California Lawyers Association

February 1, 2019
12:00 PM - 1:02 PM (Pacific)

Formal Opinion No. 2015-193 of the Standing Committee On Professional Responsibility and Conduct of the California State Bar (“Committee Opinion”) opines that an attorney may violate ethical duties of competence by failing to understand and perform e-discovery skills. The Committee Opinion set out a list of nine e-discovery tasks that “attorneys handling e-discovery should be able to perform (either by themselves or in association with competent counsel or expert consultants).” The nine skills from the Committee Opinion are:

1. Initially assess e-discovery needs and issues, if any;

2. Implement/cause to implement appropriate ESI preservation procedures;

3. Analyze and understand a client’s ESI systems and storage;

4. Advise the client on available options for collection and preservation of ESI;

5. Identify custodians of potentially relevant ESI;

6. Engage in competent and meaningful meet and confer with opposing counsel concerning an e-discovery plan;

7. Perform data searches;

8. Collect responsive ESI in a manner that preserves the integrity of the ESI; and

9. Produce responsive non-privileged ESI in a recognized and appropriate manner.

https://cla.inreachce.com/Details/Information/E1229B6A-694C-41D4-835A-6DC961B12995