Committee on Ethics, Ethics Docket No. 2007-09 Topics: metadata (set “in the context of litigation” but “general in nature”) From the Opinion: When transmitting a document with metadata, “absent an agreement with the other parties (such as is contemplated in proposed Federal [Rules] 16(b)(5) and (6)), the sending attorney has an ethical obligation to take […]
Arizona State Bar Association Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct Topic: Confidentiality; Electronic Communications; Inadvertent Disclosure Conclusion of the Committee: “Lawyers who send communications or other documents electronically must be aware that such activity has inherent risks. Therefore, the lawyer must take reasonable measures to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of confidential client information. At […]
District of Columbia Bar’s Legal Ethics Committee Topic: Review and Use of Metadata in Electronic Documents Digest of the Committee: “A receiving lawyer is prohibited from reviewing metadata sent by an adversary only where he has actual knowledge that the metadata was inadvertently sent. In such instances, the receiving lawyer should not review the metadata before […]
From the Introduction: “This revised edition of The Sedona Principles seeks to synthesize the current and best thinking from the case law and the amended Federal Rules to provide practical standards for modern discovery.” Related Document: The Sedona Principles: 2005 Edition, Best Practices Recommendations & Principles for Addressing Electronic Document Production The full text can […]
Alabama State Bar Office of General Counsel, Disciplinary Commission Topic: Disclosure and mining of metadata Digest of the Commission: “Lawyers have a duty under Rule 1.6 to use reasonable care when transmitting electronic documents to prevent the disclosure of metadata containing client confidences or secrets. Absent express authorization from a court, it is ethically impermissible […]
Professional Ethics of the Florida Bar Topics: metadata; duties of a lawyer when sending an electronic document to another lawyer and when receiving an electronic document from another lawyer in the course of representing their clients. Summary: “A lawyer who is sending an electronic document should take care to ensure the confidentiality of all information […]
The Conference of Chief Justices established a working group in 2004 to: “develop a reference document to assist state courts in considering issues related to electronic discovery…These Guidelines are intended to help reduce…uncertainty in state court litigation by assisting judge faced by a dispute over e-discovery in identify the issues and determining the decision-making factors […]
American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility Topic: Review and Use of Metadata Digest of the Committee: “The Model Rules of Professional Conduct do not contain any specific prohibition against a lawyer’s reviewing and using embedded information in electronic documents, whether received from opposing counsel, an adverse party, or an agent of […]
From the Preface: “This paper has three major sections. The first introduces the basic concepts of electronic discovery and outlines the themes that will animate any approach to electronic document production. Some have suggested that our current laws and rules are sufficient to meet the needs of electronic issues; this section outlines why those laws […]
Committee on Professional Ethics Topic: E-mailing Documents that May Contain Hidden Data Reflecting Client Confidences and Secrets Digest of the Committee: “Lawyers must exercise reasonable care to prevent the disclosure of confidences and secrets contained in ‘metadata’ in documents they transmit electronically to opposing counsel or other third parties.” Rules: DR 1-102(A)(5), 4-101(B), (C), (D), EC […]