Law
Electronic Discovery Laws & Rules
A number of legal authorities govern electronic discovery.Primary authorities are government authorities that have established e-discovery law. Secondary authorities are respected experts and organizations that have published valuable recommendations and material related to e-discovery best practices. Finally, other e-discovery resources are available including books, blogs, websites, and training. Each of these are explained in more detail below, with links to each.
E-Discovery Law: Primary Authorities
E-discovery law includes the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, federal district courts’ local rules for electronic discovery, state rules of civil procedure, and the court cases that interpret the rules.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) govern electronic discovery in all cases in federal courts. The FRCP also serves as a model for most state court rules on electronic discovery. For this reason, the FRCP is the foundation for e-discovery law in the United States.
In federal district courts, some judges and districts have established local rules, guidelines, or forms that attorneys should use for electronic discovery.
Many state courts have adopted electronic discovery rules that are modeled after the FRCP e-discovery rules.If you are operating in state court, follow that state’s rules of civil procedure related to electronic discovery. If the state has not yet amended its rules to expressly cover electronic discovery, following the FRCP’s e-discovery rules is normally the best practice because state judges often turn to the FRCP as a model when state rules lack mention of e-discovery practices.
Courts continue to interpret e-discovery laws. For more discussion, read about the latest e-discovery cases.
More discussion of these electronic discovery authorities are laid out in the pages that follow:
1. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
2. Local Rules of Federal District Courts
3. State Electronic Discovery
4. Electronic Discovery Cases
E-Discovery Law: Secondary Authorities
A number of secondary authorities have had an influence on e-discovery law, including the important e-discovery provisions in the FRCP, that went into effect December 1, 2006.
The Sedona Conference has been an continues to have a key role in the evolution of e-discovery law. Previously, the Uniform Rules Relating To Discovery of Electronically Stored Information as promulgated by the Uniform Law Commissioners and the ABA’s Civil Discovery Standards (2004) relating to electronic discovery were influencial in e-discovery law, but they have had a lesser role since e-discovery provisions in the FRCP went into effect December 1, 2006.
More discussion of these electronic discovery secondary authorities are laid out in the pages that follow:
5. Sedona Conference Principles
6. Sedona Conference Guidelines
7. Uniform Rules Relating To Discovery of Electronically Stored Information as promulgated by the Uniform Law Commissioners
8. ABA’s Civil Discovery Standards (2004) relating to electronic discovery
E-Discovery Law: Other Resources
E-discovery resources include e-discovery books, blogs and websites, our online guide, and training. More information on these resources can be found in these pages:
