Electronic Discovery

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  Discovery Resources

• Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?

  Tom Mighell

  16 Nov 2009 | 8:18 am

  by Dennis Kiker, Esq., Director, Professional Services, Fios, Inc. Cost containment continued to be the most recurrent theme on day two of the Georgetown Advanced E-Discovery Institute.  And by a pretty wide margin (with no disrespect to any of the other excellent speakers), Ralph Losey and Jason Baron’s presentation on advanced search had to be the most entertaining of the day.  The message was simple: the volume of data created and stored on computers continues to increase exponentially, and traditional methods of identifying, collecting and reviewing that data are becoming…

• Lions and Tigers and Bears (Oh My!)

  Tom Mighell

  13 Nov 2009 | 11:59 am

  by Dennis Kiker, Esq., Director, Professional Services, Fios, Inc. I’ve often heard colleagues ask prospective clients, “What keeps you up at night?”  Or, “What worries you about e-discovery?”  After all, that is what we, as vendors, want to know: how can our products or services ease your concerns, so that you’ll purchase our products or services.  Thus, it was very interesting to hear, in U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal’s keynote address at the Georgetown Advanced E-Discovery Institute that the circle of those wandering through the e-discovery woods watching for ESI…

• Waiting for Georgetown

  Tom Mighell

  12 Nov 2009 | 12:23 pm

  by Dennis Kiker, Esq., Director, Professional Services, Fios Inc. Last night was cold, rainy, and rather gloomy here in Washington, D.C.  It was also Veteran’s Day, so sensible people had chosen to join their government colleagues and stay home or retire early for the day.  So what else would someone facing a two-day e-discovery marathon choose to do on such a night?  Of course.  Attend an e-discovery roundtable dinner, what else?  And it was great. Really, it was great.  Here’s why: As you might expect when a group voluntarily gathers on Veteran’s Day in the rain and gloom to…

• AZ Supreme Court says metadata a public record

  Mary Mack

  30 Oct 2009 | 10:12 am

  Records managers will be taking a new look at “Create dates” after the Arizona Supreme Court mandated production of metadata in public records. The case involved a demoted police officer who wanted access to the metadata to prove notes were backdated.  Up until now, most cases have held that there must be a showing that metadata is necessary before ordering its production.  While this case may be applied narrowly for Arizona public records, it may impact other governmental entities and courts. “It would be illogical, and contrary to the policy of openness underlying the…

• Webcast: 25 and Counting - State e-Discovery Rules Taking Shape

  Jim Woolfrey

  28 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm

  Wed. 12/16 - As of Sept. 2009, twenty five states have adopted e-discovery procedural rules that reflect the 2006 FRCP amendments. Many others are considering changes. In this 3rd annual webcast, Tom Allman and Mary Mack provide an update.  More info / Register >

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  Electronic Discovery Law

• Upcoming Events - December

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:37 pm

  Pennsylvania Bar Institute – E-Discovery December 3, 2009 PBI Professional Development Conference Center Heinz 57 Center 339 Sixth Ave., 7th Floor Pittsburgh, PA K&L Gates partner David Cohen will present “The Year in Review,” a closer look at some of the most important and interesting opinions of 2009.  Cases to be discussed cover a myriad of topics including preservation of ESI, the discoverability of metadata, format of production, and much much more. To learn more and to register, click here.IQPC 8th Annual Electronic Discovery Event December 7-9, 2009 Altman…

• Federal Judicial Center Releases Preliminary Results of "Case-Based Civil Rules Survey"

  16 Nov 2009 | 9:06 am

  The Federal Judicial Center has released the preliminary results of its Case-Based Civil Rules Survey.  The survey, as described in the Executive Summary “presents preliminary findings form a survey of attorneys in recently closed civil cases…The report covers discovery activities and case management in the closed cases; electronic discovery activity in the closed cases; attorney evaluations of discovery in the closed cases; the costs of litigation and discovery; and attorney attitudes towards specific reform proposals, and, more generally, the Federal Rules of Civil…

• Court Compels Discovery from Foreign Corporation Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:12 am

  In re Global Power Equip. Group, Inc., 2009 WL 3464212 (Bankr. D. Del. Oct. 28, 2009) Upon a motion to compel production of documents from claimant, a foreign corporation, the court found the documents at issue to be within the control of the claimant and, applying the “comity analysis” as articulated by the United States Supreme Court, determined that the contested matter “should and shall be conducted under the Federal Rules and not under the Hague Evidence Convention.”  Accordingly, the motion to compel was granted and claimant was ordered to comply with the…

• Upcoming Event - IQPC's 8th Annual Electronic Discovery Event

  11 Nov 2009 | 10:51 am

  December 7-9, 2009 Altman Building New York, NY This electronic discovery conference gathers industry leaders together to explore the current risks, opportunities and current challenges facing e-Discovery.  Taking a strategic look at how best to manage Electronic Stored Information in a proactive, cost-effective and efficient manner, the goal of the event is to provide the necessary tools to make e-Discovery a normal business function rather than a "catastrophic" event. K&L Gates partner, David Cohen, will be co-presenting a pre-conference workshop, “e-Discovery…

• Defendants and General Counsel Sanctioned for Failure to Preserve Evidence

  11 Nov 2009 | 10:30 am

  Swofford v. Eslinger, NO. 6:08-cv-00066-Orl-35DAB (M.D. Fla. Sept. 28, 2009) In April 2006, plaintiff Swofford was shot seven times, on his own property, by two deputies in pursuit of two burglary suspects.  Plaintiffs brought suit against the sheriff in his official capacity and against the deputies individually.  In August 2006, plaintiffs’ counsel sent the first of two letters requesting the preservation of relevant evidence.  In February 2007, plaintiffs’ counsel sent a second preservation letter and a notice of claim as required by Florida statute. …

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  Pivotal Discovery Blog

• Dethroned! SF Bay Area takes the #1 spot from NY for e-discovery careers

  26 Oct 2009 | 6:00 pm

  At least for the month of October. New York had been at the top of our survey each month since we began tracking career postings fifteen months ago, in July 2008. Overall, the West Coast gained in every category. Regardless of which region is pulling the jobs train - East Coast, West Coast, or Midwest, hopefully we can keep it stable until we pull out of the recession. Career Pulse: 2, 217 career postings in lit support, ediscovery, and paralegal [...]

• Silver Lining of Continuing Education in a Down Economy

  4 Oct 2009 | 6:00 pm

  By Sasha Hefler, President, Masters Conference Recent headline excerpts such as "Shed Corporate Lawyers," "Cut Partners Too," "Firms Still Uncertain How Deep Cuts Will Go," "Furlough," "Retirement Losses," and "Lays Off Associates" can send chills down anyone's spine. The recent economic downturn has forced all legal professionals to look within to find personal strength to outlast and beat the dire situation around us. When the [...]

• Career postings across the internet in September - the other flat month

  14 Sep 2009 | 6:00 pm

  Career Pulse: 2, 481 career postings in lit support, ediscovery, and paralegal specializations aggregated from across the internet, available at PivotalDiscovery.com. Sign in to PivotalDiscovery.com and click My Menu/Career Search to view all of these jobs and apply for the ones that suit you. Do it!Here are the September results of our City Survey of Lit Support, eDiscovery, and Paralegal jobs, compared to last month. SummaryFlat. It [...]

• Double Digit Dips Nationwide in Job Postings in August

  16 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm

   Double digit dips, but I'm going to chalk this up to the general summer cyclical slowdown.Let's see if next month brings a significant rebound and continues the growth in new career positions that we have seen over the last few months.  Here are the August results of our City Survey of Lit Support, eDiscovery, and Paralegal jobs, compared to last month. Summary> Lit Support: 16% decrease over last month.& [...]

• July Job Postings - The Growth Trend Continues!

  18 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm

  Monthly Internet Job Postings for 2009        Here are the July results of our City Survey of Lit Support, eDiscovery, and Paralegal jobs, compared to last month. SummaryLit Support job postings surpassed 1,000 for the first time since January! See espec [...]

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  ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY NEWS - Google News

• D6 Consulting Chooses iconectnxt For Review And Hosting - ECM Connection (press release)

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:55 am

  D6 Consulting Chooses iconectnxt For Review And HostingECM Connection (press release)D6 Consulting is a full service electronic discovery services and forensic technology consulting firm. D6 was founded by industry leaders from the "Big

• Bowman and Brooke LLP Enhances Its Electronic Discovery Capabilities with ... - PR Web (press release)

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:10 am

  Bowman and Brooke LLP Enhances Its Electronic Discovery Capabilities with PR Web (press release)Equivio, a provider of software for managing data redundancy, today announced that Bowman and Brooke LLP is using Equivio's technology for detection and and more »

• Fernando Pinguelo appointed to Masters Conference eDiscovery Cabinet - Somerset Reporter - NJ.com

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:12 pm

  Fernando Pinguelo appointed to Masters Conference eDiscovery CabinetSomerset Reporter - NJ.comPinguelo devotes his practice to complex litigation with an emphasis on business disputes, electronic discovery, and media and employment matters.

