namelesstavern.net

WASHINGTON - U.S. companies will need to keep track of all the e-mails, instant messages and other electronic documents generated by their employees thanks to new federal rules that go into effect Friday, legal experts say.

The rules, approved by the Supreme Court in April, require companies and other entities involved in federal litigation to produce "electronically stored information" as part of the discovery process, when evidence is shared by both sides before a trial.

The change makes it more important for companies to know what electronic information they have and where. Under the new rules, an information technology employee who routinely copies over a backup computer tape could be committing the equivalent of "virtual shredding," said Alvin F. Lindsay, a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP and expert on technology and litigation.

James Wright, director of electronic discovery at Halliburton Co., said that large companies are likely to face higher costs from organizing their data to comply with the rules. In addition to e-mail, companies will need to know about things more difficult to track, like digital photos of work sites on employee cell phones and information on removable memory cards, he said.

Both federal and state courts have increasingly been requiring the production of relevant electronic documents during discovery, but the new rules codify the practice, legal experts said.

The rules also require that lawyers provide information about where their clients' electronic data is stored and how accessible it is much earlier in a lawsuit than was previously the case.

There are hundreds of "e-discovery vendors" and these businesses raked in approximately $1.6 billion in 2006, Wright said. That figure could double in 2007, he added.

Another expense will likely stem from the additional time lawyers will have to spend reviewing electronic documents before turning them over to the other side. While the amount of data will be narrowed by electronic searches, some high-paid lawyers will still have to sift through casual e-mails about subjects like "office birthday parties in the pantry" in order to find information relevant to a particular case.

Martha Dawson, a partner at the Seattle-based law firm of Preston Gates & Ellis LLP who specializes in electronic discovery, said the burden of the new rules won't be that great.

Companies will not have to alter how they retain their electronic documents, she said, but will have to do an "inventory of their IT system" in order to know better where the documents are.

The new rules also provide better guidance on how electronic evidence is to be handled in federal litigation, including guidelines on how companies can seek exemptions from providing data that isn't "reasonably accessible," she said. This could actually reduce the burden of electronic discovery, she said.

Lionking wrote:Have a link? I want to forward the original on.

Narrock wrote:How pathetic. I can just see it now... you email a coworker saying what a friggin retard the boss is, and then you called into the office a couple days later and get chewed out or reprimanded for talking smack about the boss or company. I know you're not supposed to be using company email systems for personal reasons on company time, but some people take their breaks and lunch breaks at their desk and utilize that time to IM or email friends or coworkers. I see this as a blatant violation of privacy.

Diekan wrote:

Narrock wrote:How pathetic. I can just see it now... you email a coworker saying what a friggin retard the boss is, and then you called into the office a couple days later and get chewed out or reprimanded for talking smack about the boss or company. I know you're not supposed to be using company email systems for personal reasons on company time, but some people take their breaks and lunch breaks at their desk and utilize that time to IM or email friends or coworkers. I see this as a blatant violation of privacy.

W....T.....F?

Are you not the same person who was screaming about how Bush should have the rigth to tap our phones without warrants?

NOW personal privacy is an issue of concern for you?

Put the crack pipe down, Mindia...

Lueyen wrote:I once sent a co-worker and email from his boss telling him he was getting a 2k a month raise... think he could take my boss to court and sue him for back wages now?

Sorry courts even considering email messages as absolute and credible evidence is insane.

The rules, approved by the Supreme Court in April, require companies and other entities involved in federal litigation to produce "electronically stored information" as part of the discovery process, when evidence is shared by both sides before a trial.

from the second link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15984058/
Companies and other parties involved in federal litigation must now produce “electronically stored information” as part of discovery, the process by which both sides share evidence before a trial. Federal and state courts have increasingly been requiring the production of such evidence in individual cases, and the new rules clarify that the data will be required in federal lawsuits.

Narrock wrote:

Lueyen wrote:I once sent a co-worker and email from his boss telling him he was getting a 2k a month raise... think he could take my boss to court and sue him for back wages now?

Sorry courts even considering email messages as absolute and credible evidence is insane.

The rules, approved by the Supreme Court in April, require companies and other entities involved in federal litigation to produce "electronically stored information" as part of the discovery process, when evidence is shared by both sides before a trial.

Narrock wrote:How pathetic. I can just see it now... you email a coworker saying what a friggin retard the boss is, and then you called into the office a couple days later and get chewed out or reprimanded for talking smack about the boss or company. I know you're not supposed to be using company email systems for personal reasons on company time, but some people take their breaks and lunch breaks at their desk and utilize that time to IM or email friends or coworkers. I see this as a blatant violation of privacy.

Evermore wrote: they just have to inform that they are monitoring emails

vonkaar wrote:

Evermore wrote: they just have to inform that they are monitoring emails

If they are in fact monitoring the emails. Nobody has to say anything about archival solutions... which really surprises people when they find out their MSN IM chats are included in that =p. Monitoring and archiving are totally separate things.