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Is E-Discovery So Different That It Requires New Discovery Rules? An Analysis Of Proposed Amendments To The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Henry S. Noyes

Henry S. Noyes

The U.S. Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules recommended a package of proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to address issues raised by discovery of electronic information. The recommendations were based on the theory that discovery of electronic information is truly different from discovery of non-electronic information and that the differences require a special set of discovery rules. This Article tests the bases for the Advisory Committee's theory and concludes that there are five true differences between discovery of electronic information and discovery of traditional hard copy information, but two of the differences are addressed by …