Trends & Emerging Issues – Page 3 – Electronic Discovery Law

New Risks of the Evolving Workforce

Aug 30 2022

K&L Gates recently hosted a series of webinars covering potential legal and regulatory implications businesses must consider as a result of the now common hybrid work setting. The cross-practice series focused on compliance issues from a Tax, Data Protection, Privacy, and Security, e-Discovery Analysis and Technology, and Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety perspective.

Webinar recordings and associated materials are available on the K&L Gates HUB.

Statements of Information Withheld Comply with Amended Rule 34, Motion to Compel Denied

Aug 29 2016

Rowan v. Sunflower Elec. Power Corp., No. 15-cv-9227-JWL-TJJ, 2016 WL 3743102 (D. Kan. July 13, 2016)

In this case, the court addressed, among other things, the sufficiency of Defendant’s objections to Plaintiff’s Requests for Production and in particular its compliance with the new requirements of amended Fed. R. Civ. P. 34, effective as of December 1, 2015. Upon review of the objections and Defendant’s statements of information withheld (as expressed by Defendant’s identification of its search parameters), the court concluded that Defendant’s responses were sufficient and counseled Plaintiff to make additional inquiries in future discovery to the extent he desired additional information.

Court Concludes Defendant’s Request was “precisely the kind of disproportionate discovery that Rule 26—old or new—was intended to preclude.”

Jan 19 2016

Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. Merck & Co., Inc., No. 5:13-cv-04057-BLF, 2016 WL 146574 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2016)

In this case, the court addressed Defendant’s motion to compel production of additional discovery and, applying newly amended Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1), determined that Defendant’s request was “precisely the kind of disproportionate discovery that Rule 26—old or new—was intended to preclude.” Accordingly, the motion was denied.

“The amendments may not look like a big deal at first glance, but they are.” – Chief Justice Roberts, 2015 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary

Jan 04 2016

Chief Justice John Roberts has issued his annual report on the federal judiciary, focused primarily on the 2015 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including a brief history of their development and discussion of their intended effects. Among other things, the report makes clear that the amendments “mark significant change, for both lawyers and judges, in the future conduct of civil trials.” The report further counsels that:

The 2015 civil rules amendments are a major stride toward a better federal court system. But they will achieve the goal of Rule 1—“the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding”—only if the entire legal community, including the bench, bar, and legal academy, step up to the challenge of making real change.

A full copy of the report is available for download, here.

Court Applies Amended Rule 26, Concludes Burdens on Parties Resisting Discovery Have Not Fundamentally Changed

Dec 17 2015

Carr v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., No.3:15-cv-1026-M, 2015 WL 8010920 (N.D. Tex. Dec. 7, 2015)

In this case, the court addressed Defendant’s Motion to Compel discovery responses and undertook substantial analysis of the effects of newly amended Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 on the burdens of parties’ resisting discovery, concluding they had not fundamentally changed.

Today is the Day! Amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Effective Dec. 1, 2015

Dec 01 2015

The wait is over. Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are effective today.

The 2015 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are significant and will have a direct impact on the day to day practice of law, particularly discovery. If you’ve been putting off your review of the amendments, the time for action is now! Take a few minutes (or a few hours) to review these important amendments and/or attend one of K&L Gates’ two live events to learn more! (Live events are also available via webinar.)

CLICK HERE for an overview of the rules amendments package.

To register for K&L Gates’ complimentary CLE, “Federal Rule Changes Affect e-Discovery – Are You Ready This Time?” follow the links below:

CLICK HERE to attend LIVE! in Seattle: Dec. 1, 2015, 1:30 PM -5:30 (with post-program reception)

CLICK HERE to attend LIVE! in Pittsburgh: Dec. 3, 2015, 8:30 AM-12:15

Can’t Attend in Person? Email Allison Peterson (allison.peterson@klgates.com) to attend via Webinar. Log-in instructions will be emailed to you.

Federal Rule Changes Affecting E-Discovery Are Almost Here – Are You Ready This Time?

Oct 01 2015

An Overview of the Rules, History and Commentary

Absent congressional action to reject, modify or defer proposed amendments approved by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year, amendments to rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 37, 55, and 84 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will become effective on December 1, 2015. Getting a head start on thinking about how your litigation (and pre-litigation) strategies or practices may be affected by these important amendments is highly recommended.

Click here to access the full article.

Supreme Court Approves Proposed Amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Submits Proposals to Congress for Approval

Apr 29 2015

Today, April 29, 2015, Chief Justice John G. Roberts submitted the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which “have been adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States” to Congress for final approval. Absent legislation to reject, modify or defer the rules, they will become effective December 1, 2015.

A copy of the Supreme Court’s submission to Congress is available here.

Another Milestone Passes: Judicial Conference Approves Federal Civil Rules Amendments

Sep 17 2014

As reported by the National Law Journal (subscription required), the Judicial Conference has approved proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. No revisions to the proposals were reported. The proposals will now go before the United States Supreme Court for review and, if approved, will take effect on December 1, 2015, absent any action by Congress to revise or reject the amendments.

The rules to be affected by the pending amendments include rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33 and 34 (collectively known as the “Duke Rules Package”). The proposed amendments also include an entirely rewritten Rule 37(e) addressing preservation and sanctions.

For more information regarding specific proposed changes (including the proposed text of the rules), read the Summary of the Report of the Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, HERE.

Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Standing Committee”) Approves Proposed Amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Jun 05 2014

Last week, the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (the “Standing Committee”) approved proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including the “Duke Rules Package,” addressing Rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, and 34 and a rewritten version of Rule 37(e), addressing preservation. The proposed amendments were approved with only two revisions to the proposed Committee Notes for Rules 26(b)(1) (encouraging consideration and use of technology) and 37(e) (clarifying the role of prejudice in subsection (e)(2) of the proposed rule). Meeting minutes reflecting the precise changes to the Committee Notes are not yet available, although the text of the rules as adopted was published in the Standing Committee’s meeting Agenda Book, available here.

The next stop for the proposed amendments is the Judicial Conference, which will consider the proposed amendments at its meeting in September.

Catagory:Trends & Emerging Issues