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ELECTRONICDISCLOSURE · A GUIDE FOR UK LAWYERS Electronic Disclosure Explained A Practical Guide for UK Lawyers COMPUTER FORENSICS LAB DISCOVERY. UK
§ ABOUT THE AUTHOR PREPARED BY COMPUTER FORENSICS LAB E-DISCOVERY TEAM FULL CHAIN-OF-CUSTODY DOCUMENTATION
§ CONTENTS In this guide 01 Executive summary 02 What exactly is electronic disclosure? The problem in plain English 03 How e Disclosure differs from simply exchanging documents 04 e Disclosure and its neighbours: forensics, review and information governance 05 Why it matters legally: duties, rules and sanctions 06 The legal framework: England & Wales, and where the rules differ 07 Important terminology 08 The complete lifecycle: identification to disposal 09 Practical workflow and decision tree 10 Preservation: legal holds done properly 11 Collection methodology and evidential integrity 12 Metadata: the evidence about the evidence 13 Privilege and confidential it y 14 UK GDPR, data minimisation and the Data (Use and Access) Act 15 Proportionality 16 Realistic litigation examples 17 Common mistakes and technical limitations 18 Questions to ask: client, opponent, provider 19 Suggested wording for instructions 20 Checklist and red flags 21 When to involve a digital forensic expert 22 Frequently asked questions 23 Glossary · References · Disclaimer · How a specialist laboratory can assist
§ 01 · ORIENTATION Executive summary SEVEN POINT S TO HOLD ON TO 31 and PD 31B govern most other civil claims. Know which applies before the first case management THEONE - SENTENCEVERSION
§ 02 · FIRST PRINCIPLES What exactly is electronic disclosure? The problem in plain English IDENTIFICATION PRESERVATION COLLECTION PROCESSING REVIEW & PRODUCTION PRESENTATION DISPOSAL ANALYSIS
§ 03 · THECOREDISTINCTION How e Disclosure differs from simply exchanging documents FOR THE PRACTITIONER DIMENSION "SIMPLY EXCHANGING DOCUMENTS" EDISCLOSURE DONE PROPERLY
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§ 04 · THE MAP OF THE TERRITORY e Disclosure and its neighbours e Disclosure vs ordinary document disclosure e Disclosure vs digital forensics e Disclosure vs document review e Disclosure vs information governance DISCIPLINE CORE QUESTION T YPICAL OUTPUT GOVERNING FRAMEWORK
§ 05 · CONSEQUENCES Why it matters legally: duties, rules and sanctions The duties The sanctions FAILURE REALISTIC CONSEQUENCES
§ 06 · THE RULES The legal framework: England & Wales, and where the rules differ Civil claims in the Business and Property Courts: PD 57AD CURRENTSTATUS · Civil claims outside the B&PCs: CPR Part 31 and PD 31B Criminal proceedings Where the rules differ FORUM KEY DIFFERENCES FROM E&W CIVIL DISCLOSURE
§ 07 · VOCABULARY Important terminology TERM WHAT IT MEANS IN PRACTICE
§ 08 · THELIFECYCLE The complete lifecycle: identification to disposal Stage 1 · Identification Stage 2 · Preservation Stage 3 · Collection Stage 4 · Processing Stage 5 · Review and analysis Stage 6 · Production Stage 7 · Presentation Stage 8 · Disposal
§ 09 · IN PRACTICE Practical workflow and decision tree The first fourteen days of a new dispute Decision tree: scoping the exercise QUESTION1 YESNO, INVESTIGATION ONLY QUESTION2 B & PCCIVILCLAIMOTHERCIVILCLAIMCRIMINAL / REGUL AT ORY / CMC. ARBITRAL QUESTION3 WHEN ACTION YESNO QUESTION4 SMALL ( < ~ 20KDOCUMENTS ) LARGE QUESTION5
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§ 10 · FREEZINGTHERECORD Preservation: legal holds done properly WH AT ADEFENSIBLEHOLDLOOKSLIKE
§ 11 · DEFENSIBLE CAPTURE Collection methodology and evidential integrity Choosing the method Chain of custody INTEGRITYINONEPARAGRAPH METHOD APPROPRIATE FOR WATCH-POINTS
§ 12 · BENEATHTHESURFACE Metadata: the evidence about the evidence T YPE EXAMPLES LITIGATION USE
§ 13 · PROTECTEDMATERIAL Privilege and confidential it y
§ 14 · UK GDPR, data minimisation and the Data (Use and Access) Act
§ 15 · Proportionality
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§ 16 · IN THE WILD Realistic litigation examples EXAMPLE1 · THESHAREHOLDERDISPUTEANDTHEWHATSAPPTHREAD EXAMPLE2 · THEBACKDATEDCONSULTANCYAGREEMENT EXAMPLE3 · THELEAVERANDTHECLIENTLIST
§ 17 · WHEREITGOESWRONG Common mistakes and technical limitations Common mistakes Technical limitations to understand (and explain to clients)
§ 18 · INTERROGATORIES Questions to ask Ask your client Ask your opponent (in DRD/EDQ exchanges or correspondence) Ask a forensic / e Disclosure provider
§ 19 · DRAFTING AIDS Suggested wording for instructions LEGALHOLDNOTICE ( COREOPER AT IVE PA R AG RAPHS ) INSTRUCTION TO AN EDISCLOSURE / FORENSIC PROVIDER PROPOSALTOTHEOPPONENTONPRODUCTIONFORM AT ( FOR THE DRD / EDQ )
§ 20 · QUICK CONTROL Checklist and red flags The e Disclosure checklist Red flags
§ 21 · ESCALATION When to involve a digital forensic expert
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§ 22 · COMMON QUESTIONS Frequently asked questions What is e Disclosure, and how is it different from simply exchanging documents? Do we need an e Disclosure exercise in a small case? Can we just print the Whats Apps / take screenshots? Is technology-assisted review accepted by the courts? Who pays for all this? What happens to the data when the case ends?
§ 23 · REFERENCE Glossary DRD EDQ EDRM ESI EXIF TAR Authoritative UK references DISCLAIMER
§ HOW A SPECIALIST LABORATORY CAN ASSIST Working with Computer Forensics Lab Speak to a forensic examiner, not a salesperson. INSTRUCTTHELAB NEWENQUIRIESEMAILE - DISCOVERY
Cite as: Joseph Naghdi, Electronic Disclosure Explained A Practical Guide For UK Lawyers, Computer Forensics Lab, https://e-discovery.uk/library/electronic-disclosure-explained-a-practical-guide-for-uk-lawyers/pdf.