• Survey Finds 73 Percent of Enterprises Plan to Bring E-Discovery In-House in ... - PR-USA.net (press release)

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:13 am

  Survey Finds 73 Percent of Enterprises Plan to Bring E-Discovery In-House in PR-USA.net (press release)Clearwell Systems, Inc., a leader in intelligent e-discovery, today announced findings from a survey conducted in partnership with analyst firm Enterprise Increasing Value Through Effective ESI StrategiesFinancier Worldwideall 2 news articles »

• Business Executives Underestimate Litigation Risks - I-Newswire.com (press release)

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:18 pm

  Business Executives Underestimate Litigation RisksI-Newswire.com (press release)This excuse will tend to show that counsel and their client, who have joint responsibility for production of electronic discovery, acted unreasonably by not

• 
  Electronic Discovery Blog

• Integrated systems approach reduces the cost of e-discovery

  Larry Wescott

  18 Nov 2009 | 4:49 pm

  I had a follow-on discussion with Mark L. Moerdler, Ph.D, VP of Strategy for CA’s Information Governance business unit, on how a system integrating records information management (RIM) and e-discovery capabilities can lessen e-discovery costs. Dr. Moerdler pointed out four ways in which CA’s Records Manager cuts e-discovery expenses: 1) The implementation of a retention [...]

• PSS Systems Announces the Release of Atlas Compliance Automation 2.0 for eDiscovery

  Larry Wescott

  9 Nov 2009 | 5:06 pm

  PSS Systems is probably best known in the e-discovery community for its legal hold solutions. Over time, however, PSS Systems has built an entire suite of applications dedicated to the governance of information over its entire lifecycle, from creation to disposal. From its origins helping attorneys manage legal holds in their organizations, PSS [...]

• Production of ESI on backup tapes denied where ESI ruled inaccessible and requestor fails to demonstrate good cause

  Larry Wescott

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:06 pm

  Major Tours, Inc. v. Colorel, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97554 (D.N.J. Oct. 20, 2009) Requestor sought e-mails from backup tapes and producers’ e-mail archives, while producer sought a protective order, claiming that the e-mails were inaccessible because of the burden and cost to retrieve them. Producer sought to limit discovery to the e-mails on [...]

• CA’s new release of CA Records Manager speeds the e-discovery process

  Larry Wescott

  22 Oct 2009 | 7:07 pm

  In conjunction with the latest release of CA Record Manager, v. 12.6, I had a chance to speak with Mark L. Moerdler, Ph.D, VP of Strategy for CA’s Information Governance business unit. I asked Dr. Moerdler about the electronic discovery functionality in the new release. CA Records Manager offers intertwined discovery and records [...]

• Court hints that it will require re-production of data in native format where paper production is not reasonably usable

  Larry Wescott

  8 Oct 2009 | 7:26 pm

  Covad Communications Co. v. Revonet, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75325 (D.D.C. Aug. 25, 2009) Plaintiff requestor filed a motion to compel compliance with the court’s previous order compelling production. Requestor argued that producer had not complied with the court’s order to produce emails in native format. Producer conceded that a discrepancy existed between [...]

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  E-discovery 2.0

• Litigation and E-Discovery Trend Surveys Find Similar Results

  Dean Gonsowski

  19 Nov 2009 | 10:32 am

  As the Mark Twain quote goes, there are “lies, damn lies and statistics.”  In this case, however, and regardless of the exact numbers, two recent surveys provide some very interesting directional trending.  The first is Fulbright & Jaworski’s 6th Annual Litigation Trends Survey.  In addition to covering a range of general and vertically oriented topics, they also focus on electronic discovery specifically.  Not surprisingly, reducing e-discovery costs bubbles up to the top of the list as major initiatives for most respondents.  Interestingly though, remediation plans attacking…

• How to Reduce E-Discovery Costs Part IV: Bring E-Discovery In-House

  Will Uppington

  18 Nov 2009 | 10:41 am

  Part I of this series on reducing e-discovery costs discussed a number of approaches for managing e-discovery costs.  The third approach suggested in the original article is to bring e-discovery in-house.  This means taking some e-discovery tasks that were previously conducted by external organizations, such as e-discovery service providers or outside law firms, and performing them using in-house enterprise e-discovery software, and/or people. How does bringing e-discovery in-house reduce costs?  The way in-sourcing e-discovery reduces costs is fairly straightforward.  It simply is a way…

• Top Ten Trends in Electronic Discovery

  Dean Gonsowski

  11 Nov 2009 | 3:34 am

  Since I’ve finished off the last of the Halloween candy and tossed out the moldy, squirrel ravaged pumpkins, it occurred to me that now might be a good time to think about what 2010 will hold for the electronic discovery industry.  My 2009 list seems to have been fairly prescient and many of those notions still hold true since the legal industry (as we know) doesn’t move at the most blistering pace. Again, doing my best Nostradamus impersonation, here are my top ten trends for 2010: Early case assessment (ECA) moves from a “nice to have” to a “must have” requirement for any…

• Defensible E-Discovery a Hot Topic at the Masters Conference

  Dean Gonsowski

  29 Oct 2009 | 1:51 pm

  Recently, I moderated a panel at the Masters Conference with John Loveland, Sonya Thornton, and Bruce Markowitz entitled: How Defensible is Your E-Discovery Process? (Click here to read a summary of the panel.) It was well attended, and I think that the draw (aside from the esteemed panel) was that this topic still remains very vexing for most practitioners. Initially, we started at ground zero with the notion that defensibility is in most instances equated with the “reasonableness” standard, which is pervasive across many areas of the EDRM spectrum… from preservation to production. …

• 7th Circuit Launches an Electronic Discovery Pilot Program

  Dean Gonsowski

  15 Oct 2009 | 2:18 pm

  Recently, I attended the Sedona Conference’s annual meeting in Atlanta and, amongst other interesting topics, was the discussion of local rules developments and in particular the Seventh Circuit’s new Electronic Discovery Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”).  The Pilot Program was launched October 1, 2009 and seems to be a model for collaboration, since it was developed by eliciting input from a number of disparate groups: “(a) continuing comments by business leaders and practicing attorneys, regarding the need for reform of the civil justice pretrial discovery process in the United…

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  DennisKennedy.blog

• Making a List and Sharing It Too - New Podcast

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:59 pm

  Tom Mighell and I have recorded another episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast and it's now available on the Legal Talk Network and on iTunes, with an RSS feed here. The episode is called "Making a List and Sharing It Too" (show notes here), and it's sponsored by Bill4Time. Here's the episode description: We’re at the time of year where everyone likes to make and share lists. Some new types of Internet tools let lawyers share useful lists of information in easier and more powerful ways. In this new episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report, co-hosts Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss…

• Recent Microblog Posts - November 10, 2009

  10 Nov 2009 | 8:41 pm

  Just noticed that I passed the 1,500 post mark on this blog. And I wanted to mention that The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast has talked Tom and me into letting it have it's own Twitter account - @tkmreport. The podcast had been complaining (a lot) lately about how it was "totally unfair" that our book had its own Twitter account (@collabtools), while it did not have one yet. The situation is now rectified. But, I know, that's not the reason you're here. You're here because you want to get the latest collection of posts from DennisKennedy.Microblog, which is a supplement to this blog that can…

• Is Windows 7 Coming to Lawyers' Computers?

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:30 pm

  Tom Mighell and I have recorded another episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast and it's now available on the Legal Talk Network and on iTunes, with an RSS feed here. The episode is called "Is Windows 7 Coming to Your Computer?" (show notes website), and it's sponsored by Bill4Time. Here's the episode description: The recent release of Windows 7 hopefully ushers in a new era of peace and stability to the world of PC operating systems. But should lawyers rush out to upgrade now? In this new episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report, co-hosts Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss some of the…

• Recent Microblog Posts - November 1, 2009

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:51 pm

  DennisKennedy.Microblog is a supplement to this blog that can be found on Twitter at @dkennedyblog. I invite you to become a follower. An explanation of the microblog can be found here. Here are recent posts from the microblog: Rick Borstein on using Adobe Acrobat to create email portfolios for small EDD productions - http://bit.ly/3HdZwn RT @allisonshields: 7 Simple Online Mistakes Lawyers Make http://bit.ly/4o1jNd Two new blog posts: Springsteen show in St. Louis; a few available Google Wave invitations - http://bit.ly/7S3x4 & http://bit.ly/2Qr6lm Andres Ferrate: "Intuit’s New QuickBooks…

