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June 4, 2026
Published by Michael Berman at June 4, 2026
The Northern District of California has a “Model Stipulated Protective Order (for standard litigation)” and a “Stipulated Protective Order for Litigation Involving Patents, Highly Sensitive Confidential Information and Trade Secrets (Feb. 2022).” I suggest that the latter was applied too stringently in Litton v. Roblox Corporation, 2026 WL 1483493 (May 27, 2026). […]
May 9, 2026
Published by Michael Berman at May 9, 2026
Judicial decisions involving “hallucinated” citations provided by GenAI are more common than mosquitoes in a swamp. A recent decision addresses supervisory obligations and looked at “institutional culture” of the law firm: Lawyers owe a duty of candor to the Court, a duty that cannot be met without reading and understanding the legal […]
April 11, 2026
Published by Michael Berman at April 11, 2026
Categories
This post is a follow up to “Hallucinations” by West’s CoCounsel? (Apr. 7, 2026). In U.S. v. Farris, __ F. 4th __, 2026 WL 915082, at *1 (6th Cir. Apr. 3, 2026)(per curiam), the court found errors in a brief prepared using Westlaw’s CoCounsel. It appears that the tool was used after August 2025. Id. […]
March 11, 2026
Published by Michael Berman at March 11, 2026
Categories
In Nippon Life Ins. Co. of America v. OpenAI Foundation, et al., No. 1:26-cv-02448 (N.D. Ill. Mar 4, 2026), the plaintiff alleges that: “As a product of OPENAI, ChatGPT engages in the practice of law by providing users with legal analysis, legal advice, legal research, and produces drafted legal documents.” It alleges […]
March 10, 2026
Published by Michael Berman at March 10, 2026
A broad discovery order was entered in Estate of Lokken v. United Health Grp., Inc., 2026 WL 658883 (D. Minn. Mar. 9, 2026). Lokken is a putative class action “alleging that UnitedHealth Group, Inc., and naviHealth, Inc., used an artificial intelligence program called nH Predict to deny medical care coverage in violation […]
January 24, 2026
Published by Michael Berman at January 24, 2026
In Yotta Technologies Inc. v. Evolve Bank & Trust, 2026 WL 172502 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 22, 2026), the court addressed hyperlinked documents, or “modern attachments.” I have called this the “Humpty Dumpty” issue. “The Humpty Dumpty issue – – the question of re-linking pointers and targets – – is very important….” More […]
January 15, 2026
Published by Michael Berman at January 15, 2026
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John Tredennick and William Webber published “Generative AI for Smart Discovery Professionals” (Merlin Search Technologies, Inc. 4th ed. 2025), available at no cost from Generative AI For Smart Discovery Professionals – Merlin Search Technologies (hereafter “Tredennick”). I had previously read John C. Tredennick, et al., TAR for Smart People – Google Books […]
January 8, 2026
Published by Michael Berman at January 8, 2026
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Special Master Phil Favro issued a decision in Pso-Rite Com LLC v. Thrival LLC, 2025 WL 3899841 (Dec. 23, 2025). The decision addressed disputes over discovery responses in a lawsuit over marketing of massage products. One advantage of using Special Masters like Phil is speed. Phil was appointed by the court on […]
December 5, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at December 5, 2025
Categories
The decision in Legault v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, 2025 WL 3252653 (E.D. Ark. Nov. 21, 2025), is succinct in its discussion of the production of native files. The court wrote: “Legault’s motion to compel Costco to provide him with native files and metadata is denied because Costco states the files are security […]
November 20, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at November 20, 2025
Categories
The movie Jaws famously contained the line “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…” Law360 reports Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata – Law360 in a November 4th article by Daniel Garrie, Jennifer Deutsch, and Morgan Ward Doran. The article states: When AI generates […]
November 17, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at November 17, 2025
Categories
The Baltimore Sun reports that “Police use AI to draft reports in at least one Maryland county.” The November 17th article by Josh Davis and Luke Parker states that the Wicomico County Sheriff’s office is using artificial intelligence to boost efficiency. This AI service, known as Draft One, links to body cameras. […]
November 3, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at November 3, 2025
“[T]he Court’s March 18, 2025 Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) protective order … is hereby modified to reflect that any documents marked confidential shall not be uploaded onto any AI platform.” Warner v. Gilbarco, Inc., 2025 WL 3047881 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 30, 2025)(emphasis in original). Apparently, the concern was that, if confidential […]
