District Of Delaware Adopts Default Standards For E-Discovery

The trend continues toward increased judicial involvement in e-discovery to lower litigation costs and promote cooperation among litigants.

In its continuing efforts to ease the financial burdens of litigants, the Ad Hoc Committee for Electronic Discovery of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware recently amended the court's Default Standard for Discovery (the Standard). This revision continues a recent trend on the part of the federal courts, which have attempted to lower the costs associated with e-discovery by offering guidelines designed to streamline the process. Some examples of this trend include the following:

• In September 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit unveiled a Model Order for E-Discovery in Patent Cases designed to reduce discovery costs.¹