Joseph A. Tate, Jr.

Member
Managing Director, CODISCOVR

Recent Publication:

Should Personal Cell Phones be off the eDiscovery Radar? – Case Law Update [eDiscovery Alert]

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill discussed how in a trade secret case, a federal district court orders the imaging of employees’ work laptops, but not their personal cellphones.

Joseph Tate, member and the managing director of CODISCOVR, focuses his practice on eDiscovery, information governance and data management issues in the context of litigation and investigations. As the Managing Director of CODISCOVR, Joe is responsible for the day-to-day management of the business and a team of attorneys and technologists that handle all phases of the eDiscovery lifecycle.

Joe manages complex eDiscovery projects for high-profile matters involving various practice areas and industries including higher education, financial services, construction, and health care and life sciences. He is well versed in developing and implementing data mapping exercises, litigation hold and preservation plans, and organizing forensic data collections. He also prepares and manages document review workflows using advanced technologies to cull and filter data sets, utilizes advanced analytics to increase review efficiency, and implements quality control procedures to mitigate risk.

Joe has extensive experience leading the eDiscovery element of meet and confer conferences, preparing and negotiating ESI protocols, drafting and responding to discovery motions and requests, and taking and defending depositions of IT personnel and record managers. He also regularly counsels clients and colleagues on complex legal issues related to eDiscovery, the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine, information governance, and litigation readiness.

Joe is also a member of the leading eDiscovery and information management organizations including the Sedona Conference Working Group 1, ILTA (International Legal Technology Association), and ARMA (Association of Records Managers and Administrators).

Joe also volunteers and provides pro bono legal services through Philadelphia VIP, Community Legal Services and as a volunteer child advocate attorney with the Support Center for Child Advocates. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston University and his law degree from Villanova University School of Law.

 

News

Cozen O'Connor Promotes 29 Attorneys to Member

March 20, 2023

Cozen O'Connor is proud to announce the promotion of 29 attorneys to member.

‘Jacks and Jills of All Trades?’ Hard-to-Get E-Discovery Project Managers Face Growing Workloads

October 21, 2022

Joseph Tate was quoted in an article published by Legaltech News that discusses organizations’ struggle to hire and retain e-discovery project managers.

Sedona Conference’s 2022 eDiscovery Negotiation Training

April 05, 2022

Joe Tate, as a faculty member, and Nicole Marie Gill, as a participant, attended the Sedona Conference’s 2022 eDiscovery Negotiation Training.

Think Before You Delete: Social Media’s Mass Deletion Features Could Exasperate E-Discovery

March 01, 2022

Joseph Tate was quoted in an article published by Legaltech News that discusses how new mass deletion features on social media platforms have the potential to wreak havoc on investigations and litigation.

Inexperienced Attorneys Can Absolutely Get E-Discovery Jobs, But First They Need E-Discovery Experience

October 28, 2021

Joseph Tate was quoted in an article published by Legaltech news discussing how he hasn’t seen the demand for e-discovery talent in the market this high in years.

Sorry Big Law, Consumption-Based E-Discovery Isn't Going Anywhere

September 08, 2021

Joseph Tate was featured in an article published by Legaltech news that discusses how pricing per gigabyte for the use of e-discovery tech will likely continue to be a mainstay in the industry.

6 Things Law Firms Wish Tech Vendors Knew About Their Procurement Process

September 02, 2021

Joseph Tate was featured in an article published by Legaltech news which discusses six things law firms wish tech vendors knew about their procurement process.

Joseph Tate a Guest on eDiscovery Leaders Live

May 19, 2021

Joseph Tate, chair of the firm’s eDiscovery & Practice Advisory Services Group, was a guest on George Socha’s eDiscovery Leaders Live, a weekly series where he chats with different leaders in eDiscovery.

Plaintiffs Social Media ESI Is Increasingly Discoverable. Will It Chill Meritless Filings?

April 13, 2021

Joseph Tate was featured in an article published by Legaltech News, "Plaintiffs Social Media ESI Is Increasingly Discoverable. Will It Chill Meritless Filings?"

Cozen O'Connor Brings On New E-Discovery Chair For Philly Office

February 18, 2021

Joseph Tate, Calli Padilla, and Maureen Holland are featured in a Law360 article highlighting recent leadership changes and the firm's summer associate program.

Cozen O’Connor Announces Changes to Firm Management

February 16, 2021

Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce the following changes in firm leadership positions for the 2021 year.

'When' Not 'How' the Question Companies Face in Preserving Video Chats

July 29, 2020

Joseph Tate was quoted in Legaltech news discussing how phone calls typically do not fall under the category of electronically stored information (ESI) unless they are recorded and preserved in some format.

4 Times E-Discovery Made the News in 2019

December 30, 2019

Joseph Tate was featured in a Legaltech news article that discussed four places where e-discovery made the news in 2019.

Google’s Antitrust Case Underscores Tough Sell for ‘Cooling-Off' Discovery Requests

November 06, 2019

Joseph Tate was quoted in Legaltech news discussing Google's petition for a protective order against a Texas Attorney General, who is leading a multistate antitrust investigation against the company.

