Our Insights on eDiscovery

eDiscovery Trends: Same Old Story, Lawyers Struggling to “Get” eDiscovery

August 12, 2011

A couple of days ago, Law Technology News (LTN) published an article entitled Lawyers Struggle to Get a Grasp on E-Discovery, by Gina Passarella, via The Legal Intelligencer. Noting that “[a]ttorneys have said e-discovery can eat up between 50 to 80 percent of a litigation budget”, the article had several good observations and quotes from various eDiscovery thought leaders. So, do you have a game plan for “getting” eDiscovery?

eDiscovery Standards: How Does an Industry Get Them?

August 11, 2011

As discussed yesterday, there is a nascent, but growing, movement pushing for industry standards in eDiscovery. That’s something many litigators may chafe at, thinking that standards and industry benchmarks impose checklists or management processes that tell them how to do their job. But industry standards, when implemented well, provide not only a common standard of care, but can help provide a point of comparison to help drive buying decisions.

eDiscovery Standards: Does the Industry Need Them?

August 10, 2011

eDiscovery Daily recently ran a three part series analyzing eDiscovery cost budgeting. Cost has long been a driving force in eDiscovery decision-making, but it is just one dimension in choosing EDD services. Other industries have well-established standards for quality – think of the automotive or software industries, which have standard measures for defects or bugs. This year there has been a rising call for developing industry standards in eDiscovery to provide quality measures.

eDiscovery Case Law: Bankruptcy Court Denies Foreign Access to Debtor's Emails

August 9, 2011

A Southern District of New York United States Bankruptcy Court denied access to a debtor’s emails on July 22, in a foreign request involving international eDiscovery. In re Toft, No. 11-11049 (ALG), 2011 WL 3023544 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. July 22, 2011), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court determined that to permit a relief request from a German insolvency administrator would directly contravene the “fundamental principles” of U.S. public policy by undermining the right to privacy in electronic communications and the right of parties involved in any court order to receive notice of such proceedings and of their involvement.

eDiscovery Trends: Cloud Covered by Ball

August 8, 2011

What is the cloud, why is it becoming so popular and why is it important to eDiscovery? These are the questions being addressed—and very ably answered—in the recent article Cloud Cover (via Law Technology News) by computer forensics and eDiscovery expert Craig Ball, a previous thought leader interviewee on this blog. As far as the cloud’s importance to the law and to eDiscovery, he says, “the cloud is re-inventing electronic data discovery in marvelous new ways while most lawyers are still grappling with the old.”

eDiscovery Trends: Third Party Vendors Named in McDermott eDiscovery Malpractice Case

August 5, 2011

You might remember eDiscovery Daily’s blog post a few weeks ago about the filing of an eDiscovery malpractice lawsuit against McDermott Will & Emery by J-M Manufacturing Co., a former client of McDermott’s. This case has struck a chord in the eDiscovery community since its filing on June 1, drawing attention to the practices and standards that are at the heart of eDiscovery and outsourced review. Now, the First Amended Complaint has revealed the third party vendors involved in the eDiscovery malpractice suit.

eDiscovery Law: Possible Changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Affecting eDiscovery

August 4, 2011

As reported on Law Technology News recently, a subcommittee of the Judicial Conference of the United States is preparing to make recommendations about the possibility of changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that would improve eDiscovery procedures and rules in the United States, and affect how eDiscovery is conducted abroad.

eDiscovery Case Law: Court Upholds Sanctions for Intentional Spoliation of Unallocated Space Data

August 3, 2011

The Supreme Court of Delaware recently upheld the sanctions against the defendant for wiping the unallocated space on his company’s computer system, despite a court order prohibiting such destruction. In Genger v. TR Investors, LLC, No. 592,2010, 2011 WL 2802832 (Del. July 18, 2011), Arie Genger, CEO of Trans-Resources, Inc., argued that sanctions against him were unreasonable and made a motion for the court to overturn its previous decision regarding spoliation of discovery materials. Instead, after due process, the court upheld its earlier decision.

eDiscovery Trends: OLP Response to LTN Article Regarding eDiscovery Certifications

August 2, 2011

Yesterday, Law Technology News (LTN) published an article entitled E-Discovery Certification: Sham Exams?, by Patrick Oot, which questioned the validity of several of the eDiscovery certification programs that, in their words, are “sprouting up faster than dandelions in May grass”. As you can imagine, the article did not go over swimmingly with organizations that sponsor eDiscovery certification programs. One of those is The Organization of Legal Professionals (OLP). Chere Estrin is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the OLP. Yesterday, I interviewed her regarding the LTN article and the OLP certification program. Here is the interview.

Working Successfully with eDiscovery and Litigation Support Service Providers: Paper is Still Important, Part 2

August 1, 2011

Friday, we talked about the information you should include in a request for proposal for processing a paper discovery collection. Today we’ll review some questions you should ask of a service provider to help you to select the provider that’s the best fit for your case. Of course, you’ll ask for pricing information, if the vendor can meet your schedule requirements, and for references. In addition, here are questions to ask and information to request.