Kicking Off the Semester – Teaching E-Discovery to Apprehensive Law Students
William Hamilton
We begin the fall semester at UF Law on August 17, and I’m once again reminded how important it is to get off on the right foot—especially with a subject like electronic discovery. Many of my students come from liberal arts backgrounds and bring a healthy dose of apprehension. They often assume the course will be heavy on math or STEM, which can be intimidating.
When I taught high school math years ago, I used a book titled Mathematics: A Human Endeavor, subtitled A Book for Those Who Think They Don’t Like the Subject. That subtitle still resonates with me, and I try to bring the same spirit to e-discovery instruction.
To help ease students in, I use a few accessible, engaging materials early on. For example:
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A clip from The Martian that explains hexadecimal in a high-stakes, entertaining way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffB0Je-xjKg
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A short video featuring musician Aloe Blacc explaining digital compression: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By30SCp-Tsw
I’d love to hear what others are doing to introduce students to e-discovery in an approachable and engaging way. Do you use media or metaphors that work particularly well?
William Hamilton
In the first week of class, I also try to connect with students by telling stories from my own practice involving ESI (or the lack of It). One of my favorites comes from a case I handled years ago. We were defending a famous musician accused of having received the lyrics to what later became a hit song from someone else during a late-night session at an upscale Miami hangout.
Back then, there was very little data available to help us. I ask students how they might have defended the case. Pretty quickly, they realize how limited the evidence would have been—the entire case might have hinged on conflicting oral testimony.
Then I pivot to the present. I show them a behind-the-scenes video about the making of the song The Middle and ask them to spot all the ESI that is created during the process. Suddenly, the contrast is clear: today, data tells the story.
The exercise always sparks discussion, and the video itself is worth a watch—it’s pretty cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnC29IzEsE8.
BTW, we won the case on the statute of limitations defense!
Xavier Rodriguez
On Jul 30, 2025, at 9:27 AM, William Hamilton <professor.wil...@gmail.com> wrote:
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