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New Delaware Chancery Court Guidelines for Preservation of Electronically Stored Information — Spoliation/Electronic Discovery

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The Delaware Court of Chancery has adopted new Guidelines for the Preservation of Electronically-Stored Information effective January 18, 2011. They include the directive that:

In most cases ... a party and its counsel (in-house and outside) should:

• Take a collaborative approach to the identification, location and preservation of potentially relevant ESI by specifically including in the discussion regarding the preservation processes an appropriate representative from the party's information technology function (if applicable);

• Develop written instructions for the preservation of ESI and distribute those instructions (as well as any updated, amended or modified instructions) in the form of a litigation hold notice to the custodians of potentially relevant ESI; and

• Document the steps taken to prevent the destruction of potentially relevant ESI.

Thanks to Mike Cochran of Richards, Layton & Finger for calling these to my attention.

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New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

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