Extract from Kelly Twigger’s article “ESI Protocol Part IV: Planning for Production of Social Media”
The following is Part IV in a multi-part series on how to draft and leverage an ESI protocol in any litigation. Part I of our series discussed the When, How and Why in planning for and creating your ESI protocol. Part II addressed the Key Components of an ESI Protocol, and Part III walked through the Top 10 Situations You Can Avoid with a Protocol.
In conjunction with this series, eDiscovery Assistant has created a new section in Checklists and Forms titled ESI Protocols that will include new content with each part of this series. That section includes sample ESI protocols, checklists on what to include and a list of metadata fields for inclusion in your protocol.
Drafting an ESI protocol that meets the needs of your case means identifying each type of data that is likely to be produced in a case and including the parameters for that data type in the protocol. Lately, we’ve seen a big issue with parties failing to provide specifications in protocols for a key type of data that’s showing up regularly: Social Media. If you are an employment lawyer, dealing with marketing issues in commercial litigation, or working on trademark infringement or other IP claims, social media evidence is key. But we see it as well in family matters, class actions, and any place where the online presence of a company OR an individual may be important evidence in a case.
