Avoiding Sanctions In Electronic Discovery  Friday, October 1,
2004 - 01:00  Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York, a
recognized authority on electronic discovery, has issued another
significant decision in Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, et al. In
an earlier decision, Judge Scheindlin addressed the legal
standard for allocating costs involved in retrieving e-mails
from backup tapes. In the latest decision, on the plaintiff's
motion for sanctions for spoliation of evidence, the court
delineated the responsibilities of attorneys and their clients
in preserving and producing electronic discovery, and sanctioned
the employer for failing to fulfill these responsibilities.  The
latest decision, Zubulake V, includes practical guidance for
companies and attorneys, including in-house counsel, to avoid
the pitfalls that the new era of electronic discovery presents.
For companies and attorneys failing to adopt and follow new
protocols, however, the decision pos