November 2, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at November 2, 2025
Categories
Fake citation or “hallucination” cases have become common. See, e.g., Doug Austin, What’s Causing These AI Hallucinations and How to Fix It (Oct. 13, 2025)(reporting 772 cases in academic literature); Doug Austin, AI Hallucination Cases: A Compiled List (Jun. 9, 2025); Damien Charlotin, AI Hallucination Cases Database – Damien Charlotin (listing 507 […]
September 10, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at September 10, 2025
Categories
Much of the litigation over geofencing has been under the Fourth Amendment in criminal cases, and there has been a lot of it. See, e.g., Certiorari Petition to U.S. Supreme Court in 4th Circuit Geofence Decision – E-Discovery LLC (Aug. 5, 2025); Alvarez v. State, 2025 WL 2346165, at *4 (Tex. App. […]
August 4, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at August 4, 2025
Categories
Okello Chatrie was convicted of armed robbery based on evidence derived from a geofence warrant. See Chatrie v. U.S., 2025 WL 2173706 (appellant’s certiorari petition). He asserts: This case concerns the constitutionality of geofence warrants. For cell phone users to use certain services, their cell phones must continuously transmit their exact locations […]
July 29, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at July 29, 2025
The long simmering “document correlation” dispute was addressed in Sievert Elec. Svc. and Sales Co. v. Storako, 2025 WL 2084229 (N.D. Ill. Jul. 24, 2025). The court followed the majority rule. While there is a clear split of authority, I respectfully disagree with Sievert and suggest that there is a better mousetrap. […]
May 7, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at May 7, 2025
Categories
In U.S. v. Chatrie, __ Fed. 4th __, 2025 WL 1242063 (4th Cir. Apr. 30, 2025)(en banc), the Court issued a per curiam affirmance of the District Court’s geofence decision. Fourteen judges joined in that decision. There were eight concurring opinions and one dissent. [1] Chief Judge Diaz wrote a concurring opinion. […]
March 6, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at March 6, 2025
In In Re: Uber Technologies, Inc. Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation, 2025 WL 678543 (Mar. 3, 2025), the court issued another hyperlinked document discovery decision arising out of the parties’ ESI Protocol. While production issues concerning hyperlinked or “modern” attachments have been extensively litigated, in this blog I discuss some related evidentiary issues. […]
March 1, 2025
Published by Michael Berman at March 1, 2025
Categories
The Sedona Conference has published “Navigating AI in the Judiciary: New Guidelines for Judges and Their Chambers,” 26 Sedona Conf. J. 1 (Feb. 2025); see also Navigating AI in the Judiciary: New Guidelines for Judges and Their Chambers – EDRM. The publication illustrates the old military maxim that “any ship can be […]
October 6, 2024
Published by Michael Berman at October 6, 2024
Shapiro v. Hyperheal Hyperbarics, Inc., __ Md. App. __, 2024 WL 4379976 (Apl. Ct. Md. Oct. 3, 2024), is a lengthy and complex decision. The Court wrote: “By our count, the parties have brought a total of seven lawsuits against each other, although many of the legal arguments throughout these suits are […]
October 4, 2024
Published by Michael Berman at October 4, 2024
Categories
A recent post by Tonya Riley, Cassandre Coyer, and Justin Wise discusses FTC’s AI Crackdown Pushes Boundaries of Its Oversight Power (1) (bloomberglaw.com)(Sept. 27, 2024). The article reports that the FTC’s “Operation AI Comply” involves an enforcement action targeted at five companies. The Federal Trade Commission’s actions against companies it said were […]
October 2, 2024
Published by Michael Berman at October 2, 2024
Are “dash cam” videos protected from disclosure as work product? That was one issue posed in Jones v. Burch, 2024 WL 4276109 (M.D. Fl. Sep. 24, 2024). It was presented in an oddly-named “Motion to Compel Better Responses to Plaintiff’s Request to Produce.” Plaintiff sued for personal injuries arising out of a […]
September 17, 2024
Published by Michael Berman at September 17, 2024
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Doug Austin wrote an interesting blog, Police May be Coming for Your Tesla as a Potential Crime Witness (ediscoverytoday.com)(Sept. 4, 2024). Doug wrote that: “In Oakland and beyond, police called to crime scenes are increasingly looking for more than shell casings and fingerprints. They’re scanning for Teslas parked nearby, hoping their unique […]
August 12, 2024
Published by Michael Berman at August 12, 2024
The July 2024 “Notice of Proposed Rules Changes” of the Maryland Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure – – 223rdreport.pdf (mdcourts.gov) – – proposes rules that address the issue of how “digital media” – – a term of art – – is placed in the record, both in open court […]
