Electronic Discovery Practice Under the Federal Rules, 2013 Edition, the first volume in the Electronic Discovery Portfolio Series, examines the history of the changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure relating to discovery of electronically stored information (ESI) and analyzes the revisions in relation to existing discovery practice. This resource provides an understanding of the rules for ESI and their application in subsequent case law, examining how they can be applied to maximum effectiveness in civil litigation.

The portfolio begins with an analysis of the rule changes’ evolution, noting significant changes and points of debate throughout the rulemaking process, including such hot topic areas as duty to preserve, reasonable accessibility, cost shifting, and sanctions for spoliation. Each rule is then discussed, including:

• Initial disclosures under Rule 26 and the parties’ early meeting of counsel and initial pretrial conference before the court
• Changes to Rule 26(b) that introduce a new two-tiered structure for production of ESI
• Changes to Rules 33, 34, and 45 relating to the forms of production of ESI in response to document requests and interrogatories
• Privilege and work product issues
• Limitations on sanctions provided by Rule 37(f), which purports to protect certain losses of information to the extent they occur in good faith and due to the routine operation of an electronic information system

As updated, the revised 2013 Edition analyzes recent developments in the following areas: 

• Key federal court decisions on various eDiscovery issues from July 2011 to the present, including application of the Zubulake preservation standard, allocation of eDiscovery costs before and after class certification, obligation to monitor litigation holds, and such developing areas as predictive coding and production of metadata
• Current proposals and calls for reform of federal rules on preservation and eDiscovery
• Pilot programs and model orders regarding eDiscovery adopted by some courts around the country
• Changes in state court and federal district court rules and standing orders regarding eDiscovery
• Taxability of eDiscovery costs recovery 

About the Authors 

Amy J. Longo, Esq., is co-founder and leader of O’Melveny & Myers’ Electronic Discovery and Document Retention Practice, Los Angeles, CA.

Usama Kahf, Esq., is an Associate in the Labor and Employment Practice at O’Melveny & Myers, Los Angeles, CA.  

Allan D. Johnson is a Senior Attorney in the Commercial Litigation Section of the Law Department at Southern California Edison Company, Rosemead, CA.