Discovery Resources

By Conrad J. Jacoby, Esq.

Miscommunication is a constant problem within the field of electronic discovery. Legal practitioners, e-discovery service bureaus and corporate IT staff each have distinct and long-standing professional vocabularies that use different terms to describe similar information repositories and data management procedures.

This month’s featured expert:

Joel Bennett, Esq.
Member, Dykema Gossett, PLLC

Background:

Joel Bennett is a member of Dykema Gossett, PLLC, practicing in the firm’s Los Angeles office. His practice focuses on litigation matters. He has substantial experience as lead counsel in jury trials involving antitrust law, intellectual property, sham exceptions to the Noerr-Pennington defense, antitrust/intellectual property interfaces, as well as breach of contract, unfair competition, trade regulation, partnership disputes and real estate matters. Some of his most significant decisions include:

• Workflow Direct, Inc. v. Yellow Pages Directory Services, favorably settled a claim for money owed because of poor service provided
• Militonian v. Adamian, Superior Court, Compton; Jury

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By Dennis Kennedy, Evan Schaeffer and Tom Mighell

Dennis Kennedy (DK): We’ve been resisting the urge to write about the December 1, 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure because it seems as if hundreds of others have written on that topic. However, all the attention seems to have limited effect. We’re already hearing analogies between the impact of the new rules and the impact of Y2K. However, we’re planning to wait a bit before we assess the impact of the amendments. Today, we want to discuss some practical ways you can prepare for and improve electronic discovery in your depositions. Youcontinue…

This month’s featured expert:

Michael Nelson
Chairman, Nelson Levine de Luca & Horst

Background:

Michael R. Nelson is Chairman of NLdH. Nelson concentrates his law practice on complex insurance matters, insurance class actions, insurance regulatory matters, reinsurance, and bad faith/extra-contractual claims. He analyzes insurance coverages and defends claims in matters involving complex coverages, such as construction defects, environmental matters, director and officer liability, errors and omissions, automobile, and life/health/disability. He has represented insurance companies in matters of complex litigation in multiple jurisdictions throughout the country. 

Nelson brings his expertise in insurance matters and corporate defense work to organizations, such as the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, the Federation for Defense and Corporatecontinue…

By Dennis Kennedy, Evan Schaeffer and Tom Mighell

Dennis Kennedy (DK): Our co-author Tom Mighell is prepping for a big case. So Evan and I decided to give him a break for this column and return to the issue of metadata and talk about some of the recent developments each of us has blogged about recently. Metadata has been with us for many years. The issues that metadata presents in electronic discovery and otherwise in the practice of law have been well-documented for many years. The ways to deal with these issues have even been widely known for many years. However, metadata has generatedcontinue…

This month’s featured expert:

David Burg, Partner
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Background:

David Burg is a director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Advisory Services Dispute analysis & investigations practice, specializing in forensic technology solutions. He has assisted clients in consulting capacities involving the deployment of information technology solutions and their use. Burg has assisted corporate clients and law firms in matters involving forensic accounting/computer forensic investigations, export control reviews/investigations including ITAR, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, cybercrime incident response investigations, and complex data analysis using relational databases in matters involving purchase price disputes, contract disputes, and damages modeling. He has worked on a number of the large, international investigative matters.

Interview Focus:

E-Discovery vs. Computercontinue…

This month’s featured expert:

Chad Michaelson, Esq.
Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP

Background:

Chad I. Michaelson is an associate at Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP and a member of the firm’s Business Litigation, Tort Litigation and Construction Law Groups. Michaelson’s practice is focused on commercial and construction litigation. He has litigated many different types of contract disputes and has defended clients in negligence, products liability and breach of warranty actions. He also has represented clients in disputes involving residential and commercial leases, restrictive covenants, easements and other interests in land. Michaelson also represents owners and contractors in claims arising out of public and private construction projects.

Michaelson earned hiscontinue…

This month’s featured expert:

Martha K. Gooding, Esq.
Partner, Commercial Trial & Global Litigation | Howrey LLP

Background:

Martha K. Gooding’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation. She has more than 20 years experience representing clients in significant matters, including trade secret and unfair competition actions, state and federal securities claims, government and self-regulatory investigations, consumer and securities class actions, and employment disputes. She currently is co-chair of the Commercial and Business Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association Litigation Section and has held a variety of leadership positions in the Section, including Council Member, Co-Chair of the ADR Committee, and member of task forces oncontinue…

This month’s featured expert:

Geoff Howard
Partner | Bingham McCutchen LLP

Background:

Geoff Howard is a partner in Bingham McCutchen’s Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation and Antitrust and Trade Regulation groups. He has particular experience in technology and regulated industries, including the software technology, telecommunications and alcohol-distribution industries. Howard provides creative, pragmatic and aggressive problem-solving services through negotiation, alternative dispute resolution, litigation, legislation and trial. He also is a recognized authority on electronic information management and discovery. His comments on that subject have been published by leading newspapers and periodicals, including the National Law Journal, the Legal Times and the San Francisco Daily Journal. His representationcontinue…

By Dennis Kennedy, Evan Schaeffer and Tom Mighell

Dennis Kennedy (DK): Tom and I recently attended the LegalTech conference in New York. Not surprisingly, we spent a lot of time visiting with and learning about the electronic discovery vendors there. By some counts, e-discovery and litigation technology vendors comprised almost a third of the vendors. I’ve been hearing consistently lately as many as five thousand (5,000) companies describe themselves as being in the e-discovery sector. It’s no wonder we get confused and feel overwhelmed. Or maybe I’m the only one who feels that way. How about you guys?

Evan Schaeffer (ES): 5,000 companies? Wow.continue…