Discovery Resources

by James D. Palmatier is a Partner at Galbraith, Palmatier & Assoc., LL

Federal Rule of Evidence 502 (“Rule 502”) was signed into law in September 2008 .  According to the Advisory Committee notes to Rule 502, the Rule is designed to provide a predictable consequence for the unintentional disclosure of information protected by the attorney-client privilege and attorney work-product doctrines, and to reduce the costs associated with the discovery phase of litigation .  Rule 502, related case law and recent developments in tools used for electronic document management all point to several cost effective and prudent steps that may help avoid waiver.  To be successful in the discovery phase a continue…

To regain a class’s focus on a certain subject that they may not have been studying hard enough otherwise, teachers will often use a Pop Quiz.  Ronald Hedges, former United States Magistrate Judge in the District of New Jersey, is a believer in the pop quiz as well.  In the most recent New Jersey Law Journal, Hedges writes:

“Time for a pop quiz. Can you name the most important of the so-called “e-discovery” amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure adopted in 2006? Candidates include, among others, Rule 26(b)(2)(B), which introduced the concept of “not reasonably accessible” electronically stored information; Rule 26(b)(5)(B), which established a uniform procedure among the United continue…

“You know things are bad when the lawyers withdraw.”  So begins an interesting post from Steven Puiszis, Editor-in-Chief of the Practical Ediscovery blog. He continues, “In MeccaTech (MTI), the magistrate judge observed: “Misconduct of this magnitude is a rare occurrence.” It was determined through discovery that one of the defendants employed a consultant to intentionally erase items from his computer before he left MTI’s employment in attempt to shield his activities from discovery.” Read more about ediscovery going very badly here

The American College of Trial Lawyers and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal Systema legal have issued a report which calls for a complete overhaul of civil discovery rules to end costly and time-consuming demands for documents. The 30-page report contains proposals and general principles for overhauling the discovery rules used in both federal and state courts.  Download the report here.

Total Revamp of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure?
By Mary Mack, Esq., Corporate Technology Counsel, Fios Inc.

The American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery and The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System released a report in March calling for radical change in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that may, according to the ACTL website, “one day underpin the transformation of civil procedure in federal and state systems throughout the United States.”

This report was created through the collaboration of seasoned (average of 38 years of experience) peer-selected trial lawyers from both sides of the bar and a well-funded, politically savvy legal institute. The report has gained wide continue…