August 7, 2024
Published by Michael Berman at August 7, 2024
Categories
Metadata logs can be an acceptable, cost-effective method of privilege logging. For example, please see Agreement in ESI Protocol to Provide a “Metadata-Only” Privilege Log Was Enforced (Jul. 22, 2024), and Privilege Logs: New Techniques to Achieve Proportionality – The “Certification Log” (Mar. 4, 2024). The primary difference between a “metadata” log […]
April 29, 2024
Published by Michael Berman at April 29, 2024
Categories
In Re: Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation, 2024 WL 1772832 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 23, 2024), resolved a dispute over so-called “modern attachments” based on impressive and comprehensive technical presentations by sophisticated experts. I have called “modern attachments,” “pointers,” or the problems associated with hyperlinked target documents, the “Humpty Dumpty Issue.” […]
February 2, 2024
Published by Michael Berman at February 2, 2024
Categories
In Attys Split On 5th Circ.’s Proposed AI, Accuracy-Check Rule – Law360 (Jan. 30, 2024), Lauren Berg reported on the current status of a 5th Circuit proposed A.I. rule.[1] Ms. Berg’s article stated that reactions “span from one end of the spectrum to another, with some saying it will stifle the benefits […]
January 2, 2024
Published by Michael Berman at January 2, 2024
Categories
Oliver Hardy, of Laurel and Hardy fame, said: “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into!” That’s what happened with the citation of three non-existent cases in a motion for early termination of supervised release that was filed in U.S. v. Cohen, 2023 WL 8635521 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 12, 2023). In a […]
December 13, 2023
Published by Michael Berman at December 13, 2023
Modern attachments have garnered a lot of attention. See, e.g., More on “Modern Attachments,” “Pointers,” or Hyperlinked Documents – Humpty Dumpty and “Usability”. and T. Thames, Modern attachments and eDiscovery: Navigating the complexities of linked documents (onna.com) Most of that attention has been focused on what I call the “Humpty Dumpty” issue – – when […]
November 20, 2023
Published by Michael Berman at November 20, 2023
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In No Expert Needed to Introduce Data Pulled From Phone at Trial (bloomberglaw.com) (Oct. 13, 2023), Mr. Peter Hayes reported on United States v. Williams, 83.F4th 994 (5th Cir. Oct. 13, 2023). Mr. Hayes wrote: “A police officer who introduces evidence extracted from a cellphone at trial doesn’t need to be qualified […]
September 11, 2023
Published by Michael Berman at September 11, 2023
Categories
This weekend, Alicia L. Shelton, Esq., and I taught the first of a three-module electronic discovery class at the Community College of Baltimore County. While I have been teaching electronic discovery classes at the University of Baltimore School of Law for a decade, this is the first program focused on paralegal training. […]
May 13, 2023
Published by Michael Berman at May 13, 2023
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This is a thank you to Kevin Spargo, Vice President of Computer Services Limited, and Navid Raoofian, President, Web interactive Technologies. My wife and I sponsored a Ukrainian family whose home and business were bombed and destroyed in Bakhmut. They arrived here about a week ago under a U.S. government program. I […]
April 9, 2023
Published by Michael Berman at April 9, 2023
Categories
A conviction for a sex offense was reversed in Mondragon v. State, 2023 WL 2806288 (Apls. Ct. Md. Apr. 6, 2023)(unreported), because the trial court erroneously denied a “missing evidence” instruction. This blog addresses the holding that negligent loss of important evidence was sufficient to sustain a sanction. The history of, and […]
December 16, 2022
Published by Michael Berman at December 16, 2022
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The Sedona Conference recently published a public comment version of its “Primer on Managing Electronic Discovery in Small Cases” (Dec. 2022). There has long been an interest in low-cost technology. For example, two decades ago, I wrote “Low Cost Litigation Technology” (Md. Bar Journal Nov./Dec. 2000). Similarly, Craig Ball has blogged about […]
November 9, 2022
Published by Michael Berman at November 9, 2022
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A new ABA Ethics Opinion addresses the “reply all” conundrum. The issue arises when sending counsel copies their client on an email and receiving counsel replies to all persons on the email. That is a communication by receiving counsel to sending counsel’s represented client. ABA Formal Opinion 503 states that, when sending counsel […]
August 14, 2022
Published by Michael Berman at August 14, 2022
