Newly minted lawyers who barely remember the days before texting, Facebook, and smartphones were part of our daily lives may be forgiven for wondering why so much angst has developed at the intersection of law and technology. Surely our sophisticated legal system can adapt to the increased use of electronic communication, right?
If you weren’t on the scene to watch it unfold, it may be hard to appreciate the ways the explosion of information our clients create and store has changed the face of discovery. There was a time when clients sent us a folder or box of paper containing the documents relevant to the litigation.
Now the data is likely to come on a hard drive containing gigabytes or terabytes of data that, if printed to paper, would fill the lobby of our law firm with boxes. Finding the relevant documents is like looking for a needle in the proverbial haystack. Depending on the value of the case, it may cost more to find the relevant documents than the case is worth.
So how can you help litigants meet the goal of a “just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding” referenced in Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure?
When faced with an electronic discovery issue, think about it in terms of people, process, and technology.
