Ride the Lightning
Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
Craig Ball: A Bill of Rights for E-Discovery
May 2, 2012
On Monday, my good friend Craig Ball posted (rather, reposted) "A Bill of Rights for E-Discovery."
He lamented that, having penned what he thought was a worthy effort two years ago, it was met with a silence so deafening that, in the language of his native New York, "ya coulda hoid a pin drop."
It is a worthy document Craig. I applaud it – as I am sure many others do. So why the silence? Thoughts:
- It was written before its time (so many things are)
- It doesn't contain enough squirrelly language for lawyers
- It is inconvenient for those contrarians who fight all the needless and foolish e-discovery battles
- Adherence to this pragmatic Bill of Rights might result in lower legal fees (cynical, I know)
- It emphasizes cooperation, something at which lawyers do not excel (a significant understatement)
High-minded claptrap? Not at all. Emerson once said that "Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes." The Bill offers fine and practical guidance clothed in utilitarian jeans and a crisp denim shirt. The difficulty, I fear, will be selling common sense to lawyers who are perennially adverse to it.
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