• Google Wave Invitations and Audience Questions for Podcast

  27 Oct 2009 | 9:11 pm

  I have a few Google Wave invitations that I'd be happy to extend to regular readers of this blog who would like to test out Wave. Send me an email at denniskennedyblog @ gmail.com with your email address and some info about what you'd like to use Google Wave for and I'll see how long they last. I'll especially look favorably on those who include a question for the audience Q & A segment of our next episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast. The next episode will cover Windows 7 and Tom and I would welcome your questiions about Windows 7 or any other legal tech topic. I'm also interested…

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  EDD Update

• LTN Awards: Deadline Extended, Fee Waived

  Monica Bay

  19 Nov 2009 | 2:17 pm

  The economy has hit hard on law firm budgets, and especially on discretionary spending for support professionals — sooooo, we have decided to WAIVE the entry fee (and extend the nominating deadline) for our 2009 LTN Law Firm/Law Department Awards. The new deadline is Friday, December 4.This also makes it easier for those of you who want to nominate colleagues who might work for other organizations! And in these turbulent times, it's especially important that we recognize the innovations, hard work, and talent of legal technology leaders and visionaries!Categories include:• IT Director…

• EDRM Data Set Project: EDRM Enron PST Files Now Available

  George Socha

  19 Nov 2009 | 8:20 am

  The EDRM Enron PST files are now available on the EDRM website. They are posted as 32 zipped files, each less than 700 MB in size. Also posted is a spreadsheet listing the zipped files and the 168 .pst files contained in the zipped files. There are several ways to reach the files. The simplest is: Go to the main EDRM page, http://edrm.net. Select the Data Set icon. That will take you to the main Data Set page, http://edrm.net/activities/projects/data-set. Select the “Enron Downloads” tab, and download the files listed there. Please let us know if you have any questions, problems or…

• Corcoran Group Sanctioned

  Monica Bay

  17 Nov 2009 | 7:55 pm

  RT @leecomms: Corcoran Group sanctioned for ediscovery failure and deleting e-mails in spite of repeated warnings http://tinyurl.com/yzzt68s  (New York Law Journal article).

• Catalyst Introduces Fast Track

  Theodora Blanchfield

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:23 am

  Colorado-based Catalyst Repository Systems has introduced its Fast Track integrated processing software. With Fast Track, users can submit multi-language Exchange pst, Lotus Notes NSF, and other electronic files directly into Catalyst CR, the company’s web-based search and review software, says CEO John Tredennick. Full release here.

• Kroll Ontrack Upgrades Advanceview and Inview to 6.1

  Theodora Blanchfield

  17 Nov 2009 | 7:52 am

  Kroll Ontrack has introduced the latest versions of its early case assessment software, Ontrack Advanceview 6.1, and document review program, Ontrack Inview 6.1. The upgraded versions add statistical sampling functions, new analytic reports, and enhanced searching and sorting capabilities. Full release here.  

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  The eDiscovery Paradigm Shift

• Do Lawyers Need eDiscovery Certification?

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:31 pm

  It was reported by those in attendance at the Advanced E-Discovery Institute 2009 held at Georgetown University on November 13, 2009 that a panel of federal judges discussed whether eDiscovery certification should be required for lawyers. Reports from the meeting indicate that, with perhaps a lone exception, the judges collectively agreed that such certification was unnecessary. I have to agree. No eDiscovery certification is necessary…for the lawyers. The law involving eDiscovery, though emerging, is not very complex. The responsibilities of lawyers in the eDiscovery process is but a…

• Ready or Not: Cloud Computing is Comming to eDiscovery

  18 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pm

  Today, as I read a really great Blog posting by Jim Ericson on the Information Management Blog site titled, "Clouds: Both Sides Now," I was reminded of how, a couple of months ago, I got aboslutely slammed on my prediction that eDiscovery was ripe for Cloud Computing and the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model for eDiscovery applications.I was told that, "serious corporations will never let their data outside the firewall." And, it was made very clear to me by more than one commenter that serious General Counsel and outside litigators were certainly not going to allow the sensitive…

• Autonomy and IDOL are Too Expensive for Most Enterprises

  16 Nov 2009 | 8:54 am

  I have been meaning to comment for some time now on Garnter's contention that, "Autonomy is not practical for smaller enterprises."Fate would have it that this past week, while talking to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of mid level Global 2000 enterprise, I was actually asked my opinion on the "true cost" of implementing Autonomy as the foundation for a Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) and eDiscovery proactive Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Management platform. My answer quickly moved the discusssion to the cost of implementing Autonomy's Intelligent Data Operating Layer…

• eDiscovery Jumping Back In-House

  16 Nov 2009 | 8:36 am

  Beyond vendor predictions and the ancedotal evidence, analyst spending reports and surveys are now begining to indicate that eDiscovery is jumping back in-house.Gartner predicted that spending on eDiscovery software will grow to more than $1 billion in 2009, up 33 percent from 2008, with much of the spending comming from moving eDiscovery in-house. Bud­gets for man­ag­ing elec­tronic data tripled this year at average-​​sized U.S. com­pa­nies, accord­ing to a study, as busi­nesses braced for an influx of law­suits stem­ming from a reces­sion that’s been…

• Early Case Assessment (ECA) Should be Emerging as a Best Practice

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:36 am

  With no end in sight to the accellerating volume of Electronically Stored Information (ESI), the associated increase in the amount of eDiscovery work required to prepare for litigation and the resulting dramatic increase in the cost, Early Case Assessment (ECA) is beginning to emerge as a fundemental "Best Practice" in most eDiscovery projects. However, why is it taking so long for the legal industry to embrace?This question was addressed in an article/marketing piece published on November 2, 2009 on the The Metropolitan Coprorate Counsel website by Rich Cohen and Joe Garber titled, "The…

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  Litigation Support Industry: Business News and Information Blog

• RELM Holdings Inc. Executes a Letter of Intent for Acquisition of a South East Electronic Document Management Company

  10 Nov 2009 | 11:34 am

  RELM Holdings Inc. (PINKSHEETS: RELM) announced today that it executed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire 100% of the equity interests in a well established Electronic Document Management company with facilities in the South East and Midwest. Management noted that the target company will remain undisclosed pending the execution of definitive agreements per customary non-disclosure terms agreed on by the parties. The Company, founded in 1990, provides high-quality document management services to its clients in the pharmaceutical, legal, financial services, healthcare and commercial markets…

• Dolan Media Acquires Majority Interest in DiscoverReady

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:37 am

  MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2009-- Dolan Media Company (NYSE: DM), a leading provider of professional services and business information to the legal, financial and real estate sectors in the United States, said today that it acquired an 85% equity interest in DiscoverReady, LLC, a leading provider of outsourced discovery management and fixed-fee document review services to major companies and their counsel.With headquarters in New York City and an office in Charlotte, N.C., DiscoverReady assists major corporations and their counsel in litigation and regulatory matters by providing…

• Avalon Document Services Acquires Exacta Legal

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:13 am

  Buffalo NY based Exacta Legal was acquired by Avalon Document Services.Avalon Document Services announced the acquisition of one of its local competitors, Exacta Legal, in a move that formalized a long-standing relationship between the two litigation support services firms. The companies are part of a growing local presence in the electronic document management and discovery business that includes IKON, D-4 LLC and Toshiba Business Solutions, all with offices serving Buffalo.Though Avalon first looked into acquiring the company last summer, J.P. Midgley, managing partner at Avalon’s Buffalo…

• Integreon to Raise $100 Million to Fund Acquisitions

  28 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm

  Mumbai, Oct 25 (PTI) Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) firm Integreon is looking to raise about USD 80-100 million through private equity to fund acquisitions in India and overseas. "We are looking to seek commitment to the level of USD 80-100 million (solely through private equity) and whenever there is an opportunity, we will use that capital for an acquisition," Integreon Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific, Lokendra Tomar, told PTI here.He said the company intends to complete fund-raising in the next one or two quarters. Integreon provides outsourced knowledge, legal, and…

• Altep Acquires Chicago Based Integrated eSolutions

  30 Sep 2009 | 4:20 pm

  Altep, Inc of Texas announced it had acquired Chicago based Integrated eSolutions for an undisclosed amount. Altep reports that it acquired a strong presence in the important Chicago legal market, and Integrated eSolutions will benefit from the advanced technology and low cost processing offered by Altep from its El Paso, Texas headquarters.

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  e-Discovery Team

• Jurors Rebel, Defy Judges, and Google Their Own Truth

  Ralph Losey

  15 Nov 2009 | 8:19 pm

  Over a century ago Justice Holmes wrote that “[t]he theory of our [legal] system is that the conclusions to be reached in a case will be induced only by evidence and argument in open court, and not by any outside influence, whether of private talk or public print.” Patterson v. Colorado, 205 U.S. 454, 462 (1907). [...]

• A Supreme Court Justice Writes the Preface to a Sedona Conference Journal on the Cooperation Proclamation

  Ralph Losey

  8 Nov 2009 | 6:14 pm

  In a major coup for The Sedona Conference and electronic discovery specialists everywhere, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court has weighed in on e-discovery and written the preface to a special supplement of the Sedona Conference Journal, The Sedona Conference Journal, Vol. 10 Supplement, Fall 2009. Here is an excerpt from the Preface by Justice Breyer: [The [...]

