This fourth edition of the well-established practitioner text sets out what constitutes an electronic signature, the form an electronic signature can take, and discusses the issues relating to evidence - illustrated by analysis of relevant case law and legislation from a wide range of common law and civil law jurisdictions. Stephen Mason is a leading authority on electronic signatures and electronic evidence, having advised global corporations and governments on these topics. He is also the editor of Electronic Evidence and International Electronic Evidence, and he founded the international open-source journal Digital Evidence and Electronic Signature Law Review in 2004. This book is also available online at http: //ials.sas.ac.uk/digital/humanities-digital-library/observing-law-ials-open-book-service-law.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

This book provides a deeper understanding of electronic evidence and its use in civil and commercial dispute resolution. The explosive growth of information technology has had major impacts on the development of the economy, society and also on the improvement of legal proceedings with the use of modern technology in all areas of criminal and civil procedures. This book focuses on the current provisions of UNCITRAL, the European Union, Germany and Vietnam concerning electronic evidence in civil and commercial dispute resolution. It analyses the notion and the basic aspects of evidence and electronic evidence and explores the process of finding electronic evidence. Further, it discusses how the effectiveness of finding electronic evidence can be reconciled with a respect for fundamental rights, in particular with personal privacy and personal data protection. The book subsequently addresses the authentication and admissibility of electronic evidence; the evaluation of electronic evidence and the burden of proof; and the challenges of using electronic evidence in civil and commercial dispute resolution. Finally, it puts forward proposals for promoting the use of electronic evidence in these contexts. As the book focuses on the current texts of UNCITRAL and the civil procedure legislation of the European Union, Germany and Vietnam, it relies on a comparative method which deals with the most significant provisions of the above legislation.