Recent Law Firm & Legal Industry Case Studies and Other Resources
A high-profile brokerage was caught shifting hundreds of millions in debt off the books. A consortium of banks was sued for securities fraud. The law firm defending the banks needed a service provider with experience in complex, high-stakes cases and a robust review platform that could accommodate a geographically dispersed team of reviewers.
A global telecommunications provider, represented by Dickinson Wright, was in the midst of intellectual property litigation. Initially, electronic discovery in the case involved 10 custodians, but after the number of custodians unexpectedly tripled and a looming production delivery date, the company’s prospects for success were suddenly in doubt.
Fios On Request is an “on demand” platform specifically designed to help legal teams quickly and affordably process and review electronically stored information (ESI) associated with small matters and early case assessment.
Ok, so you have a document set that is processed, and the data has been extracted, decompressed, and digitally fingerprinted. Here are some things you can do to manage
the unusual file types that may have found their way into the data set.
Litigation support professionals who manage electronic discovery projects experience high stakeholder expectations, complex requirements, difficult issue resolution and tight timelines. The process can quickly deteriorate to a state of chaos if not properly managed. The goal of this white paper is to introduce practical project management concepts and tools that can be easily leveraged with current litigation support expertise to increase project success.
It is an increasingly difficult challenge to stay fully informed about emerging e-discovery law. Several years ago, tracking the handful of decisions that came down each month was manageable. Today, the number of decisions having some e-discovery implications has increased dramatically, reflecting the inescapable fact that the relevant information is generally stored electronically, regardless of the type or size of the case.
As of September 2009, 25 states have adopted e-discovery procedural rules that reflect the 2006 FRCP amendments and many others are considering changes. In this third annual Fios webcast, Tom Allman, the leading expert on state e-discovery rules, is interviewed by Mary Mack and provides an update on state-level activities, which continue to be a hotbed of innovation in e-discovery.
ED101 - e-Discovery Fundamentals
In this webcast, our guest faculty will describe best practices for managing electronic reviews, from staffing and training concerns to finalizing a production. We will discuss the project management skills needed to timely complete responsiveness and privilege reviews, and tips and tricks for using technology to make the whole process easier. You will learn how to coordinate the efforts of reviewing attorneys and technical staff, while managing the expectations of partners and clients.
In litigation, there is often no better smoking gun than the corporate email. Emails tend to be informal and much less circumspect than other corporate documents, so they are the perfect target once a lawsuit is filed or an investigation is initiated. This webcast takes a look at what legal professionals need to understand about email during e-discovery.
This is a list of key questions for e-Discovery Project Managers.
Litigation support professionals and paralegals that are new to the world of e-Discovery will benefit from this introduction to the workings of e-Discovery. The presenters will share insights gained from over 30 years of combined litigation paralegal experience. Get an understanding of the basic e-Discovery process, how to approach your next project with your attorneys and clients, and a new confidence about how to manage the world of e-Discovery.
In the last few years, courts have become more familiar with the underlying technology of email attachments. Arguments courts accepted only three years ago for mishandling attachments – vendor errors during collection or processing, mistakes with email archiving systems – will not hold water in many courts today. Other than document review, nothing in e-discovery is as costly or time-consuming as an order to re-produce a bad production. It is imperative for the producing and the requesting part
Emerging Trends
Nearly all evidence is now created digitally, with less than 1% printed out and produced during discovery. Lawyers must understand how to identify, preserve and collect all potentially relevant evidence to ensure compliance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the courts. Computer forensics plays a critical role in this process. Download this webcast, where Fios' Mary Mack interviews Craig Ball, one of the industry’s leading experts in e-discovery and computer forensics.
Changes in economic and political conditions are leading to increased litigation and governmental regulation. As a result, corporations are conducting more internal investigations to assess their legal exposure and to be better prepared for the short response times associated with the impending legal actions and governmental investigations. The focus of this webcast is on planning for and conducting e-discovery during internal investigations.
Small matters present their own set of unique challenges to legal teams. Perhaps the most critical challenge is determining whether the matter or investigation is indeed small or the tip of a much larger legal iceberg. This ILTA webcast will provide an overview of Fios' new software-as-a-service platform, Fios On Request™, which is specifically designed for managing e-discovery in small matters and internal investigations.
Online collaboration is a hot topic in 2009. The proliferation of free or inexpensive Internet collaboration tools, coupled with a down economy, has made many people hungry to learn more about ways to work with others online—and save money in the process. This article from Law Practice Magazine looks at some key collaboration tools that are widely available for your use, along with some handy pointers for making the most of working with others online.
