Ethics and E-Discovery

Overview

E-discovery has become one of the most ethically fraught areas of modern litigation, where missteps in preserving, processing, or presenting electronically stored information (ESI) can expose attorneys and their clients to sanctions, adverse inference instructions, and reputational harm. This seminar uses California law and procedure as a practical baseline to examine the ethical duties that govern counsel and organizations throughout the e-discovery lifecycle. Participants will review actual case law where courts have imposed sanctions for e-discovery failures, giving concrete context to abstract obligations such as the duty of candor and the duty to preserve. The course also addresses the significant financial costs associated with ESI management, helping both legal and business professionals make informed decisions about litigation readiness.

What you’ll learn

• ✓Explain the key ethical obligations that govern attorneys and organizations during each stage of the e-discovery process
• ✓Identify common mistakes that lead to sanctions or adverse findings in e-discovery disputes
• ✓Apply the duty of candor standard to real-world scenarios involving the disclosure and presentation of ESI
• ✓Describe how California rules and case law shape e-discovery practice and where they diverge from federal standards
• ✓Recognize the cost drivers associated with ESI preservation and processing and their implications for litigation strategy
• ✓Evaluate best practices for legal holds and ESI workflows that reduce ethical and legal risk

Curriculum

1. 1. Ethics and E-Discovery 

   The amount of data involved in litigations today has exponentially increased from even a decade ago. "Everything is captured.” Attorneys must ensure that they understand how data is stored and retrieved, and the costs associated with doing so. Equally, they must know how to present this information effectively to both the court and their clients, as the process of eDiscovery often makes up a large percentage of a litigation’s expenses. Attorneys must understand their duty of candor and the responsibility that falls on them to verify and validate the information that their client has provided. Attorneys today, regardless of jurisdiction, will find a foundational knowledge of their ethical obligations for eDiscovery essential to their practice. In this seminar, our expert panelists begin by

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