First Cases Under Federal Rule of Evidence 502 Reflect Variety of Approaches, Underscore Importance of “Clawback” Orders

The electronic age has vastly expanded the scope of document discovery in complex litigation. This expansion has led to an increase in the number of inadvertent disclosures of privileged and work-product documents, and the time needed for privilege review of voluminous electronic documents in order to prevent such inadvertent disclosures has contributed significantly to skyrocketing discovery costs. In some instances, these burgeoning costs have deterred parties from litigating nonmeritorious claims brought against them or pursuing valid claims themselves.

Originally published by Bloomberg Finance L.P. Reprinted with permission.