I have a bit of a lawyer geek’s fascination with the electronic discovery amendments to the federal rules of civil procedure; they exist at an interesting intersection of evidence, discovery, and business management issues, each of which alone is interesting to me but that in combination, as they are with regard to these amendments, become a fascinating, almost gordian, knot of issues. In earlier posts, I have talked about a couple of issues raised by them. The first is the need for the courts to develop rules governing electronic discovery that are more rigorous than traditional standards for paper discovery, and that take into account the far greater cost that broad electronic discovery can impose. The second concerned the importance for companies to act proactively, and establish strong computer information systems that keep information well organized and easily accessible in the normal course of business, allowing cost effective data collection, review and production when things turn extraordinary, namely into litigation.

I thought, on both of these points, I would pass along this article that I liked, which really drives home the point that the best solution to the potentially backbreaking cost problem of electronic discovery is proper electronic document management on a day in day out basis in the operation of the business itself, rather than just tackling that issue latter on, after a suit is filed and electronic discovery is sought.