I know. You all think that e-discovery is one of the most boring thing you can imagine. You would rather be alphabetizing your files or filling out your billing logs, right? You don’t like to think about e-discovery — at all. You think that is someone else’s problem, someone your law firm retains to worry about boring stuff like e-discovery.
Well, I am sorry to burst your bubble. As it turns out, there are some very good reasons why you need to think about e-discovery, whether you want to or not.
Consider the lawyer in California who is the subject of a California Proposed Formal Opinion, as reported by a recent article in Above the Law. The attorney in question is being faulted for things that could have been avoided with a fundamental understanding of e-discovery. Simply stated, it appears that the attorney did not understand his role in how to preserve electronic evidence.
You would have to be living under a rock if you did not understand that electronic evidence is everywhere. It is in your e-mail, it is on this blog, it is in your texts, your Facebook, and it is all over your computers —- and, perhaps more important, it is in all of those places that are controlled by your clients. Those are the documents that you have a responsibility to review and may be obligated to produce to opposing counsel, but you may not be equipped to do that.
The California Proposed Formal Opinion addresses what attorneys need to do to supervise clients, IT staff, and third-party vendors. The bottom line is that although delegation is attractive — especially with a boring subject matter like e-discovery — the attorney is ultimately responsible for the final product.
I know a young lawyer who acquired a strong background in e-discovery with a top-rated e-discovery firm before going to law school. Now she is practicing law, and she is not nearly as intrigued by e-discovery as she is by the substantive nature of her practice. That, of course, is understandable, and I love that she is experiencing career satisfaction. But, I keep telling her how valuable her expertise in e-discovery is and that she needs to get credit for those skills at her law firm. Sometimes she listens, and sometimes she doesn’t.
I think I will suggest that she read the article and the Proposed Opinion. What happens in California has a way of spreading to the rest of the nation and FAST. Being prepared is the key to protecting your professional future and your bar card. You really have no choice.