• In-House Counsel Sanctioned for Defendant’s Failure to Preserve Evidence

  Ralph Losey

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:15 am

  A recent decision in Orlando imposed sanctions against in-house counsel for failure to preserve evidence, including email and laptops. Swofford v. Eslinger, Case. No.6:08-cv-Orl-35DAB (FL.M.D. Sept. 28, 2009). Many courts have imposed monetary sanctions against outside counsel of record for their negligence in working with their clients to preserve evidence. See eg., Green v. McClendon, 2009 WL 2496275 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. [...]

• The Non-Cooperation Proclamation

  Ralph Losey

  25 Oct 2009 | 4:26 pm

  Guest Blog by Bill E. Boie,  a Real Litigator from a law firm near you. I want to thank Ralph Losey for the opportunity to respond to the tidal wave of good-intentioned drivel that appears week after week on this blog. Its been going on for two years now. I just can’t take it anymore. All [...]

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  EDD Blog Online

• COFEE Break Turns Messy

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:21 am

  A common challenge of cybercrime investigations is the need to conduct forensic analysis on a computer before it is powered down and restarted. As some active system processes and network data are volatile and may be lost after the computer is turning off, investigators were in search of a tool that could assist them in the very limited space of time they may have to investigate a crime. It is for this reason, that in October, Microsoft and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) announced an agreement establishing NW3C as the first U.S.-based distributor of the Computer Online Forensic…

• The ESIs of Texas

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:16 am

  My home state of Texas was the first to enact a discovery rule dealing with electronically stored information. Years before the federal rules amendments, and in four simple sentences, Rule 196.4 addressed a litigant's right to discover ESI, the scope of e-discovery, forms of production and cost shifting. The rule was either so completely successful or so utterly ignored that it wasn't cited in a published decision for nearly a decade.So, when the Texas Supreme Court — the state's highest tribunal — issued its first e-discovery opinion, I listened to oral arguments. In re: Weekley Homes,…

• Digital Voicemail in E-Discovery -- or Dealing with Cerberus, the Three-Headed Dog from Hell

  20 Nov 2009 | 10:59 am

  You have one new voice message. First message: Monday, 4:45pm --I must have just missed you, Vice President Joe.It's Mike van Dyke, your CEO.Remember that complicated widget invention --Our best-seller you copied from the Widget Convention?The one in your job interview that you mentioned,And stole from your last boss for withholding your pension?Well, they've sued us for patent infringement and such,And theft of trade secrets -- it's really too much.So I need you to shred all the documentation:The tech drawings you stole; design specifications.And that memo you wrote, before everything,Saying…

• Key Ruling in BofA Securities Class Action Gives Plaintiffs Access to Treasure Trove of Documents

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:07 pm

  Let's hope the plaintiffs lawyers in the Bank of America securities class action suit have some big wheelbarrows, or at least terabytes of computer hard drive space. On Tuesday, in a huge win for shareholders, Manhattan federal district court Judge Denny Chin took the unusual step of lifting the statutory discovery stay in the securities fraud case. His order will give the plaintiffs access to the mountains of documents that BofA and related defendants have already turned over to Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York attorney general and other government entities…

• FCC to review regulatory and legal impacts to cloud services and identity management

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:18 pm

  The FCC is embarking on a review of several innovations that have now gained critical mass, among them, cloud computing, identity management, government data transparency. Cloud computing means so many different things to different groups so the FCC has clarified what areas it will review and raises the question of the definition as part of its review;a. The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines cloud computing as “a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications,…

• 
  Bag and Baggage

• Obama's Crowdsourced Healthcare Reform Video

  Denise Howell

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:09 am

  The winning submission starts at 1:10; I like a lot of the runners up!

• TWiL 38 Video — Don't Swallow That Phone! (that was fast!) #twil38 #twil

  Denise Howell

  13 Nov 2009 | 2:37 pm

  Video archives for TWiL are available at blip.tv and ODTV.  Also, TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. This WEEK in LAW on Facebook  

• TWiL 37 Video — Copyright In Extremis

  Denise Howell

  12 Nov 2009 | 11:54 am

  Video archives for TWiL are available at blip.tv and ODTV.  Also, TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. This WEEK in LAW on Facebook

• Supernova Early Registration Ends Friday (Wave Invites Too!)

  Denise Howell

  12 Oct 2009 | 9:24 am

  Supernova is one of the best tech conferences I've attended or been involved with.  I'm somewhat overwhelmed to be in the company of this year's phenomenal roster of speakers, and the attendees always make the conference a don't-miss event.  In addition to its usual interesting and current discussions, this year Supernova features an entire legal track and is offering CLE credit for lawyers.  (Kevin Werbach, Supernova's founder and driving force, is one of the very first blawgers, co-led the review of the FCC for the Obama-Biden Transition Project, and will join us on TWiL this…

• Peer Forum On The Working Web And Enterprise 2.0

  Denise Howell

  13 Sep 2009 | 11:11 am

  I'll be speaking Thursday at 11:00 a.m. PDT at Qualcomm in San Diego to the 2.0 Council: a forum of BigCos where members share ideas about how to innovate and adapt.  I'm a big fan of companies working together in this way, and am pleased to have the chance to work with this group.  If your company could benefit from such a forum — and let's face it, most could — you might want to look into it further.  Here's the a copy of the email invitation/agenda for this week's event at Qualcomm: So far 3M, American Express, Clorox, Chevron, Deloitte, GE, General Mills, ITT,…

• 
  Ride The Lightning

• Keep Track of Ever-Changing State E-Discovery Laws and Rules

  Sharon D. Nelson, Esq.

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  Keeping up with changes in state e-discovery laws and rules is a royal pain. One of the best resources available is provided for free by Applied Discovery. A brief description of each state’s status is included along with direct links to the statutes and rules. This is definitely a resource you’ll want to bookmark and revisit whenever you need to verify current state laws regarding e-discovery. Bookmark this one before you forget! E-mail: snelson@senseient.com    Phone: 703-359-0700 www.senseient.com http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

• Computer forensics and virtualization

  Sharon D. Nelson, Esq.

  17 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  In response to a query I posted last week about computer forensics and virtualization, Clay Calvert of Metrostar Systems was kind enough to write. The procedure he outlines below is essentially what we do at Sensei: “I’ve had to test files to see if they are malicious, or not.  Unfortunately, launching an executable can damage a PC beyond simple repair. To do malware analysis I will copy the .exe file to a VM, take a snapshot of the VM, and then virtually unplug the VM from the network.  The malware is contained and any damage caused can be un-done by reverting to the snapshot.  It is…

• Cloud Computing Security

  Sharon D. Nelson, Esq.

  16 Nov 2009 | 10:16 am

  In response to last week's post about cloud computing, I received the following guest post from Heather Axworthy, who is a self-described "Network Security Diva" (alas, I fear my diva days are over) and who has an aptly-titled blog called "Chick Bits."  Here's what Heather had to say: On the heels of the recent announcement of a cloud computing initiative by the new federal CIO, I thought it would be time to talk about the security components needed to protect all the data within the cloud. If you are not sure what "Cloud Computing" is, in short, it…

• The Future of Search in EDD Rocked the House

  Sharon D. Nelson, Esq.

  11 Nov 2009 | 12:14 pm

  When I first saw that Jason Baron, a man of boundless energy and rapid-fire humor, was putting together a full day on the future of search in e-discovery, I wondered if he could pull it off. A whole day? I should never have doubted Jason, who in his real life is the Director of Litigation in the Office of the General Counsel of the National Archives and Records Administration. Pulling in such heavy hitters as Judges Paul Grimm and Andrew Peck, Craig Ball, Ralph Losey and Patrick Oot was a feat in itself. The facilities at Capital One were first-class as was the food and hospitality. We got…

• Cloud Computing, Virtualization and Computer Forensics

  Sharon D. Nelson, Esq.

