Description

Considering ESI? Definitions, Questions, and Notes

By Rob Robinson

With the introduction of the December 2006 update to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), legal professionals were definitely made aware of the "arrival" of the digital age in Federal Court. The amendments to FRCP Rule 26 in this December 2006 update highlight this "arrival" as they spell out - among other things:
• the mandate for involved parties to have early meet-and-confer sessions to discuss and hopefully agree on the handling of electronically stored information,
• guidance to involved parties as to whether ESI may be considered accessible or not-reasonably-accessible .
In order to comply with this mandate and guidance, it's important for involved parties to have a solid understanding of digital data so they can both plan thoroughly for meet-and-confer sessions and so they can ask the right questions when determining or questioning the accessibility of ESI. This short aggregation of information presented primarily in checklist/consideration form was prepared with the goal of enhancing my own understanding of digital data. Organized with definitions and questions for your consideration, my hope is that you may find portions of this useful as you consider cases involving ESI.