eDiscovery Academy

The discussion focuses on a court’s ruling regarding the treatment of hyperlinked documents as attachments under an ESI protocol, highlighting the technological limitations and obligations for producing contemporaneous versions and metadata, particularly with platforms like Google Drive and Google Vault. It emphasizes the importance of clear protocols, iterative discovery processes, and how advancements in technology may impact future production requirements in eDiscovery.

This case highlights the critical importance of adhering to Rule 26(a) for initial disclosures, emphasizing that failure to provide necessary information can result in severe sanctions, including the exclusion of evidence. It also underscores the growing impact of the 2015 amendments to Rule 26, which broaden the scope of disclosures and introduce proportionality standards to streamline litigation, particularly in the context of eDiscovery.

The court addressed whether Microsoft's verification process for user consent under the Stored Communications Act was sufficient to deny a subpoena for Skype chat records in a fraud case. The ruling emphasized that while Microsoft’s privacy safeguards are important, a sworn declaration under penalty of perjury can establish lawful consent, providing key guidance for ediscovery professionals handling third-party data requests.