The .pdf publication is only 33 pages, but is the ideal primer read for judges and lawyers alike for understanding the basics of dealing with electronically stored information (ESI). Without spoiling the ending, (Harry Potter lives and gets married, for those who missed it), there are some nuanced highlights that are worth an in-depth read.
For instance, the pocket guide declares that "attorneys must be familiar with how their clients use computers on a daily basis..." in order for Rule 26 or Rule 16 meet and confers to be of any real worth. What the pocket guide goes on to describe is what others have referred to as the "digital enterprise", but whether it is called the digital enterprise or the USS Enterprise, the point is worth making that judges will likely require attorneys to demonstrate an increasing working knowledge of clients' electronic stuff in the management of cases in federal court.
Page 9 includes a list of tools available to courts in dealing with the scope of discovery. The list includes a well-balanced selection of reason, accommodation, and attention to costs.
Some articles, CLE's, and (gasp) blawgs have provided breathless, wide-eyed pronouncements about the potential sanctions for spoliation of ESI. Page 19 has a brief, but level-headed overview of how some of the various circuits have approached the matter of sanctions and spoliation.
For all of the talk in the 2006 rule amendments about various party agreements, the pocket book concludes that "judges must actively manage electronic discovery - raising points for consideration by the parties - rather than awaiting the parties' identification and argument of the matters." Arguably, this approach represents a fundamental shift away from the attorney-centered approach anticipated in the 2006 amendments. Given the realities of practice, the pocket guide might just prove larger than life on that count.