Frederick E. Owens Jr., making e-discovery clear
Frederick E. Owens Jr., J.D., electronic discovery and litigation support coordinator at Gunster, Yoakley and Stewart P.A., was recently appointed to the Association of Certified Electronic Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), South Florida chapter, board of directors as vice-president. The organization is made up of professionals in the private and public sectors, who work in the field of ediscovery where members can exchange ideas, get guidance and training, share best practices, and obtain e-discovery certification. Additionally, says Owens, the South Florida legal community has been in need of an organization to push education on the topic of e-discovery.
Why: I want to see people understand why this area of the law is so important. I want people to come to the table from an informed position and work to agree on process so that both parties are working as economically and efficiently for their clients as possible.
What is e-discovery? It’s the identification and preservation of electronically stored data on a myriad of electronic devices and applications: mobile phones, computers, servers, cloud storage, social media; even cars.
Strategies
My job: Consult with attorneys on e-discovery process, confer with clients and data custodians, working on motions regarding e-discovery, collection of electronic data, processing and culling that data for review for production, testifying via affidavit,
declaration or in court about various phases of the e-discovery process, coordinating and managing attorney document review teams (both internal and external) managing outside vendors from requests for proposal through litigation life cycle, all the way from the filing of the complaint through the conclusion of trial.
On the board goal: To facilitate quality educational programming that involves judges, attorneys, e-discovery professionals and legal staff; and to establish and maintain consistencies in the collection, processing, review and production of electronically stored data.
Industry wisdom: This space of legal practice is wrought with pitfalls and failing in this area can lead to serious consequences for clients. It’s important for attorneys to sit with vendors and e-discovery professionals and get educated, and to take a CLE or two every year on the e-discovery topic.