Need 7 eDiscovery tips for mass tort litigation? If you do, then Elizabeth Guthrie of Nextpoint has those tips for you here!
The article titled (wait for it!) 7 ediscovery tips for mass tort litigation, available here) discusses (wait for it again!) 7 ediscovery tips for mass tort litigation (duh!). Here’s the first tip:
Tip 1: Negotiate ESI protocols with proportionality in mind
In standard litigation, ESI protocol negotiations are often a formality. In mass tort and MDL cases, they’re one of the most consequential ediscovery decisions — and the proportionality principle should be at the center of them.
The core idea is straightforward: the scope of ediscovery should be proportional to the needs of the case, weighing the importance of the issues, the amount in controversy, and the burden and cost of the discovery requested. In mass tort, where unchecked scope can generate terabytes of marginally relevant data and add years to a timeline, that principle has real teeth. Agreeing on reasonable scope at the outset — limiting discovery to what’s genuinely necessary to litigate the core issues — keeps costs manageable and timelines realistic, while preventing the most important evidence from getting buried under everything else.
Both sides have an interest in this, even if their negotiating positions differ. Plaintiffs typically want broad defendant discovery to surface corporate knowledge and establish liability patterns across the MDL. Defendants typically push for narrow plaintiff-side discovery to limit exposure. But neither side benefits from a discovery process so sprawling that it consumes the litigation itself. A well-negotiated ESI protocol — one that defines custodians, date ranges, search terms, and production formats with specificity — gives both sides a manageable framework and reduces the likelihood of costly disputes down the road.
In MDL cases specifically, this negotiation happens within a procedural structure that adds complexity. Courts typically issue standing orders establishing baseline ediscovery requirements before the parties begin negotiating, and common benefit orders govern how discovery costs are shared across the plaintiff side. Understanding those orders, and the MDL-specific procedural landscape around them, is part of getting the ESI protocol right.
The Nextpoint services team can help firms develop and negotiate ESI protocols tailored to their matter — including MDL standing order compliance, proportionality analysis, and scope negotiations that hold up through the full life of the case.
So, what are the other 6 eDiscovery tips for mass tort litigation? Find out here, it’s only one click. Here’s a tip for you: click! 😉
ICYMI, here’s the first post in the mass tort series.
So, what do you think? How do you manage discovery for mass tort cases? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
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Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.