The Florida Bar Business Law Section promulgated new Electronic Discovery or ESI Guidelines that promote early consultation and resolution of ESI issues. They seek to avoid court intervention, thereby promoting reasonable and efficient e-discovery of electronic information, while minimizing costs, delays, and burdens to the parties and the courts. Of course, e-neutrals can be utilized to create a workable protocol without judicial intervention allowing parties to get back to litigating on the merits if they cannot resolve the underlying matter. With the introduction of amended Florida Civil Procedure Rule 1.280 on January 1, 2025, these guidelines place a greater emphasis on proportionality, and practitioners and the courts are encouraged to review and utilize precedent and committee notes regarding Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 26 when addressing and resolving ESI discovery issues. See more here-- https://flabizlaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/BLS-Proposed-Civil-Case-Guidelines-re-ESI-Discovery-6.20.25-EDDEC-and-Rules-C-final-as-revised.pdf
