A Few Free E-Discovery Resources for Newbies

The days of sending the other party in a lawsuit written discovery requests for correspondence and conveniently receiving a tidy (and, in discovery Utopia, fully disclosed) stack of paper complying with your requests have gone the way of vinyl albums, fountain pens and even actual letters, as more people turn almost exclusively to electronic means, including e-mail and social media sites, to communicate.

Ergo, we have the need for the current era of “electronic discovery” or “e-discovery”. As The Paralegal Mentor, Vicki Voisin, emphasizes in a recent post, “Will Your Lack of E-Discovery Expertise Affect Firm’s Fee Recovery?”, “Even in small cases, electronic discovery can be a significant element of discovery for both parties.”

If you’re thinking, “AAAAAAAAAACK, 'E-DISCOVERY'???!!! What the heck is it and how do I get some?” (but silently because that looks ever so much more intelligent) then here are a few essential and free Internet resources that you can use to not only quietly “bone up” on the basics (and impress your boss), but to keep up with the ever-evolving developments in this area:

Discovery Resources.org (sponsored by Fios, Inc.) provides “the most up-to-date information, resources and news available about electronic discovery.” The site has links to e-discovery blogs and news, as well as a library with glossaries.

Electronic Data Discovery at Law.com provides articles, a blog, daily updates and even an easy to read road map explaining the basic principles.

Fios (Electronic Discovery Management Services) has links to case law and rules, and multiple electronic webcasts available on demand, including “Electronic Discovery 101 for Litigation Support and Paralegals”.

Whatever you do, embrace e-discovery and learn to love it with the same passion that you welcomed its precursor, e-mail.

Got a favorite e-discovery website for newbies? Please share it, and I’ll add it to the list.