Last Word on Electronic Discovery, For Now.

Back before the Holidays, I posted several articles on electronic discovery and information. One of the hot topics in this area and for 2006, in general, was metadata. Metadata is the information embedded in electronically produced documents. Because it is embedded, it is basically hidden, unless you know where to look. The question most posed was whether or not it was ethical for a lawyer to look at this information. Ben Cowgill posted an article with links to the ABA Formal Opinion, which has held that "lawyers can ethically examine hidden 'metadata' in electronic documents."

From KentuckyLegalEthics.com:

A recent ABA Formal Ethics Opinion holds that a lawyer can ethically examine the hidden 'metadata' in an electronic document received from an opposing party. See ABA Formal Ethics Opinion 06-442.

• Click here to read the ABA's Nov. 9 news release summarizing the opinion.
• Click here to view or download the opinion as posted at 'PDF for Lawyers' (PDF file).

Click on the heading for Ben's entire post or click on the links for the specific document referenced.

This will be my last post on this issue, at least for now. The fact that something such as "metadata" was discussed at such lengths in legal journals, CLE's and legal blogs shows the value of being "techsavy" when it comes to electronic discovery.