Electronic Discovery and Digital Evidence

• Semester: Spring 2021
• Course ID: 335E
• Credit Hours: 3
• Unique: 28900

Description

This course will be taught in person but with the option of remote participation via Zoom.  Please note that this course might become online-only in the event that actual in-person attendance during the semester consistently falls below a threshold to be determined in the exercise of reasonable discretion by the instructor and the Student Affairs Office.

This 3-hour course covers the hottest and most challenging topic in litigation today: electronic discovery and digital evidence. Evidence is information, and nearly all information is created, collected, communicated and stored electronically. Thus, the ability to identify, discover, interpret, authenticate and challenge electronically stored information is a crucial litigation skill. This course will seek to reconcile the federal rules and e-discovery case law with the sources, forms and methods of information technology and computer forensics. Students will explore information technology, learn to "speak geek" and acquire hands-on, practical training in finding electronic evidence, meeting preservation duties, guarding against spoliation, selecting forms of production, communicating and cooperating with opposing counsel and managing the volume and variety of digital evidence and metadata. With an emphasis on understanding the nuts and bolts of information technology, the course teaches practical considerations, tips and tools as well as pivotal case law that has shaped this area of the law and the electronic discovery industry as a whole. No background in computing or technology is required to succeed. If you have questions about the course to decide if it's for you, I can be reached via email as craig@ball.net or by phone at 713-320-6066.