For centuries privacy was effectively established by the difficulty to obtain information without extensive manual research, in-person investigations, and complicated records retrieval. The security afforded by this built-in obstacle has largely been removed with the Read more
US Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck has stayed ESI discovery in the Da Silva Moore case pending the resolution of motions before Manhattan district Read more
Relativity provides flexible and automated workflows, integrated productions, and the ability for users to create custom applications within the software to better manage data associated with e-discoveryprojects. Additionally, Relativity Assisted ...Read the full Read more
(NASDAQ:SYMC) today announced that Autodesk, Inc., a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, has selected Symantec's Clearwell eDiscovery Platform for in-houseeDiscovery. Autodesk's legal and IT teams will use Clearwell to gain ...Read the full article.
"Digital WarRoom is an integrated e-discovery system that removes the risks inherent in the use of separate tools for ESI processing and review." Gallivan, Gallivan and O'Melia (GGO, LLC), the e-discovery experts driving the move toward accessible, ... Read the full article.
The Costa Concordia disaster will certainly result in multiple legal cases of various types. There will be a criminal trial of the captain and possibly other parties. There will be civil suits by victims and families against the cruise line, government agencies, and possibly third party vendors such as electronics manufacturers and equipment providers. Some enterprising claimants may involve Read more
James Holderman is the Chief Judge of the Northern District of Illinois. He and his colleague, Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan, have been captaining the 7th Circuit Electronic Discovery Pilot Project (Pilot Project) since 2009. It is an important experiment. At a minimum, it is a valuable educational exercise for counsel and the participating judges in the district and bankruptcy courts of the Read more
In Part I of this article, we examined certain provisions of Federal Rule of Evidence 502 (FRE 502) in relation to inadvertent disclosure and gauging “reasonable Read more
By: Kevin Patterson, Senior Case Consultant | Advanced Discovery
The following is an exclusive contribution to the ACEDS Expert's Corner, a collection of e-discovery articles and white papers authored by leading organizations and practitioners around the world. To submit a piece for editorial review, please contact Robert Hilson at Read more
E-discovery is becoming an important aspect to corporate investigations of financial fraud. Stephanie Giammarco and Lee Dewey, Partners in the New York office of BDO Consulting, discuss how to address unique e-discovery burdens on corporate counsel, such as how to identify ESI involved in investigations versus litigation, and what skills are required for cost-effective e-discovery.
I recently attended an event that involved a discussion of current issues facing information technology, security, privacy, compliance and e-discovery experts. One of the subjects discussed is whether corporate America is entering a period of “convergence” of these areas. The discussion was in reference to management issues in this context, so I will use the term “management convergence Read more
Michael Quartararo, Director of Litigation Support Services at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in New York, explains how project management principles apply in a litigation support setting. From developing the Project Charter to planning for risk and implementing communications management, project management can benefit law firms and corporate and government legal department decision- Read more
Citing the possibility of hindering financial investigations the DOJ has warned that portions of the proposed amendments to the 1986 Electronic Communications Protections Act would "substantially impair their investigations." Congress will likely take action this year on amending the 25-year-old law. The law appears to have bi-partisan support. Read the complete statement by the DOJ to the Read more
E-discovery is a very expensive proposition in many cases. ACEDS advisory board member John Barkett, immediate past chairman of the ABA National E-Discovery Institute and Miami partner at Shook Hardy Bacon, provides a roadmap to the crucial questions you must ask vendors before contracting with them.
Many organizations are struggling with the question: "do I bring e-discovery in-house?" The difficulty lies in calculating two factors: cost and risk. Just what are the implications for cost and risk? In this webinar we examine the following topics: case law on insourcing vs. outsourcing; testimony considerations; overview on the return on investment; hybrid approach (managed Read more
In this article the authors assess the most important court rulings in 2010, which include more than 300 federal court decisions, and whittle down the leading developments into 10 key issues that all those working on e-discovery matters need to address in 2011. Their commentary offers a blueprint for proactive ways to deal with these issues utilizing practical strategies and devising Read more
This questionnaire is designed to serve as the starting point of a discussion with a client
regarding the identification, preservation, collection and processing of electronically stored information
(“ESI”) for discovery. Many of the questions below are geared toward and may best be answered by a
client’s Information Technology (“IT”) personnel. It is recommended Read more
A recent case study examines the decision made by a Top 5 communications company to implement AccessData (AD) e-discovery. AD e-discovery is a comprehensive in-house solution that maps to the EDRM, walking users in a wizard-driven fashion through the e-discovery lifecycle from litigation hold to the production of load files, TIFFs, PDFs and/or native files for attorney review.
