New Electronic Discovery Rules May Challenge Litigators
Not Familiar with Digital Evidence says K&F Consulting

            ALPHARETTA, Ga. March 19, 2007--  At a time when more than 95 percent of relevant evidence is in electronic form with a significant amount never being reduced to paper, it is more important than ever for litigators to understand how to discover and use digital evidence.            

That’s the conclusion noted by Greg Fordham, a founder of K&F Consulting, Inc., a provider of litigation support and electronic data services, in a recently published article on the 2006 Federal Rules for Civil Procedure (FRCP).

"The changes in the 2006 FRCP will probably have little effect on those well-versed with digital evidence," Fordham said. "But there are risks for those who are not yet skilled in cyber litigation," he added.            

"While in some respects e-discovery is no different than paper discovery, it is contained in a variety of mediums such as hard drivers, servers, tapes, memory sticks, PDAs, and cell phones rather than in a single medium such as paper," Fordham said.            

In his article, Fordham said all too often litigators think only in terms of e-mails during the discovery phase.
           
According to Fordham litigators must understand how the various sources digital evidence can contribute to a case as well as how media forensics can assist in either finding the hidden smoking gun or uncovering what has been done to disguise what the other party is not interested in having discovered.

"Digital data makes preservation more important than ever.  Continuing to use a computer can destroy relevant evidence.  Without proper preservation a case can be lost before it starts and both client and counsel can be sanctioned," Fordham said.

The entire article, How Will the 2006 FRCP Changes Affect You?, can be found online at www.knfcon.com/FRCP-affect.pdf           

K&F Consulting services a nationwide clientele. The firm provides a variety of e-discovery and computer forensic services including database forensics, software forensics as well as the more well known forms of computer forensics. The company’s web address is www.knfcon.com            

The company will have an exhibit (Booth 612) at the American Bar Association’s Techshow ® 2007 in Chicago, March 22-23, 2007