Mobile devices are often the best source of relevant evidence in employment cases. The secret to getting it? An effective protocol.
The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) always puts on a good show, and the May “Trial & Practice Tips Seminar” held at the Oak Brook Hills Resort was no exception. Topics included Jury Selection, Trends in Mass Torts, and Sexual Harassment and Employer Liability discussion led by Kristin N. Barnette, President of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois and an attorney with Kralovec, Jambois & Schwartz of Chicago.
The sexual harassment talk was a timely topic indeed, and our clients are finding that digital evidence recovered from mobile devices often play a critical role in the disposition of these cases. “Sometimes ESI recovered from mobile phones is the only place where the evidence exists,” said Phil Knox, 4Discovery’s Director of Business Development, who represented us as a sponsor at the seminar. This data can include deleted text messages, notes, photos, and social media content. The challenge, according to Knox, is crafting an effective and bulletproof protocol for mobile device discovery which compels your opponent to produce the devices for inspection. “Your opponent is always going to fight you on this,” claimed Knox “and so it is imperative to be able to produce a reasonable and defensible protocol that makes it nearly impossible for your opponent to defeat you with objections.” Arguments related to privacy, privilege, and non-relevancy can often be mitigated with a thoughtful ESI collection strategy and a well-crafted mobile device eDiscovery protocol document. Need an example?
