In Search of Electronic Evidence.These days, information management (IM) and information technology (IT) professionals are only too familiar with the litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. discovery process, its attendant ATTENDANT. One who owes a duty or service to another, or in some sort depends upon him. Termes de la Ley, h.t. As to attendant terms, see Powell on Morts. Index, tit. Attendant term; Park on Dower, c. 1 7. difficulties and costs, and its electronic counterparts. For most, however, this familiarity is reactive--the organization's lawyers learn of discovery, inform IM and IT personnel what to search for, and supervise the search and production process. IM and IT professionals often are left out of the strategic and tactical loop of which the discovery is a part. Electronic Discovery and Evidence approaches the matter from the other side--that of the lawyer, either seeking discovery or seeking to defend against it. This publication is concerned solely with the process of obtaining electronic information for litigation. It is intended for plaintiffs' attorneys, defense attorneys, and in-house In-house In the context of general equities, keeping an activity within the firm. For example, rather than go to the marketplace and sell a security for a client to anyone, an attempt is made to find a buyer to complete the transaction with the firm. counsel of large organizations that find themselves facing this issue from either side. As such, it assumes the reader knows a lawyer's motivations and has a lawyer's pre-existing Adj. 1. pre-existing - existing previously or before something; "variations on pre-existent musical themes" pre-existent, preexistent, preexisting antecedent - preceding in time or order skill set. The book is formatted as a standard subscription loose leaf The term loose leaf is used in the United States and some other countries to describe a piece of notebook paper which is not actually fixed in a spiral notebook. In some places, like the United Kingdom, the phrase loose leaf publication with periodic updates, and subscribers can access a Web site with updated case summaries and other current material. For the experienced IM or IT professional, the approach is occasionally either elementary or amusing, depending upon the reader's temperament temperament, in music, the altering of certain intervals from their acoustically correct values to provide a system of tuning whereby music can move from key to key without unacceptably impure sonorities. . Arkfeld walks readers through lists and explanations of basic computer storage devices that are likely to be very familiar to most readers of this review; judicial definitions of computer concepts that may strike the experienced reader as elementary are quoted, all for the purpose of bringing Luddite Luddite Member of organized groups of early 19th-century English craftsmen who surreptitiously destroyed the textile machinery that was replacing them. The movement began in Nottingham in 1811 and spread to other areas in 1812. lawyers up to speed on IT concepts. Beyond this, however, things get serious in a hurry. The author clearly knows his stuff when it comes to electronic evidence and how to get hold of it. The publication discusses at some length the many places--including hidden ones--that electronic information may be found, the use of forensic Belonging to courts of justice. forensic 1) adj. from Latin forensis for "belonging to the forum," ancient Rome's site for public debate, and currently meaning pertaining to the courts. experts, and the legal strategies and tools for obtaining access to that information. This alone is instructive in·struc·tive adj. Conveying knowledge or information; enlightening. in·struc  tive·ly adv. , because Arkfeld cites many data repositories--for example, cell-phone memories--that are outside the purview The part of a statute or a law that delineates its purpose and scope.Purview refers to the enacting part of a statute. It generally begins with the words be it enacted and continues as far as the repealing clause. of most IM programs. In similar manner, he discusses the tools and tactics available for defending against overbroad or oppressive discovery demands. He also extensively cites the court rules and case decisions that form the legal authority for the strategy and tactics he proposes, as well as discusses the motions and other legal pleadings pleadings: see procedure. that may be necessary to execute that strategy. Given all of that, this is not a publication for everyone, nor will it be a daily desk reference for those needing general records management materials. However, for IM and IT personnel at a large organization, this is likely to be an instructive reference. The author is, for example, keenly aware of the potential deficiencies in an organization's electronic records system and in its owner's ability to recover information from it due to such things as poor indexing and--most important--what the opponent seeking that information can do to identify and exploit those weaknesses. For those IM and IT personnel on the defensive side of the equation, the book's discussion of issues such as this provides an excellent checklist against which to compare their own systems. Any red flags raised by the comparison should be cause for concern because the issues raised are the very ones that will be raised by knowledgeable opponents in lawsuits, and the tactics the author proposes will be used by those same opponents. Those who must work with counsel on electronic discovery issues, as well as counsel themselves, will also find Arkfeld's book helpful. Discovery response is far more likely to be effective and efficient if IM and IT personnel have some familiarity with the legal issues involved and if counsel have some familiarity with the records management problems associated with e-discovery. This publication provides a place for the IT and IM personnel to begin building that common ground and to begin accommodating their processes, policies, and procedures to the real and high-stakes demands of electronic discovery. The almost $200 price tag is not bad for a publication of this sort. The novice will likely find other publications that are a more effective use of the money, but experienced IM and IT personnel in an electronic environment, particularly a high-risk high-risk adjective Referring to an ↑ risk of suffering from a particular condition Infectious disease Referring to an ↑ risk for exposure to blood-borne pathogens, which occurs with blood bank technicians, dental professionals, dialysis unit or litigation-prone environment--or their lawyers will consider this book a sound investment. TITLE: Electronic Discovery and Evidence AUTHOR: Michael R. Arkfeld ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m : 0966934717 PUBLISHER: Law Partner Publishing PUBLICATION DATE: July 2003 LENGTH: 500 pages (ring-bound) PRICE: $199.95 (U.S.) SOURCE: www.ARMA.ORG John C. Montano J.D., is a records management and legal consultant and principal of Montana and Associates. He may be contacted at johnmontana@qwestinternet.net. |
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