New Law Course on eDiscovery & eEvidence

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Peter S. Vogel

eDiscovery has transformed litigation and required that all lawyers understand Information Technology since more than 95% of all information is now electronic. I am happy to report that staring January 9, 2012 I will begin teaching a brand new course on eDiscovery & eEvidence at the SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas. The SMU law students will submit term papers on eDiscovery & eCommerce, and I have a number of guests who will lecture including a Texas State District Judge, former General Counsel, Chief Information Officer, and eDiscovery Professionals.

This will be my 26th year teaching as an Adjunct Professor at SMU. For the past 11 years I have taught courses on the Law of eCommerce, and while teaching that course I found that it was easier to create my own materials than rely on a casebook. I created my own materials since there are no current law casebooks on eDiscovery & eEvidence. 

I had help creating the Syllabus and planning the course from Allison O. Skinner. Allison and I co-founded the American College of eNeutrals, and she has also been an Adjunct Professor of eDiscovery at the University of Alabama School of Law and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, Faulkner University.

I welcome your comments about my Syllabus on my eDiscovery & eEvidence website.
 

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College Update - Plagiarism Aplenty, But No eMail or Wristwatches

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Peter S. Vogel

Plagiarism is alive and well on college campuses however it is no wonder since the Internet and Social Media have changed communications. Without question Wikipedia has become a reliable source for students and at least 16 US intelligence agencies. Many question the authenticity of Wikipedia, but if the US intelligence community can rely on Wikipedia I guess the information’s reliable. But plagiarizing Internet information is part of a larger social issue that college students today believe that any information on the Internet is free game to include in their course assignments. Perhaps this is not a new phenomenon, rather professors can use Internet search tools to determine if students are plagiarizing which was not available when information only available in books when I was a college student.

Who Needs eMail or a Watch?

As Social Media morphs it’s no wonder that college students rely on cell phones for knowing the time and sending text messages in lieu of email. Remember that in 2009 there were 1.5 billion text messages sent, and with Facebook’s estimated 500 million friends the shift of communications probably indicates more postings on Facebook and that eMail will to decline from the estimated 210 billion sent each day….of course 70% are probably SPAM.  Interesting to see how Social Media evolves.

Where’s the Evidence?

Without question courthouses in the US have changed forever as a result of Social Media and the increase in text messages and eMail. However for more than 30 years my clients’ litigation has been limited to disputes about computer technology and Internet services which means that every lawsuit has had eEvidence. Recently I participated in a webcast with US Magistrate Judge Paul Grimm who wrote the well respected opinion in Lorraine v Markel (about the admissibility of eEvidence) and Judge Grimm pointed out how much more education is necessary to raise the water level for Judges and lawyers. Courthouses will never be the same, so Judges and lawyers have to understand more about Social Media communications.

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