Social Media E-Discovery (Tip of the Month)

Scenario

A large corporation has been sued by former employees who allege that their supervisors harassed them and made inappropriate remarks in the workplace and on social media. During discovery, the corporation receives a document request for the supervisors' social media postings, emails and related files. The corporation must determine how to access, review and produce the requested information and considers seeking similar social media discovery from the former employees.

Understanding the Challenges of Social Media E-Discovery

Although the concept of electronic discovery and the need to preserve emails and computer files in anticipation of litigation is familiar, the advent of social media has greatly increased the potentially relevant information that is available electronically. Similar to other forms of electronic discovery, information posted to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn can be subject to discovery. However, knowing when