“When the experts start chattering at each other in dog Greek, you know they want to exclude you. Metadata means “information about data” and generally has three sub-classes – descriptive metadata (generally appearing on its face, such as its date), administrative metadata (often not visible e.g. where it came from) and structural metadata (e.g. the instructions for using it).
Used in the context of electronic Disclosure, these distinctions are blurred into one and “metadata” is generally taken to refer to the information which is hidden behind electronic documents. “
This is an extract from an article called Documents, Disclosure and Metadata on my web site at www.chrisdalelawyersupport.co.uk
The article gives an example of metadata used as a trap for the unwary – the MD found from the metadata to have saved a spreadsheet in the office at 02:30 on the Sunday morning when he had said he was “in bed, in Bradford, with Mandy from Marketing”. Whether the metadata suggests a redraft of your own clients’ proof of evidence or gives you ammunition against opponents, it can be useful.
Not often, however. For the most part you will get through many eDisclosure exercises without much reliance on metadata, or even the need to understand what it is. It is good to know it is there, however, when detailed questions arise.
eDisclosure Information Project 