Collisions in the Digital Paradigm: Law and Rule Making in the Internet Age

It has been said that the only asset that a lawyer has is time. But the reality is that a lawyer’s greatest asset is information. The practice and the business of law is all about information exchange. The flow of information travels in a number of different directions during the life of a case. A client communicates certain facts to a lawyer. The lawyer assimilates those facts and seeks out specialised legal information which may be applicable to those facts. In the course of a generation there has been a technological revolution which represents a paradigm shift in the flow of information and communication. Collisions in the Digital Paradigm is about how the law deals with digital information technologies and some of the problems that arise when the law has to deal with issues arising in a new paradigm.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction 2. The Analytical Framework I. Introduction II. Elizabeth Eisenstein and the Qualities of Print III. Digital Information IV. Conclusion 3. The Transition to the Digital Paradigm—Analogies and Functional Equivalence I. Introduction II. A Historical Perspective III. Digital Writing IV. Change and Communication in the Digital Paradigm V. The Law’s Approach to Equating the Old with the New VI. Functional Equivalence VII. The Problem of Analogies VIII. Conclusion 4. Aspects of Internet Governance I. Introduction II. The Internet Governance Forum III. Technical Governance IV. Models of Internet Governance V. Conclusion 5. The Property Problem I. Introduction II. Information as Property—The Debate in the Digital Paradigm III. The British Commonwealth Approach IV. The United States’ Position V. Property or Cyberproperty VI. Conclusion 6. Recorded Law—The Twilight of Precedent in the Digital Age I. Introduction II. Law and Precedent in the Print and Digital Paradigms III. The Twilight of Precedent? 7. Digital Information—The Nature of the Document and E-discovery I. Introduction II. The Development of E-discovery Rules III. Common Themes in the Development of E-discovery in Asia-Pacific Jurisdictions IV. The Rules and Utilisation of Technology V. Conclusion 8. Evidence, Trials, Courts and Technology I. Introduction II. Orality and Physical Presence of Witnesses III. Facing Up to Change IV. Technology in Court V. The Next Phase VI. Using Technology to Change Process Models VII. Conclusion 9. Social Media I. Introduction II. What is Social Media? III. Social Media Meets the Law IV. The Googling Juror V. Lost in Translation—Interpreting Social Media Messages VI. Other Aspects of Social Media VII. Conclusion 10. Information Persistence, Privacy and the Right to be Forgotten I. Introduction II. Privacy Themes III. Privacy Taxonomies IV. Obscurity of Information—Practical and Partial Obscurity V. Judicial Approaches VI. The Internet and Privacy VII. Search Engines and Information Retrievability VIII. The Right to be Forgotten IX. A Right to Update? X. Conclusion 11. Reputational Harms I. Introduction II. The Publication Issue III. Google and Defamation IV. Linking and Publication V. Reputational Harms—Where Defamation Does Not Tread VI. Triaging Reputation VII. Conclusion 12. Conclusion I. The Qualities of Digital Information II. Governance of a Distributed, Dynamic, Changing Environment? III. Behavioural Change and Values IV. Old Rules in New Bottles—Seeking Consistency V. Volume, Dissemination and Availability of Information VI. Participation, Interactivity and the Message VII. Who Am I Online? VIII. The Message is the Medium—What the Law must Recognise

About the Author :
David J Harvey, formerly a District Court Judge sitting in Auckland, New Zealand, is Director of the New Zealand Center for ICT Law a part-time lecturer in Law and Information Technology, both at the Faculty of Law, University of Auckland.

Review :
This is a good, thoughtful book, packed with balanced insights. This book is a scholarly, fascinating, and at times uncomfortable, look at the present and the future. Based on meticulous research and in-depth knowledge, it forces you to reconsider many of your current assumptions as to what the law should do when faced with this shifting paradigm. For most lawyers, this will be a "must have" book on their shelves, as it is increasingly difficult to think of an area that is not affected by the digital world. Even if technology is not your passion, Harvey's insights are well worth the read. Harvey’s book is an authoritative text for the times. It diagnoses the challenge facing the law as we (ever so slowly) shift paradigms from print to digital, and articulates the change in thinking required to deal with the inevitable collisions accompanying the transition. ...the taxonomy provides a lucid and analytically helpful addition to the literature that will aid the reader in comprehending the implications of the digital paradigm...Harvey’s appreciation for the balance between breadth and depth marks out Collisions as an excellent resource for students and practitioners seeking to gain an understanding of the main points of contention around technology, both as a discrete field of law and as a disruptor of litigation practice.