Esi: the Future Is Now*

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Author: James A. Hennenhoefer, Esq.
• Publication year: 2015
• Citation: Vol. 37 No. 3

ESI: The Future is Now*

James A. Hennenhoefer, Esq.

James A. Hennenhoefer, a Certified Family Law Specialist, is a past National President of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, a Certified Matrimonial Law Mediator and Arbitrator, and a family law judge pro tempore and expert witness in San Diego County Superior Courts. San Diego Magazine named him one of the Top 25 attorneys in San Diego, and he's been named in Super Lawyers® and The Best Lawyers in America since their inception. He is a recognized expert on ESI, E-Discovery and Evidence issues.

California adopted the federal Model Electronic Act on July 1, 2009. The federal system has been subject to the Model Act since 2006. Consequently, most of the federal Judges and many federal practitioners are much further along the electronically stored information, or ESI, learning curve than our state judges and state practitioners.

Since the date that California adopted the Model Act, many state level attorneys have adopted one of the following approaches:

1. Ignore this, it does not involve any of my cases.
2. I will agree with the other side to "opt out" of ESI, we will stipulate that our case will simply not "go there."
3. Maybe it's time for me to retire.

The duties of counsel set forth in the Model Act and the applicable case law that has developed are duties owed by counsel to the court. Therefore, these duties cannot be waived or ignored by counsel.

A State Bar Ethics Opinion...