California is leading the way in requiring e-discovery “competence” on the part of lawyers, even when they retain third-party experts. The State Bar of California recently issued Formal Opinion No. 2015-193, which addresses attorneys’ ethical duties in the handling of discovery of electronically stored information, or ESI.
In December 2014, the state bar’s Commission for the Revision of the Rules of Professional Conduct issued a proposed ethics opinion (Proposed Formal Opinion Interim No. 11-0004), which required attorneys who represent clients in litigation to be competent in the area of e-discovery or associate with others who have sufficient knowledge. The commission studied the current Rules of Professional Conduct and proposed comprehensive amendments for the state bar’s board of trustees to consider.
The Ethical Duty of Competence in E-Discovery
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