In the current economic environment, managing e-discovery has become recognized as an important part of any responsible corporate strategy to reduce costs. There is a universal need to understand the e-discovery process. In this webcast, Fios' Mary Mack interviews Ralph Losey in conjunction with the release of his newest book, Introduction to E-Discovery: New Cases, Ideas, and Techniques, published by the American Bar Association.
Learn how software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud computing can provide cost predictability in an uncertain e-discovery world. In this webcast, you will be provided with definitions and examples of SaaS technologies. You will also learn how SaaS for e-discovery provides flexibility from both a cost and time perspective. The speakers discuss the benefits and risks of cloud computing and SaaS.
e-Discovery Readiness & Planning
Inexpensive storage technology, expanding networks, the explosion of data, new data formats, and stricter regulations and tighter timeframes are putting organizations at risk when they are required to respond to electronic discovery requests.
Up to 80 percent of the entire cost of e-discovery is spent on legal review. This checklist offers 8 steps that corporate and outside counsel should follow for defensibly and efficiently lowering the cost of e-discovery review.
In today’s uncertain economic times, organizations are struggling to meet stringent regulatory demands while containing costs and managing risk around litigation and electronic discovery. Internal controls and critical evidence may be compromised by staff turnover and restructuring, creating a situation ripe for legal risks. This webcast reviews e-discovery compliance scenarios where Legal and IT must unite and work together to understand the human side of legal compliance.
To preserve or not to preserve? That is no longer the question. Now that we have been working with the amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI) for two years, in-house counsel should be aware that when litigation arises, electronic files must be preserved. That is not the question.
Managing electronic discovery costs is a major concern among litigators - both inside the corporation and at the law firm. It's common knowledge that if you can control the scope of e-discovery, reduced costs will follow. Yet, due to the complex nature of discovery (and the numerous moving parts), limiting scope may seem nearly impossible. This webcast provides real examples of e-discovery war stories and practical advice for controlling the scope and costs of e-discovery.
Case Law / Rules
Magistrate Judge Barbara Major recently sanctioned Qualcomm's outside counsel by sending them to the state disciplinary bar with a damning, detailed list of particulars. She also mandated that a root cause analysis be conducted by Qualcomm, optionally with a Broadcom representative, to develop a protocol or CREDO (comprehensive case review and enforcement of discovery obligations) so that similar discovery violations would not occur again. In this webcast, we explore: Due diligence prior to fili
Nineteen states have now incorporated e-discovery provisions in their general civil procedure codes or have modified specialized rules for their business courts, and at least five other states have new provisions pending in 2009. Tom Allman, a prominent voice in the legal community on e-discovery rules, along with Fios' Mary Mack, provide a review of what states are doing – or not doing – about procedural rules for e-discovery.
In September, Congress passed and the President signed Senate Bill 2450, which enacted proposed Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 502. This is the first amendment to the federal rules regarding privilege since FRE 501 was enacted in 1975, and it marks a significant departure from the historic deference federal courts have paid to state law with regards to privilege. FRE 502, which authorizes federal courts to enter orders protecting the privileged status of attorney-client communications inadverten
The case law around electronic discovery continues to evolve as we approach the two-year anniversary of revisions to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This quarterly update provides valuable and timely information on the ramifications of recent court decisions, and the tactics and strategies organizations should consider to ensure compliance in a changing legal landscape.
It was only six years ago that Sarbanes-Oxley was passed by Congress with the intent on restoring public confidence after corporate scandals affected companies like Enron. However in light of recent bailout requests from AIG, Citigroup and now GM, the focus is once again on more stringent corporate governance. Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi with special guests Mary Mack, Corporate Technology Counsel at Fios, Inc and Professor Nancy Rapoport, Gordon & Silver
Can one political entity assert jurisdiction over a resident of another by virtue of electronic contact? Can a brief electronic message, such as a Facebook message, sufficiently apprise a defendant of the claims asserted to satisfy due process?
The recent surge in sanctions relating to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 26(g) certification requirement
increases the risk to corporate clients and outside counsel when discovery is mishandled. Engaging a qualified
e-discovery expert early in the discovery process can help create transparency, demonstrating impartiality and good
faith. This white paper discusses the rise of FRCP 26(g), the courts' rulings and increased scrutiny of the e-discovery
process and how many mistakes c
Case law around electronic discovery is changing rapidly due to evolving federal rules and court rulings. This quarterly update from Fios explores the implications of recent court decisions and the tactics and strategies organizations should consider to ensure compliance in a changing legal landscape.
