Elizabeth E. Blakey, Law Offices of Elizabeth E. Blakey, Drama Lawyer

In the discovery phase of modern lawsuits, parties often face the production of electronic evidence or data, in addition to the production of paper documents. Under general principles and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, both types of evidence are considered "writings" or "things" that must be produced to the extent relevant or likely to lead to the production of relevant evidence. However, production of both electronic data and paper copies gives rise to a number of discovery issues, including; who should bear the burden of such productions, whether such productions are unnecessarily cumulative, and whether such productions cause confidentiality and trade secret problems that must be resolved by entry of a protective order governing the scope of the production.