Federal judge Shira Scheindlin says metadata, or information related to the history, tracking or management of an electronic document, is covered under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and must be produced if requested. Read the full opinion and order (National Day Laborer Organizing Network v. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
A special set of skills is needed to help manage the process of identifying relevant data, preserving it, and getting it to the other side or into court. E-discovery is now a multi-disciplinary endeavor: a successful project needs an attorney who is able to utilize help from others, one or more technical types, and input from other stakeholders, such as employees or people who worked on the Read more
A leading e-discovery expert in the federal judiciary, Maryland Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm, has leveled a tough $1.05 million penalty for e-discovery violations that he calls the "single most egregious example of spoliation" he has ever seen.
The 14-year veteran judge on January 24, 2011, told Mark Pappas, president of Creative Pipe, Inc., to pay that sum to defray the Read more
A Florida state judge, finding that DuPont committed an "unconscionable" cover-up scheme and "fraud on the court” with discovery abuses, inflicts "severest of all sanctions" by stripping pleadings in a high-stakes growers pesticide case, leaving the chemical giant exposed to high damages award.
The survey collected data concerning the use of technology in corporate law departments, and was open to any corporate law department (public or private), nonprofit/charitable organization, university, or government legal office. The survey was not open to law firms, software or consulting vendors. There were a total of 54 qualified survey responses, mostly from the US, from a broad cross Read more
On Jan. 18, 2011 the Chancery Court issued “Guidelines for Preservation of Electronically Stored Information” (ESI), a two-page document that because of Delaware’s unique importance is likely to have outsized impact on ESI policy and practices nationwide. This is the first time the court has ever issued guidance on ESI.
Here, the court held that the Defendant failed to take all necessary steps to guarantee that relevant data was both preserved and produced, and granted the Plaintiff's motion for sanctions, an adverse inference instruction. Additionally, it ruled that the Defendant was accountable for paying the costs of any depositions or re-depositions required by its late production of email, and Read more
Same facts as the previous Zubulake opinions. Here, the parties discovered that certain backup tapes are missing from key players during the relevant time period, and the Plaintiff seeks sanctions against the Defendant for failure to preserve backup tapes and emails. The court held that the Defendant’s duty to preserve was triggered before the Plaintiff filed her EEOC charge Read more
Same facts as Zubulake I. After producing the 5 chosen backup tapes, Defendant identified an additional 77 responsive backup tapes, narrowing the scope from the original 94. From the 5 chosen tapes, the restoration and search by the vendor cost $11,524.63 and the review and production cost the Defendant $7,478.80, totaling to $19,003.43. The court held that the responding Read more
Plaintiff employee filed an EEOC charge on 8-16-01, was fired on 10-9-01, and filed her first discovery request from Defendant company on 6-3-02, requesting any communication by or between Defendant’s employees concerning the Plaintiff. Defendant produced 100 pages of responsive emails, claiming that was a complete search. However, the Plaintiff herself produced over 450 Read more
The two-year program seeks to review e-discovery practices with a view to suggesting ways to streamline the process. As of October 1, 2009, the Seventh Circuit Electronic Discovery Committee consists of more than forty experts in the field of electronic discovery. The E-Discovery Committee members include private practitioners from the full spectrum of the bar (plaintiff, defense and Read more
In re Online DVD Rental Antitrust Lit plntffs appeal CAND's 'broad construction of 1920 w/ respect to #ediscovery prod. costs' to 9th Crct 2 days 5 hours ago
Can a $100 per hour law firm staff reviewer compete with a $25 per hour contractor? Yes, but clients need to know what they are buying for the money.