On September 19, 2008, Rule 502 of the Federal Rules of Evidence was signed into law. So what? Well, this is actually good news for many litigants, assuming that they understand the rule and are properly prepared. Unlike the changes to Rule 26(b) implemented as part of the e-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the addition of Rule 502 is a change in the substantive law of privilege and waiver. However, there are some outstanding questions that only time and a few judic
Cross-border discovery represents a challenge for organizations required to gather relevant data in foreign jurisdictions – either from opposing parties or their own affiliated organizations. This quarterly update from The Sedona Conference® provides an overview of the vastly different notions of discovery, data privacy and protection requirements facing organizations that conduct e-discovery involving electronically stored information (ESI) based outside the U.S.
Moderator: Carsten Casper,
Case law around electronic discovery is changing rapidly due to evolving federal rules and court rulings. This quarterly update from Fios explores the implications of recent court decisions and the tactics and strategies organizations should consider to ensure compliance in a changing legal landscape.
Last fall, The Sedona Conference® and Fios provided an overview of Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 502. FRE 502 authorizes federal courts to enter orders protecting the privileged status of attorney-client communications inadvertently produced during e-discovery and make them binding in other federal courts, as well as in state courts involved in parallel or subsequent litigation. This webcast, again featuring a former U.S. magistrate judge, a current California state judge and the Director of Ju
Case law on electronic discovery actions continues to change rapidly due to evolving federal rules and court rulings. This quarterly update from Fios explores the implications of recent court decisions and the tactics and strategies organizations should consider to ensure legal and regulatory compliance.
This quarterly case law update explores rulings in recent court decisions, their potential impact, and tactics and strategies organizations should consider to ensure legal and regulatory compliance. Issues discussed include: social media, handheld devices, search, burden, privacy, privilege and FRE 502.
e-Discovery Standards & Best Practices
As the prevalence of sound recordings in today’s enterprises grows, new requirements for legal and regulatory compliance are accelerating the need to manage these recordings as business records. This paper outlines a new framework for managing the discovery process, specifically when audio recordings are requested.
It is no secret that the majority of the cost of discovery resides in the cost of the review. Often, more than 80% of total electronic discovery costs can land here. It is exactly that metric that leads to the existence of e-discovery providers, such as Fios, who have the experience and capacity to ingest large (as in huge) amounts of raw data, disassemble that data to its lowest common level and then systematically and defensibly separate the chaff from the “potentially responsive.” This white
Hear the Executive Director of The Sedona Conference®, former U.S. Magistrate Judge Dean Carroll, and members of The Sedona Conference® Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production, who explore the issues addressed in The Sedona Conference® Cooperation Proclamation.
Hear from leading analysts George Socha and Tom Gelbmann on the activities that took place at LegalTech New York, developments in the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) projects and overall e-discovery trends to follow in 2009.
While large cases receive the most attention, the reality is that human resources litigation, internal investigations, non-class product liability claims, IP conflicts and contract disputes make up the majority of legal matters for today’s corporations. This webcast addresses how to balance the costs and risks of e-discovery across an organization’s entire litigation portfolio.
An AmLaw 200 law firm was representing a major entertainment company in an intellectual property dispute with one of its production partners, which was seeking millions in compensatory and punitive damages. Concerned about the scope and costs of electronic discovery, the law firm needed an e-discovery provider that could facilitate the processing, culling, review and production of more than three terabytes of potentially relevant evidence. Compounding matters, the judge had shortened the product
Litigation support professionals are continually challenged to simultaneously manage time, scope and budget constraints to complete electronic discovery projects accurately and on time. In this webcast, the speakers share project management lessons learned, and explore how applying triple constraint management concepts to project planning helps e-discovery teams achieve successful productions.
Gigabyte for gigabyte, e-discovery in small matters often costs proportionately more than in large cases. New tools and techniques can help cut e-discovery costs in small matters, allowing cases to resolve based on merits instead of budget constraints.
Key questions to ask potential vendors; Fios’ processing advantages; Fios’ data processing speed and capacity advantages; Fios’ facility, infrastructure and security advantages
The speakers, including Jason R. Baron, Esq., Thomas Y. Allman, Esq., Maura Grossman, Esq., and Cynthia Bateman discuss the variety of processes, tools, techniques, methods and metrics that fall broadly under the umbrella term "quality measures" that can be applied during the various phases of the discovery workflow process.