This year marks the thirtieth birthday of the IBM personal computer. Yet, like the hare in the fabled race, litigators have napped through the information revolution that followed the PC’s debut. The tortoise is so far down the road that, instead of sprinting to catch up, the trial bar nervously reassures itself that yesterday’s skills will surely be good enough for tomorrow’s challenges.
Too many grouse: “I went to law school so I wouldn’t have to deal with computers. Just give me a damn form and checklist.” Let’s stop kidding ourselves. It’s too late for shortcuts and half-measures. There are no forms or checklists that can take the place of understanding electronic evidence. But there are a few rules that, applied thoughtfully, will get you back in the race. Let’s start with the Big Four and work our way through some geek-speak as we go.
