New information and tools help lawyers navigate
e-discovery resources, keep current on hottest online trends
What is a wiki, and why should I care? How does metadata affect me? Where
can I get more information about the recent changes in the rules of electronic
discovery?
The ABA Legal Technology Resource Center’s Web site is brimming with information
on these and other technology issues about which legal professionals may
need information.
According to a recent ethics
opinion from the ABA Standing Committee
on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, lawyers who receive electronic
documents are free to look for and use information hidden in metadata – information
embedded in electronically produced documents – even if those documents
were provided by an opposing lawyer. What kinds of information might be obtained
in this way? The author’s name, file location and directory, the date
the document was created the number of revisions it went through, even redlined
revisions and comments, are all part of the information that may be gleaned
through analyzing metadata. More worrisome An LTRC presentation
[PDF] on
metadata explains how such information is obtained, and what you can do to
prevent involuntarily sharing it.
The LTRC Web site explains how a wiki – a Web site that can be edited by
any user who has been granted permission to do – allows for collaboration
among coworkers without having to send and take part in a string of emails.
A short article on
LTRC’s Web site provides more information, and links to additional resources.
Another article addresses
the amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that took effect on
Dec. 1, 2006, governing the discovery of electronically stored information,
with some two dozen resource links.
Check out LTRC’s Web site for further technology information news, tools
and tips.
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American Bar Association
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