and Principle 13 ABA Standard 29

39 District of Delaware Default Standards Resolution of Discovery Disputes 10. Discovery disputes shall be resolved and trial presentations shall be conducted consistent with each individual judges guidelines.

Electronic Discovery Principles, Rules & Guidelines Richard K. Herrmann

41 Web Sites –Site for Sedona Principals and Guidelines onic/home.html/ –(ABA Amended Standards for Discovery)