  10 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  The world of computer forensics has never been a stable one. Few worlds morph as fast as ours. There has been much discussion recently about the impact of cloud computing and virtualization on computer forensics. I have, dare I say it, found the conclusions "cloudy." In truth, I'm not sure we have yet grasped what all of the implications will be. I have asked John for his thoughts on this and he has promised to provide them when I cease to nag him about other deadlines. As I'm not sure that day will EVER come, I would cheerfully ask readers to consider offering up a guest…

• 
  LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard

• Bring eDiscovery In-house While Avoiding Pitfalls

  jjbeard

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  InsideCounsel offers some tips for those interested in bringing eDiscovery in-house while avoiding pitfalls, including some comments from yours truly. Check out "Inside Job" in InsideCounsel's November issue, published in the monthly Technology section. It's truly a challenging time for companies, but it's doable with the appropriate vision and approach.  Many GC's and AGC's are under significant pressure to reduce their litigation and eDiscovery spend.  Along with other approaches, more and more this usually includes looking inward to insource and automate repeatable and defensible…

• 10 Tips for Safe Social Networking for Attorneys & Experts

  jjbeard

  26 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  LinkedIn. Facebook. Twitter. Blogs.  Bob Ambrogi, always on the forefront of web technologies and their impact, recently published two helpful "Top 10" articles - one each for attorneys and experts, with some great tips for those navigating online communities for networking and socializing. One such tip is to separate professional and personal contacts into different networks.  However, don't fall prey to the myth of anonymity or that restricted social networks will necessarily protect you.  It isn't always clear which content is restricted to just your approved network…

• Legal EHR Summit: Thoughts & Impressions, Part 1

  jjbeard

  17 Aug 2009 | 5:00 pm

  From the many presentations and discussions at the AHIMA sponsored Legal EHR Summit in Chicago, it's clear that healthcare records and records management in the U.S. are changing.  (In case you were wondering, "EHR" = Electronic Health Record).  In George Paul's (Lewis & Roca) keynote, he shared how the U.S. government is pouring money into healthcare records via incentives in the ARRA and HITECH acts.  Several presenters referred to these changes as the biggest change to healthcare privacy and security rules since HIPAA was enacted.  Indeed, even as we discussed these…

• Blogging at the Legal EHR Summit in Chicago Next Week

  jjbeard

  12 Aug 2009 | 5:00 pm

  What do e-Iatrogenesis, HIT, CPOE, EHR, and eDiscovery all have in common?  They're just some of the many medicolegal and technological terms and issues being discussed next week at the Legal EHR Summit at the Chicago Marriott Downtown.  The summit is organized by AHIMA, the American Health Information Management Association. As our nation's healthcare industry becomes even more computerized and integrated, partly due to ARRA (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), the intersection of healthcare, electronic records, records management, and legal issues (including…

• “Moldy” Twitter Post Draws Lawsuit

  jjbeard

  4 Aug 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Yet another twitter post, this one by a Chicago tenant referring to an allegedly moldy apartment, draws a $50,000 lawsuit against the Twitterer for defamation.  As the tweet was reposted within Twitter and around the world, it provides a wealth of evidence as to not only the post itself, but its far reach across the Internet. Both sides are going to lose in this suit, though.  According to the article, the original poster could very well lose the suit.  Even if she ultimately prevails, it's going to cost her dearly in defense fees.  Likewise, the realty management firm's…

• 
  The Evince Blog

• I love a good detective story

  Chris Pierre

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:58 am

  ….as much as the next investigator and this is a good detective story. On Friday I received my regular email from Rob Holmes, PI’s Knockoff Report which is a collection of news stories relating to intellectual property fraud and counterfeiting. By reviewing this report and the reports produced by the International Chamber of Commerce’s BASCAP initiative you can get a pretty good sense of trends in counterfeiting and piracy globally. Friday’s edition of the Knockoff Report included a story relating to an investigation conducted by Holmes and his colleagues as opposed to…

• Recommendation: Virtual Consumerism: Case Habbo Hotel

  Chris Pierre

  31 Oct 2009 | 12:16 pm

  Occasionally when I’m speaking to another investigator about possible illicit activities that can occur in virtual item markets or RMT I get the question “but why would anybody pay money for a virtual item?”. My usual answer is “well, in a sense it doesn’t matter why, the point is that they do and that is why there is a market for these things.” The truth is that I didn’t really have a great answer, but I’m starting finding some sources that have provided some very good insight. The first place I would suggest any reader to stop is an article on…

• Testing…testing…

  Chris Pierre

  14 Oct 2009 | 7:51 pm

  Here is the problem I’m trying to solve. Lately I have had numerous cases where evidence is found in online video and in audio podcasts. I needed a way to archive and analyze this material, at least the verbal part of it. My proposed solution is to use a speech to text software to transcribe the audio portion of the video (or the podcast…obviously) to text. Hopefully this will allow me to provide my clients with text to accompany the video or audio recording. I can also take portions of the transcript and use it in my reports/briefs, etc. Furthermore where certain keywords are of…

• Anti-Corruption Advice

  Chris Pierre

  10 Oct 2009 | 11:17 am

  Corporations wishing to examine their current anti-corruption policies may want to review the latest issue of Management Ethics, produced by the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy. The cover story reminds readers that “bribing foreign public officials in order to obtain or retain an advantage in the course of business was made a criminal offence on February 14, 1999″. The six “test” questions are simple but important considerations for any corporation that does business with Government, anywhere. I would encourage you to give this one page article a read.

• UK Court Serves Injunction Via Twitter

  Chris Pierre

  1 Oct 2009 | 10:04 pm

  In December of 2008 an Australian court allowed the service of legal papers through Facebook. It looks like the trend has now extended to Twitter. According to an article in Reuters a UK court has served an injunction to stop a blogger from impersonating a lawyer in the UK. The “tweetist” remains anonymous at this time, which is why the court determined that this was the best venue to reach him or her. With Facebook you have a significant amount of evidence to indicate that the person that you are intending to serve is the person behind the profile. You may have identifiers such…

• 
  JD Supra Electronic Discovery

• Don’t Text & Drive…but Can the Police Search Your Cell Phone at the Traffic Stop?

  Joshua Gilliland

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:29 am

  Contributor: Joshua Gilliland [View: Profile | Documents]

• When Jurors “Friend” the Plaintiffs on Facebook…

  Joshua Gilliland

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:23 am

  Contributor: Joshua Gilliland [View: Profile | Documents]

• Extra! Extra! No Tweeting in Court!

  Joshua Gilliland

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:19 am

  Contributor: Joshua Gilliland [View: Profile | Documents]

• BlackBerry Boo-Boos: How to Get the Judge to Text You Adverse Inference Instructions

  Joshua Gilliland

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:15 am

  Contributor: Joshua Gilliland [View: Profile | Documents]

• In the Eye of the Beholder: The Relevance of Facebook Evidence

  Joshua Gilliland

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:10 am

  Contributor: Joshua Gilliland [View: Profile | Documents]

• 
  docNative Paradigm Blog

• Herb Roitblat on ED Searches

  Tom O'Connor

  12 Nov 2009 | 7:45 am

  Herb Roitblat, co-founder and a Principal at OrcaTec, responded to the joint ED Search post that Ron Friedmann and I put up last week. His response is lengthy but well worth reading so I am dividing it into two posts based on the two sections of the response itself. Part 1 appears below and I will post the second half tomorrow.  Hi, guys.  Thanks for your stimulating discussion about search.  I have some thoughts to share.  First, Ron, you do have the mathematical chops to understand the Categorix white paper.  It is not mathematical capabilities that limit your ability to understand…

• Joint Post With Ron Friedmann On The Best Approach to EDD Search

  Tom O'Connor

  29 Oct 2009 | 8:42 pm

  This is a two-part, joint blog post.  As Ron Friedmann explains “I recently spent some time looking at Xerox’s new CategoriX EDD tool and writing a post about it.  After reading it, I realized it would be helpful to set my discussion in a broader context. So I turned to my friend and e-discovery expert Tom O’Connor and author of the docNative Paradigm Blog . What follows is a combined post; we wrote each section individually and are cross posting this. “ Xerox CategoriX and Musings on the Best Approach to EDD Search by Ron Friedmann In early October, Xerox Litigation…

• Kellner Say Cooperation Now The Law in 7th Circuit

  Tom O'Connor

  26 Oct 2009 | 8:43 am

  The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which  covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin and all  the federal district and  appellate courts therein, including of course Chicago) has begun an Electronic Discovery Pilot Program. It was, according to the report itself “Developed as a result of (a) continuing comments by business leaders and practicing attorneys, regarding the need for reform of the civil justice pretrial discovery process in the United States,(b) the release of the March 11, 2009 Final Report on the Joint Project of the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery…

• Quick Report on ECA from The Masters Conference

  Tom O'Connor

  14 Oct 2009 | 12:31 pm

  Ron Friedmann sat in on a session at The Masters Conference called Early Case Assessment: Looking to the Future – From Early Assessment to Early Awareness. His notes included the following key points: What is ECA? It’s getting an early look at the facts of your case and at the scope of discovery. Where are the immediate savings; how is this different than past? It’s not a tool per se, it’s a method (a process, the right people, and technology). ECA does not generate savings very early – it’s not about upfront savings. You have to invest at the outset to learn about the…

• A Few Recent Happenings in the ED World

  Tom O'Connor

  12 Oct 2009 | 9:01 am

  Here’s several interesting topics that have developed in the last week:  The discussion about ED standards that I broached in my post of Sept. 21 continues to percolate. The most recent take on the debate is a posting on EDD Update by Seattle lawyer and technologist Eric Blank who raises some interesting points about data exchange protocols, capture rates and the use of consultants. You can expect those points, and many others, to be discussed at The Master Conference this week in Washington, D.C.  Chuck Kellner will be there speaking on Information Cooperation, a subject on which Chuck…

• 
  CA on Information Governance

• Need IG But Don't Know Where To Start - How About ROI?

