Why Even Cutthroat Lawyers Should Want to Cooperate In E-Discovery

The word “cooperation” is often part of court opinions on e-discovery, but its practice is often given short shrift by practitioners who consider aggressive confrontation more relevant and productive. There are sound practical reasons why they are mistaken, according to Michele C.S. Lange from Kroll Ontrack and Brian Calla of the law firm Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott. In this Today’s General Counsel article, they make the case that cooperation “is almost always better than crying foul over e-discovery procedural disputes,” and they lay out what the essential elements of a cooperation agreement should include.