Inside the Trials and Tribulations of Modern E-Discovery Training

July 30, 2019

Joseph Tate was quoted in Legaltech News explaining the importance of training on e-discovery and some challenges that face this.

Publications

Should Personal Cell Phones be off the eDiscovery Radar? – Case Law Update [eDiscovery Alert]

November 29, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill discussed how in a trade secret case, a federal district court orders the imaging of employees’ work laptops, but not their personal cellphones.

Speak for Yourself! – A Case Law Update [eDiscovery Alert]

November 07, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill discussed how, in the case MC Trilogy Texas, LLC v. City of Heath, Texas, a federal court rejected the plaintiff's attempt to challenge subpoenas served on non-parties by the defendant.

When Phone-y Evidence Leads to Case Terminating Sanctions [eDiscovery Alert]

October 24, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill elaborate on a district court’s decision to terminate a case and impose attorney fees and costs as sanctions for the plaintiff’s fabrication and spoliation of evidence.

Impossibility Is Not a Ticket Out of ESI Protocol Compliance [eDiscovery Alert]

October 11, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill elaborate on a case in which Stubhub was chastised for agreeing to an ESI protocol, failing to produce documents according to the terms of the protocol, and then arguing that compliance with the protocol was impossible.

Spoliation Argument Gets Frosty Reception from Court Absent Intent [eDiscovery Alert]

September 21, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill elaborate on a Maryland court’s decision to deny a plaintiff’s motion for spoliation sanctions, finding that he did not meet his burden of demonstrating that the defendants had an “intent to deprive” him of lost data.

I Never Met-a-data I Didn’t Want to Collect [eDiscovery Alert]

September 12, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill discuss a recent case before the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, in which the court largely rejected the defendants’ arguments to avoid supplementation to their discovery production, and granted in part the plaintiff’s motions to compel.

Attorneys Must be in the eDiscovery Driver’s Seat [eDiscovery Alert]

August 25, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill detail a recent word of caution from a federal court considering a products liability case, specifically warning that attorneys may not rely on custodial self-collections and must instead test the accuracy of their clients’ discovery efforts.

This Director’s Emails are Out of Control [eDiscovery Alert]

August 09, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill share a federal court’s recent decision on a party’s request for access to the personal email account of the opposing party’s Director of Operations – the court found that the requesting party failed to meet its burden of establishing that the account was in the opposition’s “control.”

AI Is Not Just eDiscovery’s Future — It’s Also Its Past [eDiscovery Alert]

July 24, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill explain why lawyers can and should embrace generative AI technology for use in the eDiscovery context, utilizing a trust-but-verify approach — just as we have done for other AI technologies.

A Relevant Decision Regarding Relevancy Redactions [eDiscovery Alert]

June 28, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill share a recent contract dispute where the court held that relevancy redactions were allowable even though a protective order was in place.

Things Get Spicy When McCormick Attempts Document Dump in Contract Dispute [eDiscovery Alert]

June 13, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill offer perspective on a recent decision that found a party was required to review documents for relevance before producing them.

Order’s Up: No Spoliation Sanctions for Cook’s Failure to Back-up Stolen iPhone [eDiscovery Alert]

May 31, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill discuss a recent decision declining to find the requisite “intent to deprive” when a plaintiff was unable to produce text messages because his phone had been stolen and he had not taken measures to back up its contents, despite initiating litigation almost a year prior to the theft.

An Agent’s Emails are Within a Golfer’s Control: No Ifs, Ands, or Putts About It [eDiscovery Alert]

May 11, 2023

Joe Tate and Nicole Gill offer insight on a recent decision regarding possession, custody, or control in a case between PGA, Inc., and professional golfers.

Possession, Custody, and Control in the Era of eDiscovery [The Legal Intelligencer]

March 03, 2023

Joseph Tate and Nicole Gill published an article to The Legal Intelligencer discussing the question of whether specific ESI is in the "possession, custody or control" of a party, a topic that remains unsettled and subject to debate.

How Information Governance Impacts the E-Discovery Process

February 04, 2022

Joseph Tate and Nicole Gill published an article to The Legal Intelligencer discussing how as the e-discovery lifecycle has matured, information governance has taken on a more prominent and important role as the foundational stage of the process.

Ethical Challenges of Conducting E-Discovery in a Remote Work Environment

February 05, 2021

Joseph Tate and Emily Plowcha contributed an article to The Legal Intelligencer discussing how the remote work environment has significantly impacted e-discovery and the ethical obligations of attorneys in the ever-evolving technological and legal landscape.

Emerging Data Types and IoT of E-Discovery in Civil Litigation [The Legal Intelligencer]

March 24, 2020

Joseph Tate and David Walton published an article to The Legal Intelligencer discussing that your new IoT data may be subject to preservation, collection and production in civil litigation.

Education

  • Villanova University School of Law, J.D., 1995
  • Boston University, B.A., 1990
  • Pennsylvania

Association of Records Managers and Administrators

International Legal Technology Association

Villanova Law J. Willard O’Brien American Inn of Court

Sedona Conference Working Group 1