Counsel defending companies in a major mass tort, product liability or other complex suit must focus their attention on building the strongest case possible and preparing for an influential presentation of that case at trial. With electronic documents now coming into scope for nearly all litigation, attorneys dealing with complex litigation might find themselves distracted or hindered by challenges in the e-discovery process. This is particularly true in cases where one party may strategically seek to make discovery a mini-litigation within the larger litigation in order to drive up costs and/or to avoid focusing on the merits of the matter.

While law school technology education may be insufficient for today's digital world, and state bar associations do not specifically cover technology issues, lawyers still have an obligation to understand technology and how it affects their cases. For a busy litigator immersed in one or more complex matters, there is little time to get up to speed on the most recent technology advancements. However, the American Bar Association Model Rules emphasize the obligation attorneys have to understand technology as part of competently representing clients. The comment specifically states that “to maintain requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.”

While this requirement may seem vague, or even daunting, there are practical considerations and best practices that attorneys dealing with complex litigation with significant e-discovery components can implement to ensure efficiency and compliance with discovery requests and reduce the overall cost of discovery. Below is a discussion of five key principles attorneys should consider when handling e-discovery in complex cases.