  Steven Krementz

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:31 pm

  It's that time of year again. Chestnuts are getting ready to be roasted and visions of sugar plums are dancing in everyone's head.  Well, maybe.  But one thing is for sure: it's budget planning time for 2010 and one of the things you've been thinking about is how to get that information governance (IG) project jump started within the context of meeting compliance and legal mandates against the backdrop of tight capital and operational budgets.  Getting Started A great way to get started - and a sure fire way to get the CFO on your side - is to conduct a…

• Preservation Critical to In-House Counsel

  Aimee Williams

  12 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am

  A recent decision was handed down in the Swofford v. Eslinger case which sanctioned in-house counsel (but not outside counsel) for failure to preserve evidence, especially email and laptops.  The attorney sanctioned was general counsel for a government entity, the Seminal County Sheriff's Department.    What was unique about this case was the fact the monetary sanctions were brought against in-house counsel for spoliation of evidence even though he was not the attorney of record or a named party. The amount of sanctions (to be determined under separate order) will most…

• An Information Governance Observation

  Adam Dworkin

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:05 pm

  We used to write letters. We used to send faxes. Even people actually speaking to each other on the phone have been impacted by email and instant messaging. Anyone who lives even the smallest semblance of a digital life, sending just a few emails to friends, to the folks who are always connected, leave their tracks all over the digital landscape. Nowhere is this more a fact then within companies. The digital footprints users leave behind may present significant risk to an organization. When people created only physical documents the governance of these pieces of paper presented a relatively…

• The Challenge of eDiscovery and Searching ESI Content Out on File Systems

  Mike Scarola

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:01 am

  With the changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure pertaining to ESI or Electronically Stored Content, the burden of producing information during the Discovery phase has gotten even tougher. Though the emphasis and majority of information searched and produced will comprise primarily of email content, don't forget that ESI means file system data as well. Not only will Legal teams have to parse through, hold and produce traditional email content, but also start searching home drives and laptop hard drives for Word docs, spreadsheets, PDF's, etc.... And therein lies the crux of…

• Data Loss Prevention Compliments Information Governance

  Greg Clark

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:53 am

  Over the past year, market and customer requirements around data security and information governance have been converging.  By its very nature, data loss prevention (DLP) techniques for applying and enforcing policy for data at rest and in motion compliment and support a myriad of good information governance practices.   For instance, in the email archiving space, we’ve long had policies and analysis capabilities that helped organizations govern information to remain in compliance (regulatory or otherwise). With growing volumes of information flowing in and out of the enterprise…

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  E-Discovery Forum - E-Discovery News

• Upcoming Events - December - Electronic Discovery

  Electronic Discovery News Feed

  19 Nov 2009 | 9:57 pm

  Upcoming Events - December Pennsylvania Bar Institute – E-Discovery December 3, 2009 PBI Professional Development Conference Center Heinz 57 Center 339 Sixth Ave., 7th Floor Pittsburgh, PA K&L Gates partner David Cohen will present “The Year in Review,” a closer look at some of the most important and interesting opinions of 2009. Cases to be discussed cover a myriad of topics including preservation of ESI, the discoverability of metadata, format of production, and much much more. To learn more and to register, click here. IQPC 8th Annual Electronic Discovery…

• Survey Finds 73 Percent of Enterprises Plan to Bring E-Discovery In-House in Response

  Electronic Discovery News Feed

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pm

  Survey Finds 73 Percent of Enterprises Plan to Bring E-Discovery In-House in Response to Rise in E-Discovery Requests Clearwell Systems, Inc., a leader in intelligent e-discovery, today announced findings from a survey conducted in partnership with analyst firm Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG). The survey, titled "Trends in Electronic Discovery: A Market Perspective" quantifies both the rise in e-discovery and litigation over the past year. Additionally, the survey findings reinforce the need for increased enterprise readiness to manage the expected growth in volume of cases in 2010.

• Keeping a Secret Across Jurisdictions - Electronic Discovery

  Electronic Discovery News Feed

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pm

  Keeping a Secret Across Jurisdictions Beware the differing privilege regimes in the global environment Few potential exports are more controversial in the global marketplace than aspects of a country's legal system, and in few instances are the effects of a product's acceptance or rejection more profoundly felt. In the context of antitrust litigation, cross-border privilege questions and document seizures (often in the form of "dawn raids") in international cartel cases are familiar problems. These issues also received some measure of broader attention two years ago when the…

• â??Need to globalise legal services in Indiaâ?? - Electronic Discovery

  Electronic Discovery News Feed

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pm

  â??Need to globalise legal services in Indiaâ?? THE economic downturn has compelled organisations to focus on cost reduction in research and analytical work, which is typically the background process for investment banks and law firms. As a result, companies have begun to outsource higher volumes, says Matthew Banks, Senior VP â?? Legal Services, Integreon in an interview with Sunitha Natti of TNIE. Excerpts: What are the emerging trends in the KPO/LPO industry? With increased pressure to cut costs, organisations like investment banks, law firms, consulting firms and large corporates are…

• Key Ruling in BofA Securities Class Action Gives Plaintiffs Access to Treasure Trove

  Electronic Discovery News Feed

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pm

  Key Ruling in BofA Securities Class Action Gives Plaintiffs Access to Treasure Trove of Documents Let's hope the plaintiffs lawyers in the Bank of America securities class action suit have some big wheelbarrows, or at least terabytes of computer hard drive space. On Tuesday, in a huge win for shareholders, Manhattan federal district court Judge Denny Chin took the unusual step of lifting the statutory discovery stay in the securities fraud case. His order will give the plaintiffs access to the mountains of documents that BofA and related defendants have already turned over to Congress, the…

• 
  e-Discovery Insights

• Privacy: There's Still Hope

  Perry L. Segal

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:48 am

  Wow.  Four posts in a row on privacy?  I think that's a record...But I have to be fair.  The Wall Street Journal published this dissenting view on where the trend is headed.  In fact, they cite a case I covered for you back in August to support their claim.  To be honest, when I speak of privacy I'm usually referring to using company products to conduct company business (unless you use your personal PC for that purpose).However, the bottom line is this; it's still a crap-shoot.  If you're going to perform non-business-related duties on a company PC, you run the risk that someone is…

• "A World without Anonymity"

  Perry L. Segal

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:34 am

  In this summary of five recent cases, CNN Tech asks, "Can the Law Keep Up with Technology?".  Yeah, I know...I'm harping on privacy again...what can I say?  Good things come in threes...My only other two comments are, 1) you're not supposed to start a sentence with the word 'can', and, 2) the answer to the question is 'no'.  There.  Solved.The law will never be able to keep up with technology.  The day the law keeps up with technology is the day Congress is replaced by Deep Blue.In the meantime, CNN's summary is worth a look.

• Case Got Your Tongue? Corrections, Cavalier Attitudes & Black Holes

  Perry L. Segal

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:26 am

  Our 'privacy' theme continues on...Like it or not, you don't enjoy the level of privacy you think you do, and copping an attitude about it only makes things worse.  For example, I regularly caution my clients about their third-party agreements.  I don't care that your contract says the third-party is required to cooperate.  When litigation arises, many of those same third-parties will ignore the agreement and circle the wagons.Take a look at Dawe v. Corrections USA, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96461 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 1, 2009).  The third-party defendant refused to comply with plaintiff's request…

• Pop! Goes Your Privacy!

  Perry L. Segal

  13 Nov 2009 | 10:01 am

  Remember how I went on and on about the fact that what you do and say in your personal life (particularly online, after all this is an e-discovery blog) may become relevant in a legal proceeding?  Remember how I told you that there are several cases pending that might completely change the definition of privacy?  And remember when I nagged you like your (Please fill-in-the-blank here; mother, grandmother, psychiatrist, attorney, etc.  Hey - I'm not dumb enough to actually name someone and make them mad at me!) when I implored you to stop making those inappropriate posts on…

• This is Just Plain Scary...

