Technological Entanglements: Evidentiary and Ethical Considerations of Metadata in Interjurisdictional Litigation

Ethical and evidentiary rules governing the disclosure of confidential information are interrelated in many respects. Nevertheless, these rules are generally developed independently through different legal channels. Different approaches to the inadvertent disclosure of confidential information have emerged, leading to uncertain results in different jurisdictions. Uncertainty persists with regard to metadata available from electronic document formats. This paper explores the tension between the competing approaches this emerging problem. It argues that ethical and evidentiary principles addressing the protection and discovery of metadata should be coordinated in order to avoid creating incentives to maximize litigation costs.