Our Insights on eDiscovery

Read on to learn more about the latest trends and insights in the world of digital discovery.
Vacation Case Law Pop Quiz #1!: eDiscovery Case Law
Vacation Case Law Pop Quiz #1!: eDiscovery Case Law 150 150 CloudNine

Here’s an opportunity to give you a chance to catch up on cases we’ve covered so far this year with a case law pop quiz! If you’re reading the blog each day, these questions should be easy! If not, we’ve provided a link to the post with the answer. We’re that nice. Test your knowledge! Tomorrow, we’ll post the answers to this first vacation case law pop quiz for those who don’t know and didn’t look them up.

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Court Sanctions Plaintiff for Failing to Preserve Audio Recording: eDiscovery Case Law
Court Sanctions Plaintiff for Failing to Preserve Audio Recording: eDiscovery Case Law 150 150 CloudNine

In Compass Bank v. Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, California Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo ruled that the plaintiff “wilfully engaged in the spoliation of relevant evidence”, and “has demonstrated a pattern of recalcitrant behavior during discovery in this litigation” and awarded an adverse inference jury instruction sanction against the plaintiff as well as defendant’s attorney fees and costs.

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Want to Save Review Costs? Be the Master of Your Domain(s): eDiscovery Best Practices
Want to Save Review Costs? Be the Master of Your Domain(s): eDiscovery Best Practices 150 150 CloudNine

Yesterday, we discussed how some BigLaw firms mark-up reviewer billing rates two to three times (or more) when billing their clients. But, even if that’s not the case, review is still by far the most expensive phase of eDiscovery. One way to minimize those costs is to identify documents that need little or no review and domain categorization can help in identifying those documents.

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This Firm Marked Up Reviewer Billings Over 500 Percent and that’s Not the Worst Part: eDiscovery Trends
This Firm Marked Up Reviewer Billings Over 500 Percent and that’s Not the Worst Part: eDiscovery Trends 150 150 CloudNine

Remember when we asked the question whether a blended document review rate of $466 per hour is excessive? Many of you weighed in on that one and that post is still our most viewed of all time. Marking up the billing rate for reviewers over 500 percent may or may not also be unacceptable, depending on who you talk to. But, everyone agrees that billing more hours than you actually worked is a bad thing.

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Court Orders Deposition of Expert to Evaluate Issues Resulting from Plaintiff’s Deletion of ESI: eDiscovery Case Law
Court Orders Deposition of Expert to Evaluate Issues Resulting from Plaintiff’s Deletion of ESI: eDiscovery Case Law 150 150 CloudNine

In Procaps S.A. v. Patheon Inc., Florida District Judge Jonathan Goodman ordered the deposition of a third-party computer forensic expert, who had previously examined the plaintiff’s computers, to be conducted in part by a Special Master that had been appointed to examine the eDiscovery and forensic issues in the case. The purpose of the ordered deposition was to help the Court decide the issues related to files deleted by the plaintiff and assist the defendant to decide whether or not to file a sanctions motion.

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Want a Definition of “Possession, Custody, or Control” of ESI? Look to The Sedona Conference: eDiscovery Best Practices
Want a Definition of “Possession, Custody, or Control” of ESI? Look to The Sedona Conference: eDiscovery Best Practices 150 150 CloudNine

Hard to believe that we’re just now getting around to covering it, but The Sedona Conference® released a new commentary back in April. This guide strives to provide guidance to defining the phrase “possession, custody, or control” as it’s used in Federal Rules 34 and 45.

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Here’s a New Job Title that May Catch On – Chief Data Scientist: eDiscovery Trends
Here’s a New Job Title that May Catch On – Chief Data Scientist: eDiscovery Trends 150 150 CloudNine

With big data becoming bigger than ever, the ability for organizations to apply effective data analytics within information governance and electronic discovery disciplines has become more important than ever. With that in mind, one law firm has created a new role that might catch on with other firms and corporations – the role of Chief Data Scientist.

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Gartner Report Estimates eDiscovery Software Market was $1.8 Billion in 2014: eDiscovery Trends
Gartner Report Estimates eDiscovery Software Market was $1.8 Billion in 2014: eDiscovery Trends 150 150 CloudNine

The eDiscovery marketplace grew in 2014 with total software revenue reaching $1.8 billion worldwide, according to Gartner’s annual Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software report, released last week.

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Is Skype a Telecom Company or a Software Company? The Answer Determines Whether They Have to Turn Over Call Records: eDiscovery Trends
Is Skype a Telecom Company or a Software Company? The Answer Determines Whether They Have to Turn Over Call Records: eDiscovery Trends 150 150 CloudNine

Many of us have used Skype to communicate with friends or business colleagues (or maybe both). Can Skype be compelled to turn over those call records? Not if they can help it.

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Defendant Compelled to Produce Employees’ Personal Data in EEOC Dispute: eDiscovery Case Law
Defendant Compelled to Produce Employees’ Personal Data in EEOC Dispute: eDiscovery Case Law 150 150 CloudNine

In EEOC v. DolgenCorp LLC d/b/a Dollar General, Illinois District Judge Andrea R. Wood granted the plaintiff’s motion to compel the defendant to produce electronically-stored information (“ESI”) containing personal information of the defendant’s conditional hires and complete versions of documents that the defendant previously produced with portions redacted due to purported lack of relevance. She also ordered the plaintiff to produce documents previously withheld due to privilege for an in camera review.

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