Electronically Stored Information

Although we live in a world where we are surrounded in an ever-deepening fog of data, few understand how the data are created, where data are stored, or how to retrieve or destroy data. Accessible to readers at all levels of technical understanding, Electronically Stored Information: The Complete Guide to Management, Understanding, Acquisition, Storage, Search, and Retrieval covers all aspects of electronic data and how it should be managed. Using easy-to-understand language, the book explains: exactly what electronic information is, the different ways it can be stored, why we need to manage it from a legal and organizational perspective, who is likely to control it, and how it can and should be acquired to meet legal and managerial goals. Its reader-friendly format means you can read it cover to cover or use it as a reference where you can go straight to the information you need. Complete with links and references to additional information, technical software solutions, helpful forms, and time-saving guides, it provides you with the tools to manage the increasingly complex world of electronic information that permeates every part of our world.

This pocket guide is designed to help federal judges manage the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI). It encourages judges to actively manage those cases involving ESI, raising points for consideration by the parties rather than awaiting the parties' identification and argument of the matters. The guide covers issues unique to the discovery of ESI, including its scope, the allocation of costs, the form of production, the waiver of privilege and work-product protection, and the preservation of data and spoliation. As you are reading, you may encounter some unfamiliar terms. Many of these terms are defined in a glossary at the end of the guide.

"Preface Welcome one and all. That isn't just a pleasantry, but my way of letting you know that whether you are an attorney, judge, paralegal, business manager or owner, or just one of the great un-labeled hordes, you will all benefit from what follows. We all live in a new world in which we are surrounded in an ever-deepening fog of data. The data define who we are, for better or worse. The data contain information about our livelihoods, our education, our finances (or lack thereof), our health (or lack thereof), our history, and probably our future. And yet very few of us understand how the data are created, where data are stored, or how to retrieve or destroy data (if that is indeed at all possible!). This book is for all of you, whatever your need or interest. In it we will discuss the reasons you need to know about electronic data as well as get into great detail about the how, what, when, and where of what is known in legal circles as ESI, or electronically stored information. You can use this as a reference and simply go to the chapters you are interested in, or read through if you like. I try to keep it entertaining and simple to understand, even when we get into some pretty esoteric engineering concepts. I'm pretty sure no one is planning to earn his or her computer science or electrical engineering degree with this book, so concepts will be as simple as possible and related to stories K13576.indb 13 3/7/12 9:49 AM xiv Preface and illustrations that will help make sense of these sometimes difficult ideas. So read on without trepidation, dear reader. I promise it will be enlightening, and perhaps even fun. If nothing else you will have some interesting new ways to entertain your geek friends or impress your non-geek friends at your next party"--

Although we live in an era in which we are surrounded by an ever-deepening fog of data, few of us truly understand how the data are created, where data are stored, or how to retrieve or destroy data—if that is indeed possible. This book is for all of you, whatever your need or interest. Electronically Stored Information: The Complete Guide to Management, Understanding, Acquisition, Storage, Search, and Retrieval, Second Edition explains the reasons you need to know about electronic data. It also gets into great detail about the how, what, when, and where of what is known in legal circles as electronically stored information (ESI). With easy-to-understand explanations and guidelines, this book provides the practical understanding you need to effectively manage the complex world of ESI. Whether you are an attorney, judge, paralegal, business manager or owner, or just one of the ever-growing population of computer users, you will benefit from the information presented in this book.

This third edition reflects the December 1, 2015, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the reasons for the amendments. This third edition also reflects the rise of new devices on which electronically stored information (ESI) is created and stored, such as smartphones and new sources of ESI, such as social medial This guide updates judges on how ESI may be searched and also suggests case management techniques that judges might use in smaller civil actions in which the costs of ESI discovery could hamper resolution on the merits. Examples of Electronically stored information (ESI) include email messages, word-processing files, webpages, and databases that are created and stored on computers, magnetic disks (i.e. computer hard drives), optical disks (i.e. DVDs and CDs), and flash memory (i.e. thumb or flash drives). Additionally, ESI is stored on cloud-based servers often hosted by third parties that can be accessed through internet connections. Unlike paper documents, ESI can be produced (formatted) in different forms and stored in numerous places, plus metadata is often stored within the electronic document that is not available in printed format, such as dates of file creation, file revisions, etc. The choice and form of production was not an issue with paper discovery, but it can lead to disputes in ESI discovery. Related products: Mindfulness and Judging is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/mindfulness-and-judging Elements of Case Management is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/elements-case-managment Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as of December 1, 2016 can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/federal-rules-civil-procedure-2016 Cyber Infrastructure Protection, Volume III available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/cyber-infrastructure-protection-volume-iii