Our Insights on eDiscovery

Rule 37(e) Amended Again – eDiscovery Trends

April 24, 2014

Last month, we discussed significant changes made to Rule 37(e), which had been hotly debated and was the source of many of the 2,354 public comments filed regarding the recent proposed rules changes. Earlier this month (on April 10th and 11th), the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules met to review proposed amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure, including recommended changes to those proposed amendments as published for public comment and further changes were made to Rule 37(e).

Why the Blog was Down — eDiscovery Downtime

April 23, 2014

If you’ve tried to access the blog for the past couple of days, you’ve experienced a lot of difficulty and, for parts of Monday and Tuesday, got an indication that the URL didn’t exist. Here’s why.

Use of a Bulk File Changer to Manipulate Metadata Leads to Sanctions for Defendant – eDiscovery Case Law

April 21, 2014

In T&E Investment Group, LLC v. Faulkner, Texas District Judge Jorge A. Solis upheld the earlier recommendation of the Magistrate Judge to order an adverse inference sanction, along with monetary sanctions, against the defendant for manipulation of metadata.

New California Proposed Opinion Requires eDiscovery Competence – eDiscovery Trends

April 18, 2014

If a new proposed opinion in California is adopted, attorneys in that state had better be sufficiently skilled in eDiscovery, hire technical consultants or competent counsel that is sufficiently skilled, or decline representation in cases where eDiscovery is required.

Plaintiffs Triumph in Second Motion to Enforce Court Ordered Production of Email Attachments – eDiscovery Case Law

April 17, 2014

In Skepnek v. Roper & Twardowsky, LLC, Kansas Magistrate Judge James P. O’Hara ruled on a second motion filed by the plaintiffs to enforce a discovery order that was not followed completely by the defendants – specifically, the plaintiffs sought to compel the production of email attachments that were not produced along with the emails themselves.

Daughter’s Facebook Post Voids $80,000 Settlement – eDiscovery Trends

April 15, 2014

My boss reminded me that we haven’t had a good social media disaster story in a while, so here goes. I know it’s a few weeks old, but it’s still a good story if you haven’t heard it. As reported a few weeks ago on CNN, the former head of a private preparatory school in Miami lost out an $80,000 discrimination settlement after his daughter boasted about it on Facebook.

Plaintiff Sanctioned for Spoliation of Digital Evidence in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit – eDiscovery Case Law

April 14, 2014

In Calderon v. Corporacion Puertorrique a de Salud, the plaintiff was found to have violated his duty to preserve evidence during the discovery phase of this sexual harassment lawsuit. Sanctions were imposed, though not to the extent requested by the defendants.

Litigation Support Professionals Are Certifiable, Too – eDiscovery Trends

April 11, 2014

We’ve covered programs from The Organization of Legal Professionals (OLP) in the past, including coverage of their certification program for eDiscovery project management. Now, the OLP has announced that it has finalized preparations for a new Litigation Support Certification Exam.

Searching for Individuals Isn’t as Straightforward as You Think – eDiscovery Best Practices

April 10, 2014

I’ve recently worked with a couple of clients who proposed search terms for key individuals that were a bit limited, so I thought this was an appropriate topic to revisit. When looking for documents in your collection that mention key individuals, conducting a name search for those individuals isn’t always as straightforward as you might think. There are potentially a number of different ways names could be represented and if you don’t account for each one of them, you might fail to retrieve key responsive documents – OR retrieve way too many non-responsive documents. Here are some considerations for conducting name searches.

Cloud Security Fears Diminish With Experience – eDiscovery Trends

April 8, 2014

One of the more common trends identified by thought leaders in our recently concluded thought leader series was the continued emergence of the cloud as a viable solution to manage corporate big data. One reason for that appears to be greater acceptance of cloud security. Now, there’s a survey that seems to confirm that trend.