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“Hit reports” have various names.[1] One issue that has often arisen is whether a producing party must produce every document on a hit report requested by an opponent, even if irrelevant or nonresponsive to discovery requests. Craig Ball has blogged on this issue since 2013. However, his recent blog explains that “the […]
April 15, 2022
Published by Michael Berman at April 15, 2022
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“An attorney who stores the confidential identity of their clients on a smartphone must not consent to share contact information with an app unless that information won’t be shared with any human, the New York State Bar Association said.” D. McAfee, New York Bar Outlines Attorneys’ Duty to Protect Smartphone Data (bloomberglaw.com) (Apr. 13, […]
August 11, 2021
Published by Michael Berman at August 11, 2021
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Thanks to Phil Favro of Driven, Inc., for his excellent post “Snapchat Spoliation Case Highlights the Importance of eDiscovery Competence” (Driven, Inc., Jul. 20, 2021). Phil’s blog discusses the importance of understanding the features of various messaging programs. I have recently blogged about a District of Maryland decision that conditionally approves of […]
July 21, 2021
Published by Michael Berman at July 21, 2021
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In a prior blog, “Burden of Proof of Spoliation,” I noted District of Maryland authority holding that: “Absent guidance from the Fourth Circuit, ‘the general approach of courts in the Fourth Circuit has been to apply the clear and convincing evidence standard, especially where a relatively harsh sanction like an adverse inference […]
July 20, 2021
Published by Michael Berman at July 20, 2021
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There has long been a split of opinion as to the applicability of the “document correlation” provision of Rule 34(E)(i) to the production of ESI.* In April of this year, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania weighed in.** There is, however, a straightforward way to avoid the problem. It involves negotiation, cooperation, and […]
July 18, 2021
Published by Michael Berman at July 18, 2021
Categories
Federal prosecutors have been precluded from hiring an ESI vendor to assist with massive e-discovery in criminal cases arising out of the January 6th prosecutions. Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP is barred from helping federal prosecutors and other government staff sort and organize the huge volumes of electronic data and other evidence […]
February 14, 2021
Published by Michael Berman at February 14, 2021
Categories
Marc Hirschfeld’s presentation at Legal Week, “Navigating the Pitfalls of E-Discovery for Boutique Litigators,” is well worth watching on Vimeo and Legal Week. Marc is the owner and president of Precision Legal Services. Marc and I have collaborated on many projects. Marc discusses a number of topics in the one-hour video. Among […]
July 14, 2012
Published by Michael Berman at July 14, 2012
Categories
Bruce Olson and Tom O’Connor, “Electronic Discovery for Small Cases” (ABA 2012), addresses one of the most important topics in the ESI field, proportionality, in an elegant, clear, and concise manner. Its chief virtue is that, instead of listing a parade of horribles and describing multi-million dollar sanctions awards, it provides low-cost […]
May 2, 2011
Published by Michael Berman at May 2, 2011
Businesses manage their information technology assets through computer usage policies. Tonya L. Johnson recently provided an interesting post on the American Bar Association site. Noting the potential for error when “reply all” is selected inadvertently, she wrote that the market research firm, Nielsen, had removed that option from employee email systems. Ms. Johnson […]
April 25, 2011
Published by Michael Berman at April 25, 2011
Joshua Gilliland, author of the Bow Tie blog and Bow Tie Law blog, and president of Majority Opinion, LLC, was kind enough to provide me with a complimentary copy of his new iPad App, called The Deponent App. Deponent marries document assembly principles with a database of stock deposition questions that can be […]
April 18, 2011
Published by Michael Berman at April 18, 2011
Categories
Kate Paslin, Assistant General Counsel of AccessData Corporation, presented and discussed a number of the company’s software products to a University of Baltimore law school ESI seminar. Kate discussed CaseVantage 6 with secure sharing over web-based portals and the ability to define user profiles for, for example, expert witnesses or document reviewers, […]
April 17, 2011
Published by Michael Berman at April 17, 2011
Categories
Patrick Burke, Assistant General Counsel, described the capabilities of Guidance Software’s EnCase suite of applications to a University of Baltimore School of Law ESI seminar. In addition to enterprise collection and forensic preservation capabilities, Mr. Burke discussed the project-based capabilities of the new, low-cost EnCase Portable software. This product is simple to […]