This article was written by William F. Murray and Roland C. Goss, Esq.1
Introduction
Every attorney dreams of uncovering one critical piece of evidence, commonly called the "smoking gun," that would both (1) persuade the jury and (2) disable the opposing counsel's case. In the last decade, the hope of locating the "smoking gun" has fallen heavily on (1) the apparent promise of discoverable electronic data and (2) the realization that this type of information exists in abundance.
Many recent cases illustrate the use of just this kind of important electronic evidence. The most prominent example, of course, is the electronic mail messages (e-mail) in which Bill Gates discussed his plans to undercut competition. In 2000, an e-mail written by Henry Blodget, a Merrill Lynch stock analyst, was discovered. In that e-mail, Blodget made derogatory references to the tech stocks he had touted to investors....
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