Metadata is a sticky wicket if ever there was one. No legal aid office can afford to remain ignorant about the pitfalls metadata presents. Here are three resources for you to get up to speed:

• Read the Feb. 2008. Vol. 13 No. 6 issue of the Georgia Bar Journal linked here: http://gabar.org/public/pdf/GBJ/feb08.pdf. Go to page 32 for a detailed - but user friendly – explanation of metadata. The article then offers a lawyer’s how-to for both avoiding accumulating the data as well as extracting the data.
  
  
• But that’s not all. See also the April 2008. Vol. 13. No. 6 issue of the Georgia Bar Journal linked here: http://gabar.org/public/pdf/GBJ/april08.pdf. Go to page 16 for a review of how metadata is viewed in various ethics rules and rules of civil procedure. (Thank you Mike Monahan at the Georgia Bar for sending this.)

• If you would like to learn more about metadata in the law office environment consider attending the MIE National Conference for Legal Administrators (Sept. 18-19 in San Antonio): http://www.m-i-e.org/Data/EventCalendar/Event_en6sp?referer_title=Training+Calendar. MIE is bringing in a Metadata guru. Here is a description of the session and the presenter:

“Information Security & Privacy -- Legal Compliance & IT Best-Practices -- Metadata, Electronic-Redactions & Proactive Policies”

Overview of key legal duties to protect entities' secrets and individuals' personally-identifiable-information, including identification of the many ways confidential information can be exposed in today's high-tech world. Intense analysis of daily do's and don'ts, including handling of metadata in: e-mailed attachments; efiled .pdf's; and electronically redacted documents. Introduction to the "Three E's" of proactive compliance: establishment of some "must-have" written policies; education of employees; and enforcement of the "Top Ten" IT implementation best-practices.

Presenter: Robert D. Brownstone, Esq., Law & Technology Director, Fenwick & West LLP

Robert D. Brownstone, Esq. is the Law & Technology Director at Fenwick & West LLP, a 275-attorney Silicon-Valley-headquartered law firm, specializing in servicing high tech companies. Robert advises clients on eDiscovery, electronic-information-management, information-security and retention/destruction policies and protocols. A nationwide speaker and writer on many law and technology issues, Robert is frequently quoted in the press as an expert on electronic information. Before joining Fenwick in 2000, Robert had a varied 13-year career as a litigator, law school administrator, law school teacher and consultant.

There will be several other administrator-friendly law office tech sessions at the MIE conference and NTAP will be participating in these presentations – so we hope to see you in San Antonio!