  Perry L. Segal

  12 Nov 2009 | 8:21 am

  ...to the point that I didn't even want to come up with a catchy title.  Just read the lead-in to this story from the Associated Press:"Of all the sinister things that Internet viruses do, this might be the worst: They can make you an unsuspecting collector of child pornography."Look, I'm not naive.  The 'I didn't do it' defense is as common as apple pie.  That's not the point.  The point is, sometimes it's true.  I touched briefly on child porn issues a couple of times and I'm the first to admit; I don't even want to discuss it.  [Note to the attorneys out there - especially if you're…

• 
  Bow Tie Law's Blog

• Bribing Witnesses with Text Messages, Cell Phones and Fake Email Accounts

  bowtielaw

  20 Nov 2009 | 8:38 am

  Sometimes there are fact patterns that surprise you how far we have come with technology and the foolishness of people.  In People v. McInnis, the Defendant was convicted of attempted witness bribery.  The Defendant attempted to keep witnesses from testifying against the Defendant’s nephew, in the nephew’s trial for robbery and kidnapping.  People v. McInnis, 2009 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 9046 (California Unpublished Opinions 2009). The basis of the Defendant’s appeal was based on alleged “outrageous governmental conduct” by a police investigating officer.  The Court…

• Don’t Text & Drive…but Can the Police Search Your Cell Phone at the Traffic Stop?

  bowtielaw

  11 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  “The plaintiffs have not explained why the City of Chicago had no authority to enact legislation designed to protect the safety of its roads in this way, nor can we think of any restriction on its powers under either federal or state law that is so obvious we would need to take note of it here. The district court correctly dismissed the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment claim.” Schor v. City of Chicago, 576 F.3d 775, 779 (7th Cir. 2009) Hands Free Means Hands Free in Chicago In case anyone was wondering, those Hands Free laws are Constitutional, at least in Illinois.  In Chicago, three…

• When Jurors “Friend” the Plaintiffs on Facebook…

  bowtielaw

  9 Nov 2009 | 5:30 am

  Plaintiffs brought a motion for a new trial because of an email sent by a juror to the Plaintiffs’ attorney four days after a defense verdict.  Wilgus v. F/V Sirius, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100094 (D. Me. Oct. 27, 2009).  The email stated:  [D]id you know your plaintiff[s] advocated the use of mushrooms and weed smoking, and binge drinking all over the internet? . . . It['s] really sad what happened but with all the work going into this don['t] you think you should have address[ed] this issue and known such things so they could clean up their acts before court? I’m just trying…

• Extra! Extra! No Tweeting in Court!

  bowtielaw

  7 Nov 2009 | 9:39 pm

  In United States v. Shelnutt, a member of the press requested the right to “Tweet” a criminal trial on Twitter.  The court denied the request pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 53. United States v. Shelnutt, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101427 (M.D. Ga. Nov. 2, 2009).  Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 53 states, in relevant part: “[T]he court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.” Shelnutt, at *2, citing Fed. R. Crim. P. 53 The Court held that…

• BlackBerry Boo-Boos: How to Get the Judge to Text You Adverse Inference Instructions

  bowtielaw

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am

  Southeastern Mechanical Services, Inc., v Brody, et al., is the story of how wiping the data off your BlackBerry can result with the Court having you drawn and quartered.  Not with horses, but with adverse inference instructions. In a trade secret case where Individual Defendants left the Plaintiff’s company and went to the Defendant’s company, issues with BlackBerry data spoliation exploded like a fireball in the night.  Southwestern Mechanical Services, Inc., v Brody, et al., 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis 85430 (August 2009).  There is an “app” for that sort of spoliation called adverse…

• 
  Delaware eDiscovery Report

• 3rd Circuit Doesn't Dig 'Hiding the Ball' Game

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:25 pm

  In a case squarely pitting cooperation against adversarial discovery practices, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit was not amused by defense counsels' obstructionism. Two of the three judges on the panel are members of the Delaware Bar: Judges Thomas L. Ambro and Kent A. Jordan. [T]he defense lawyers walk away unsanctioned, but their victory didn't come without a price. Having taken the appeal to remove any smudge on their reputations, they succeeded in their two key legal arguments, but were made to endure a lecture on ethics and civility from the 3rd Circuit panel in a…

• A Casual Conversation on Search and Collection

  21 Oct 2009 | 4:06 pm

  I'd like to thank Chris and Morris James for the opportunity to participate on this blog and share my thoughts.  Just the other day, Chris, as he is apt to do, sent me a provocative question: "Do you guys ever use keywords during collection?"  As a practitioner here in Wilmington, I enjoy this type of open ended question, because normally I can answer it and then riff on the topic like a jazz musician.  Here is the content of that improv we conducted via email: VMC:  I wouldn't recommend keywords for standard collection from Email or other ESI repositories, but I…

• What Every Businessperson Should Know About E-Discovery

  19 Oct 2009 | 3:51 pm

  This video has been on YouTube for a while and made the rounds before, but it's so straightforward I think it's worth sharing again here.

• Old ZyLAB Promotional Video from 1994

  6 Oct 2009 | 3:58 pm

  This is apparently a 15-year-old ZyLAB promotional video recently posted on YouTube.  The video covers some eDiscovery related technologies, including OCR, fuzzy searching, and automatic bates numbering.  I figured all you eDiscovery geeks would enjoy this peek into the past.  The eDiscovery specific stuff starts at 3:41.    

• Legal Project Management Goes Viral!

  30 Sep 2009 | 1:42 pm

  OK, maybe not, but it has been getting more action than usual.  I've been following a running conversation recently on the use of project management (PM) software in the practice of law.  The larger discussion on PM in the law is fascinating, and I highly recommend reading the whole conversation, but I only mention it here because the conversation touches on PM in eDiscovery at several points and provides some keen observations on that intersection.  I've tried to extract and present those nuggets below. Rees Morrison, author of the Law Department Management blog, got things…

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  e-Discovery Team

• Jurors Rebel, Defy Judges, and Google Their Own Truth

  Ralph Losey

  15 Nov 2009 | 8:19 pm

  Over a century ago Justice Holmes wrote that “[t]he theory of our [legal] system is that the conclusions to be reached in a case will be induced only by evidence and argument in open court, and not by any outside influence, whether of private talk or public print.” Patterson v. Colorado, 205 U.S. 454, 462 (1907). [...]

• A Supreme Court Justice Writes the Preface to a Sedona Conference Journal on the Cooperation Proclamation

  Ralph Losey

  8 Nov 2009 | 6:14 pm

  In a major coup for The Sedona Conference and electronic discovery specialists everywhere, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court has weighed in on e-discovery and written the preface to a special supplement of the Sedona Conference Journal, The Sedona Conference Journal, Vol. 10 Supplement, Fall 2009. Here is an excerpt from the Preface by Justice Breyer: [The [...]

• In-House Counsel Sanctioned for Defendant’s Failure to Preserve Evidence

  Ralph Losey

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:15 am

  A recent decision in Orlando imposed sanctions against in-house counsel for failure to preserve evidence, including email and laptops. Swofford v. Eslinger, Case. No.6:08-cv-Orl-35DAB (FL.M.D. Sept. 28, 2009). Many courts have imposed monetary sanctions against outside counsel of record for their negligence in working with their clients to preserve evidence. See eg., Green v. McClendon, 2009 WL 2496275 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. [...]

• The Non-Cooperation Proclamation

  Ralph Losey

  25 Oct 2009 | 4:26 pm

  Guest Blog by Bill E. Boie,  a Real Litigator from a law firm near you. I want to thank Ralph Losey for the opportunity to respond to the tidal wave of good-intentioned drivel that appears week after week on this blog. Its been going on for two years now. I just can’t take it anymore. All [...]

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  EDD Update

• LTN Awards: Deadline Extended, Fee Waived

  Monica Bay

  19 Nov 2009 | 2:17 pm

  The economy has hit hard on law firm budgets, and especially on discretionary spending for support professionals — sooooo, we have decided to WAIVE the entry fee (and extend the nominating deadline) for our 2009 LTN Law Firm/Law Department Awards. The new deadline is Friday, December 4.This also makes it easier for those of you who want to nominate colleagues who might work for other organizations! And in these turbulent times, it's especially important that we recognize the innovations, hard work, and talent of legal technology leaders and visionaries!Categories include:• IT Director…

• EDRM Data Set Project: EDRM Enron PST Files Now Available

  George Socha

  19 Nov 2009 | 8:20 am

  The EDRM Enron PST files are now available on the EDRM website. They are posted as 32 zipped files, each less than 700 MB in size. Also posted is a spreadsheet listing the zipped files and the 168 .pst files contained in the zipped files. There are several ways to reach the files. The simplest is: Go to the main EDRM page, http://edrm.net. Select the Data Set icon. That will take you to the main Data Set page, http://edrm.net/activities/projects/data-set. Select the “Enron Downloads” tab, and download the files listed there. Please let us know if you have any questions, problems or…

• Corcoran Group Sanctioned

  Monica Bay

  17 Nov 2009 | 7:55 pm

  RT @leecomms: Corcoran Group sanctioned for ediscovery failure and deleting e-mails in spite of repeated warnings http://tinyurl.com/yzzt68s  (New York Law Journal article).

• Catalyst Introduces Fast Track

  Theodora Blanchfield

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:23 am

  Colorado-based Catalyst Repository Systems has introduced its Fast Track integrated processing software. With Fast Track, users can submit multi-language Exchange pst, Lotus Notes NSF, and other electronic files directly into Catalyst CR, the company’s web-based search and review software, says CEO John Tredennick. Full release here.

