Certificate in Electronic Discovery Management

Electronic Discovery and the Law, Classroom, Downtown Seattle, Autumn 2010

This course will present a broad view of the legal framework governing electronic discovery. Students will obtain an understanding of how organizations and enterprises generate and store electronically stored documents (ESI), learn why ESI is important to the discovery process, understand the consequences for failing to fulfill discovery and preservation obligations and learn how ESI is admitted and used at trial.

Topics:

• Overview of the legal system and federal and state course structure
• Overview of civil procedure rules, including the 2006 E-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
• E-discovery rules in Washington
• Overview of evidentiary rules and their relation to ESI
• Creation, storage, and duty to preserve
• Collection and searching techniques
• Metadata, electronic messaging, voicemail, and email
• Confidentiality, privilege, privacy, and ethics issues
• International challenges

Schedule Notes:

Records Management for Litigation Readiness, Classroom, Downtown Seattle, Winter 2011

This course focuses on the important relationship between e-discovery and records management and will show how an effective and efficient records governance program is necessary to the e-discovery process. Students will better understand the lifecycle of a record (from creation to destruction) and learn the best practices involved with proper management of data in digital media formats.

Topics:

• Private organizations v. public organizations (public disclosure v. discovery)
• E-discovery awareness and preparedness
• Records management theory, application, and strategic planning
• Digital data identification methodology
• Email management systems
• Understanding GARP - Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles
• Digital storms arising in a "cloud" culture (awareness of the digital age including PDA's, texting, social networking, wireless devices, and more)
• Records retention and destruction
• Information technology's prominent role and how to build this important communication bridge
• Preservation, spoliation, safe harbor, legal holds, and accessibility as applied to electronic records

The Collection, Review, and Production of Electronic Evidence for Litigation, Classroom, Downtown Seattle, Spring 2011

Students will follow the electronic discovery process chronologically through the stages of discovery. They will gain an understanding of how to manage an e-discovery project, become aware of issues to consider at each stage of the process and enhance their functional knowledge of how to collect, process, review and produce electronically stored information.

Topics:

• Project planning, with attention to the role of clients, paralegals, vendors and technical support personnel
• Considerations in drafting and responding to discovery requests
• Negotiations regarding production content and format
• Identification of custodians and data stores and custodian interviews
• Preservation obligations
• Litigation holds: issuing and tracking them
• Considerations in selecting a method of collecting and reviewing data
• Preserving metadata and chain of custody
• Software demonstrations, including concept analyzing software and other review tools and litigation support databases
• Trial support and presentation of electronic evidence