| Digital Dirt -- Vermont MCLE Announcement |
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For both lawyers and their clients, it's an increasingly digital world. Consider: in 2009, an estimated 247 billion emails are sent each day. That figure is expected to double in just four years. A study last year by research firm IDC predicts that by 2011, the total amount of electronic data in the world will total 1,800 exabytes -- the equivalent of replicating the entire contents of the U.S. Library of Congress -- every single book, photo, pamphlet, record, movie, etc. -- 188,000 times. And the rate at which electronic data is being created is accelerating rapidly. It's not surprising that electronic discovery has become one of the hottest topics in the legal profession. One of the unforeseen developments, however, is that electronic data is remarkably durable. Unlike paper files, which are always just one shredder or blazing fireplace away from complete destruction, electronic files, emails, and Internet activity resist all but the most strenuous efforts to destroy them. This has given rise to a new specialty, computer forensics, a multi-billion dollar industry devoted to locating and retrieving information that computer users have accidentally lost, intentionally tried to erase, or in some cases, don't even realize is actually on their hard drive at all. Computer forensics is now standard practice in virtually every criminal proceeding, so a basic understanding of the technology and law of computer forensics is obviously essential for the defense bar. But every civil litigator needs to evaluate whether standard electronic discovery requests will produce all of the relevant evidence in a given case. In an increasingly wide range of cases -- domestic relations, corporate litigation, employee/employer disputes, intellectual property, medical malpractice -- computer forensics is an essential part of the discovery process. On May 28, 2009, from 9:00am to 4:30pm, I will be presenting a full-day seminar entitled "Digital Dirt: A Computer Forensics CLE for the Legal Profession" on the technology, discovery implications, and judicial decisions arising out of this fascinating specialty. An application for 6 hours Vermont MCLE credit (including 1 hour ethics) is pending; this program previously was accredited for 6 hours CLE credit by the California State Board of Bar Examiners. Tuition for the seminar is $300. Discounts are available for multiple attendees from the same office (3 or more), and for judges/public defenders. If you are interested in attending, visit the "Digital Dirt" CLE registration page (http://www.computerforensicsdigest.com/register) and in the pull-down payment menu, select the appropriate option. Space is limited, so register early. If you know anyone else who might be interested in this topic, please forward this on. About the Seminar This seminar is designed for members of the legal profession with a basic to intermediate familiarity with computer technology in general. During the course of the day, “Digital Dirt” attendees will develop a working understanding of the critical legal issues related to computer forensics, including: Lunch (12:15-1:15pm) IV. Forensic Search and Seizure: Overview of Procedure and Law (1:15-2:15pm) V. Recent Federal and State Computer Forensic Decisions [Jurisdiction-Specific] (2:20-3:20pm) VI. The Ethics of Electronic Data [1 hour Ethics credit] (3:30-4:30pm) You can read a detailed description of what will be covered during each hour at http://www.computerforensicsdigest.com/index.php/digital-dirt/cles/course-outline. * an electronic copy of the course handbook on a 1 GB USB thumb drive; * a complimentary continental breakfast and buffet lunch; and * 12 months of regular updates on computer forensic developments, both legal and technical. Registration starts at 8:00am, and walk-ins are welcome on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional information and a link to a detailed agenda is available at http://www.computerforensicsdigest.com/register. If you have any questions, please contact me by e-mail ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or phone (802-318-4604). About the Presenter I am an author, attorney, expert witness, and lecturer living in Burlington, VT. I have been conducting computer forensic examinations and providing expert witness services for a decade now in a broad range of cases, including: federal and state obscenity and child pornography cases, homicide, domestic relations, and corporate theft. My general computer experience stretches back thirty years; in the summer of 2008, I attended forty hours of advanced training in the operation of X-Ways Forensics, a computer forensics suite similar to Encase, as well as file types and hard drive structures. I have worked on CF cases from coast to coast, and I am currently actively involved in cases in Louisiana, North Carolina/Texas, and Vermont. In addition to my computer forensics work, I have written five books dealing with various aspects of constitutional law, technology, and social change. Four of those books are currently available: * The Court and the Cross: The Religious Right's Crusade to Reshape the Supreme Court (Beacon Press 2008) [now available in paperback and on the Kindle] * The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture (Prometheus Books 2006) [hardcover only] * The Naked Employee: How Technology Is Compromising Workplace Privacy (Amacom 2003) [available on the Kindle] * Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Pornography in the Cyber Age (Routledge 2000) [also available in paperback and on the Kindle] My fifth book, American Privacy: The Four-Hundred-Year History of Our Most Contested Right, is a biography of the right to privacy that will be published by Beacon Press in November 2009. For additional information, please call me 802-318-4604 or visit: |
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