Our Insights on eDiscovery

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

June 5, 2015

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.

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

June 4, 2015

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.

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

June 3, 2015

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.

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

June 2, 2015

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.

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

June 1, 2015

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.

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

May 29, 2015

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.

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

May 28, 2015

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.

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

May 27, 2015

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.

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

May 26, 2015

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.

For a Successful Outcome to Your Discovery Project, Work Backwards: eDiscovery Best Practices

May 22, 2015

While the Electronic Discovery Reference Model from EDRM has become the standard model for the workflow of the process for handling electronically stored information (ESI) in discovery, it might be helpful to think about the EDRM model backwards, whether you’re the producing party or the receiving party.