7th Circuit Electronic Discovery Pilot Program and the Principles on ESI

http://ow.ly/6dI5M

Article by Allison Walton, posted on e-Discovery 2.0 website.

This article touches on the pilot project initiated in 2009 by the 7th Circuit, which has judges, counsel and service providers collaborating regarding eDiscovery issues in the court system.  As the article points out about the proejct, "multi-phase project to develop, implement, evaluate, and improve pretrial litigation procedures, which ideally would provide fairness and justice to all parties..."  It is also aimed at looking for ways to reduce costs and burden on the parties.


The project has been well received, and provides important guidance for the other circuits.  As the article states, "With each jurisdiction having its own local rules and each legal community having its own flavor, the exercise of bringing all stakeholders into the process to contribute to the Principles is unprecedented. Whether each Circuit starts their own Pilot Programs, or initially adopts the 7th Circuit’s Principles and then modifies as necessary, remains to be seen. Either way, results from the 7th Circuit have been positive thus far, generating supporters nationally. The hope is that courts and practitioners will start with these Principles in order to avoid a patchwork of ESI rules across the country."