Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
documents,.etc.—see.Chapter.3.for.detailed.descrip-
tions.of.the.types.of.electronic.evidence)
•. How.that.data.will.be.stored.and.preserved.by.each.party
•. Whether.the.data.is.considered.reasonably.accessible
•. What.will.be.considered.privileged.or.work.product
•. What.formats.will.be.expected.for.production.of.the.
data. (for. instance,. will. the. parties. produce. the. data.
with. or. without. metadata—. see. Chapter. 3. for. more.
on.metadata—and.will.they.produce.inal.drafts.or.all.
drafts,. and. will. the. production. be. in. the. format. that.
the.data.is.stored.in.natively,.or.in.some.other.format.
that.the.parties.agree.on)
That.last.point.can.be.extremely.important..Again,.when.we.
look.at.case.law.we.see.examples.of.this.coming.up.in.rul-
ings.because.one.party.doesn't.like.the.way.documents.were.
produced,.but.the.other.party.points.to.these.agreements.and.
argues. (and. the. courts. agree). that. they. did. what. they. were.
asked.to.do.
In.order.for.attorneys.to.follow.the.prescripts.of.Rule.26,.
they.now.have.a.stated.duty.to.understand.their.client's.IT.sys-
tems.and.their.policies.and.procedures.for.records.retention.
This.will.require.those.of.you.who.own.or.manage.a.com-
pany,.or.manage.IT.or.records.for.an.organization,.to.work.
closely.with.your.counsel.to.help.them.understand.how.your.
systems.and.policies.work..The.courts.will.hold.you.and.your.
attorneys. responsible. under. Rule. 26. for. any. electronic. evi-
dence. that. is. relevant. to. the. case,. so. working. together. to.
clarify.what.electronic.data.are.relevant.and.accessible.is.of.
paramount.importance.(and.you.shouldn't.wait.until.you.have.
a.legal.case.at.hand.before.discussing.this).
It.is.equally.important.to.ensure.that.you.and.your.legal.
representatives.understand.where.the.data.are.physically.and.
logically. and. how. the. data. will. be. accessed,. acquired,. and.
preserved. in. a. forensically. sound. manner. (to. preserve. the.
integrity.and.nonrepudiation.of.the.evidence)..In.Chapter.3.
