Modern Discovery Strategies and Technologies

For the last decade, this course has been called “E-Discovery” – but the discovery phase of litigation (where and how you obtain all the information to prove your claims or defenses) is now all about electronic discovery. How does a lawyer practically and strategically go from a complaint to obtaining and using evidence? How do the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure work in practice? Every attorney is required – by the professional rules – to know the latest technologies to save time and money, and to find the best evidence they need to prove or disprove their case. More importantly, courts are increasingly penalizing attorneys who fail to satisfy their e-discovery (and discovery) obligations. The outcomes of many cases turn on a few key electronic documents that can be missed if the (e)Discovery process is not carefully pursued. This seminar will follow the life cycle of a case, covering topics such as document preservation, collection, search, review, and production. Students will participate in mock client interviews and meet and confers, attend guest lectures by local lawyers and (e)discovery vendors, and observe demonstrations of available document search and review technologies.

Students will learn to identify and analyze the legal issues, use the (e)discovery tools presented and offered, collaborate with their classmates, and conduct themselves professionally and ethically.