Market Areas > Practice Management > Electronic Documents

Electronic Documents: Avoiding the Ethical Pitfalls of Metadata

Course Description:

Why is it so important to undertstand your electronic footprint?  In one word...Metadata.  It’s hidden in every electronic document (email, spreadsheets, word documents) created and edited by anyone and everyone in your firm or legal department.

Metadata continues to be a huge and often misunderstood topic.  And the ethical implications of metadata “mining” are no longer just of interest to the lawyers processing electronic discovery or the ethics mavens.

There are a myriad of questions / ethical opinions that every legal professional must address when dealing with electronic documentation, like:

1. If a document is received from opposing counsel, is it appropriate to examine the document’s metadata?
2. If you become aware that the document received contains revealing metadata, what should be done in response? Are you required to either disregard it or reveal the discovery to opposing counsel immediately?
3. What are the ethical obligations to retain e-mails and other electronic documents relating to a representation?
4. Do you need client permission before deleting e-mails or other electronic documents relating to the representation?
5. When a client requests that you provide documents relating to the representation, can you bill the client for the costs associated with retrieving e-mails and other electronic documents from accessible and inaccessible storage media?

Get the answers to these questions and more in this indispensable CCM teleconference.  By the end of this session, you’ll know:

• Terminology you need to fully comprehend when dealing with electronic documents
• Most common ethical mistakes that legal professionals make when working with electronic documentation
• Key techniques to properly handle metadata in discovery documents
• How to best eliminate the malpractice and ethical exposures arising from metadata in email, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and PDF files
• Best practices to manage the electronic data of consultants and vendors
• What technologies exist to help you avoid the most common ethical pitfalls
• Scrubbing solutions: How to NOT violate the ethics rules

Featured Faculty:

W. Lawrence Wescott II, Esq., Senior Consultant, Kahn Consulting, Inc.

W. Lawrence Wescott II, Esq., is a senior consultant with Kahn Consulting, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in the legal, compliance, and policy issues of information technology and information lifecycle management.  He is an attorney and former IT manager, and frequently writes and speaks on electronic discovery issues.  He authors the Electronic Discovery Blog (www.electronicdiscoveryblog.com), named one of the top 100 legal blogs by the American Bar Association Journal.  He can be reached at lwescott@kahnconsultinginc.com.

Brian Sharkey, Counsel, Porzio, Bromberg, and Newman

Brian P. Sharkey is counsel to Porzio, Bromberg & Newman and is a member of the firm's Complex Tort Litigation Department. Mr. Sharkey concentrates his practice in the areas of product liability, appellate practice, and governmental affairs. Mr. Sharkey represents companies in the pharmaceutical, automotive, and heavy machinery industries.

Paul Wittekind, Director of Information Technology Services, Porzio, Bromberg, and Newman

Paul C. Wittekind is the Director of Information Technology Services at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman P.C., with offices in Morristown, New Jersey, and New York, New York, where he has been responsible since 1993 for overseeing the technology systems at Porzio, identifying and coordinating the strategic direction of Porzio's technology, and advising and assisting Porzio's clients on electronic discovery and other technology-related matters.  Mr. Wittekind provides guidance to Porzio's clients on all aspects of e-discovery, including the identification and collection of data from clients' networks, importing files and metadata into fully-searchable systems, and identifying metadata and other information that may have to be provided to other parties in legal proceedings.  Mr. Wittekind has worked closely with New Jersey Superior Court judges on electronic document production and associated e-discovery disputes at both the pretrial and trial stages, and has served on various judicial advisory panels that addressed electronic discovery and electronic filing initiatives in the New Jersey court system.

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE:

Pricing:

Your CD recording includes the complete audio conference presentation, audience Q&A and presentation materials.

CLE:

CCM provides audio conference attendees with CLE credit processing services. To expedite CCM processing your CLE request, please complete and submit the evaluation form available from CCM at the conclusion of the audio conference. It will be necessary to enter the following information: name of each attorney requesting CLEs with full contact information, including e-mail address, bar number, and the state in which the attorney wants credits. Each attorney requesting credits must submit an evaluation.

Please be advised CCM audio conferences are subject to approval from each CLE issuing organization and approval is not guaranteed (state bar associations in Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania do not grant CLE credits for audio conferences). The approval process takes approximately 6 - 8 weeks for most organizations but can take as long as 3 - 4 months. You will be notified via e-mail with the final status of your CLE application.

Any person applying for CLE credits must attend the audio conference from start to finish (attendance will be taken for compliance reasons). Requests for CLE credits must be received no later than two weeks following the conclusion of the audio conference or live conference. CLE credits are not available for CD recordings.

If you have any questions regarding CLE credits, contact Jill Adler at 631.368.2082 x 21 or jill.adler@meeting-matters.com.

Each CCM event presents a variety of information and is presented for each organization to develop its own approach and methodology.