• Kroll Ontrack Upgrades Advanceview and Inview to 6.1

  Theodora Blanchfield

  17 Nov 2009 | 7:52 am

  Kroll Ontrack has introduced the latest versions of its early case assessment software, Ontrack Advanceview 6.1, and document review program, Ontrack Inview 6.1. The upgraded versions add statistical sampling functions, new analytic reports, and enhanced searching and sorting capabilities. Full release here.  

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  Litigation Support Industry: Business News and Information Blog

• RELM Holdings Inc. Executes a Letter of Intent for Acquisition of a South East Electronic Document Management Company

  10 Nov 2009 | 11:34 am

  RELM Holdings Inc. (PINKSHEETS: RELM) announced today that it executed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire 100% of the equity interests in a well established Electronic Document Management company with facilities in the South East and Midwest. Management noted that the target company will remain undisclosed pending the execution of definitive agreements per customary non-disclosure terms agreed on by the parties. The Company, founded in 1990, provides high-quality document management services to its clients in the pharmaceutical, legal, financial services, healthcare and commercial markets…

• Dolan Media Acquires Majority Interest in DiscoverReady

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:37 am

  MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2009-- Dolan Media Company (NYSE: DM), a leading provider of professional services and business information to the legal, financial and real estate sectors in the United States, said today that it acquired an 85% equity interest in DiscoverReady, LLC, a leading provider of outsourced discovery management and fixed-fee document review services to major companies and their counsel.With headquarters in New York City and an office in Charlotte, N.C., DiscoverReady assists major corporations and their counsel in litigation and regulatory matters by providing…

• Avalon Document Services Acquires Exacta Legal

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:13 am

  Buffalo NY based Exacta Legal was acquired by Avalon Document Services.Avalon Document Services announced the acquisition of one of its local competitors, Exacta Legal, in a move that formalized a long-standing relationship between the two litigation support services firms. The companies are part of a growing local presence in the electronic document management and discovery business that includes IKON, D-4 LLC and Toshiba Business Solutions, all with offices serving Buffalo.Though Avalon first looked into acquiring the company last summer, J.P. Midgley, managing partner at Avalon’s Buffalo…

• Integreon to Raise $100 Million to Fund Acquisitions

  28 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm

  Mumbai, Oct 25 (PTI) Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) firm Integreon is looking to raise about USD 80-100 million through private equity to fund acquisitions in India and overseas. "We are looking to seek commitment to the level of USD 80-100 million (solely through private equity) and whenever there is an opportunity, we will use that capital for an acquisition," Integreon Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific, Lokendra Tomar, told PTI here.He said the company intends to complete fund-raising in the next one or two quarters. Integreon provides outsourced knowledge, legal, and…

• Altep Acquires Chicago Based Integrated eSolutions

  30 Sep 2009 | 4:20 pm

  Altep, Inc of Texas announced it had acquired Chicago based Integrated eSolutions for an undisclosed amount. Altep reports that it acquired a strong presence in the important Chicago legal market, and Integrated eSolutions will benefit from the advanced technology and low cost processing offered by Altep from its El Paso, Texas headquarters.

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  The Posse List

• The Georgetown Law Advanced E-Discovery Institute: a review

  mrposse

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:11 pm

  19 November 2009 Reporting for The Posse List:  Gregory Bufithis, Scott Madsen and Alex Hania Last week Georgetown Law CLE, in cooperation with the Sedona Conference, presented its 6th Annual Advanced E-Discovery Institute.  It was one of the best conferences we’ve attended on e-discovery and that is based on the content covered, the experts/luminaries in the e-discovery field that spoke at the panels, and the interaction between the audience and the panels plus the informal sessions.  Moreover, the Institute had an all-star U.S. judicial bench in attendance:  Magistrate Judge…

• November 19th: A great webinar on European data privacy

  mrposse

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:05 pm

  LDM Global (for more about the company click here) is an international information management/litigation support solutions provider.  It specializes in data recovery, computer forensics, large scale electronic and paper based discovery services and international projects. We had the opportunity to meet Scott Merrick, International Marketing Director of LDM Global, at a “Managing Cross-border Discovery” panel during the International Legal Support Leaders Conference this past May (click here). LDM Global is hosting a webinar tomorrow on “European Data Privacy – Consent and…

• The Sheppard Mullin / eTERA Consulting Corporate Educational Seminars

  mrposse

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:40 am

  We recently attended the first in a series of CLE corporate briefing seminars jointly sponsored by Sheppard Mullin and eTERA Consulting.  The seminars focus on emerging legal issues under the Obama Administration.   The focus of the first session was on understanding and managing cartel investigations in the U.S. and abroad. The panel of experts, including Robert Magielnicki, Donald Klawiter, and Jennifer M. Driscoll-Chippendale (all partners in Sheppard Mullen’s Washington, DC office), Daniel Brown partner in Sheppard Mullen’s New York office), and Bob Gillespie, Vice President ESI…

• The Georgetown Law Advanced E-Discovery Institute: Cross-Border E-Discovery & International Data

  mrposse

  15 Nov 2009 | 8:15 pm

  15 November 2009 In June 2009 the Sedona Conference held it’s program Cross-Border eDiscovery and Data Privacy.  The Posse List was there and covered the event (click here). The Georgetown panel was composed of several Sedona participants: James Daley, Kenneth Rashbaum, and Alexander Blumrosen. The technology and cultural challenges posed by cross-border discovery conflicts are many.  The challenge can be summarized as follows: with the globalization of business and the resultant flow of data across country borders, data sought in litigation, particularly litigation involving…

• The Georgetown Law Advanced E-Discovery Institute: Litigation is the key — How E-Discovery “Fits” into Civil Actions

  mrposse

  15 Nov 2009 | 6:56 pm

  15 November 2009 When it comes to the flow of litigation information, law firms and clients often feel trapped in a cyclone of data that supersedes substantive issues of a case, both in cost and attention from the court.   Ron Hedges  led the panel and discussed the “flow of litigation” and how active case management (by judges and attorneys) is the key to controlling cost and delay that can result from discovery of electronically stored information (ESI), making reference to motions to dismiss in lieu of answers and reasons to seek stays of discovery rather than beginning…

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  eClaris Blog

• Litigation Support Computer Forensics Challenges

  13 Nov 2009 | 7:41 am

  Most litigation support staff understand the basic challenges of electronic discovery. However, while many forensic methods are used in e-Discovery, computer forensics is a unique discipline. “[F]orensic science is the application of a scientific discipline to the law, the essence of all forensic disciplines concerns the principles applied to the detection, collection, preservation, and analysis of evidence to ensure its admissibility in legal proceedings. Computer forensics refers to the tools and techniques to recover, preserve, and examine data stored or transmitted in binary…

• New eClaris Senior eDiscovery Consultant

  28 Oct 2009 | 9:46 am

  Former Litigation Support Manager and Industry Veteran, Jeff Steve, Boosts eClaris’ Internal Electronic Discovery Expertise eClaris, Inc.today announced the addition of Jeff Steve to its eDiscovery team.  Steve joins eClaris as a Senior eDiscovery Consultant in its Los Angeles office and has 18 years of experience in litigation technology.  Litigation support managers will benefit directly from Steve’s seasoned experience helping AmLaw 200 law firms and Fortune 500 companies effectively manage the discovery of electronically stored information.     As…

• Colorado Electronic Discovery Summit

  28 Oct 2009 | 9:27 am

  eClaris is pleased to be attending the 3rd annual eDiscovery Summit organized by the COALSP.  The symposium will take place on October 30, 2009 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Denver, Colorado.  eClaris looks forward to participating in this exciting educational seminar on electronic discovery and evidence with its dynamic set of speakers which include leading judges, attorneys and litigation support personnel.  To schedule a time to meet with eClaris at this conference please email service@eclaris.com and for more on the Colorado Association of Litigation Support Professionals…

• Seventh Circuit Ediscovery Pilot Program

  22 Oct 2009 | 10:06 am

  The Seventh Circuit has adopted an ediscovery pilot program.  It's report is available here:  http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/7thCircuit_ElectronicDiscovery.pdf and is well worth studying for guidance on how to handle ediscovery.  What makes this program unique is that it is actually being tested in trials: "Individual district court judges,magistrate judges, and bankruptcy judges in the Seventh Circuit have agreed to adopt the Principles and implement them in selected cases during the Phase One period. This will be done through entry of the [Proposed] Standing Order…

• When Employees Leave - What about their data

  20 Oct 2009 | 3:27 pm

  When I was a General Counsel, we started a policy in my company of retaining the hard drive of the employee.  In some cases we would also copy the email store from the server and the network share to a DVD and keep a copy.  This isn't something we started out doing, we had a couple of employees leave to work for competitors who we were pretty certain had taken our proprietary data when they left.  Once we experienced that, we realized that we would have been better off to have the original hard drive.  Forensic tools can capture whether data was copied onto an external…