E-Discovery is the process of recovering, searching, organizing and analyzing data stored on computers, hard drives, floppy disks, mobile devices and other digital storage devices for the purpose of being used as evidence in court.
The course covers two aspects of E-Discovery.
- E-Discovery Process concentrates on the concepts and procedures surrounding the E-Discovery Reference Model (EDRM).
- E-Discovery Practice focuses heavily on the necessary forms provided in the required textbook.
The ability to manage high-volume data demands in the modern law firm is the foundation of E-Discovery as critical evidence. Skills and competency in this area allow paralegals to make critical contributions to this important pre-trial process, in part because older more experienced trial lawyers are not deeply familiar with E-Discovery. While paralegals are unlikely to retrieve the digital data, they can be involved in preparing E-Discovery requests and responding to those requests by identifying sources of data, helping to ensure data is not compromised, arranging for data retention, and other areas of critical importance for the process.
Course Outline
Course Objectives
- Know how to gather, search, store, analyze and produce meaningful information in a variety of file formats under significant business and legal constraints
- Be able to propound discovery requests seeking electronically stored information
- Explore new and evolving approaches to the management of discoverable electronically stored information
- Know how to prepare an E-Discovery plan to obtain relevant information, while respecting confidentiality rights individual privacy and trade secret rights
- Understand compliance with California and Federal E-Discovery law and changing case law.
What You Learn
E-Discovery Process
- Information Management
- Identification
- Preservation
- Collection
- Processing
- Review
- Analysis
- Production
- Presentation
E-Discovery Practice
- Preparing an E-Discovery plan
- Gathering evidence
- Third-party experts
- Preservation and spoliation
- Proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
- The authorities