Discovery Resources

Today we are looking at an estimated 210 billion messages sent every day worldwide. Yet experts say most companies fail to deal with the mounting amount of electronic data.  This article in the most recent issue of Workforce Management discusses the role of the HR department in managing this mess.

by Christina Cidade, Technical Sales Manager, Fios, Inc.

I have been hearing some interesting discussions recently regarding instant messaging (”IM”) and whether or not a corporation has an obligation to preserve these types of communications.  So what are all the cool companies doing?

Once a corporation establishes that IM is appropriate and permissible for business purposes, they must determine whether (and/or how) they want control over IM.  There are two different types of IM platforms — well, three if you count the financial industry, which is so cool it has its own toys made specifically for it - e.g., Bloomberg Messaging, Reuters Messaging and IMtrader.   It even has its own rules regarding continue…

Kim Newman is a partner in O’Melveny’s Washington, DC office and a member of the Business Trial and Litigation and Electronic Discovery and Document Retention Practices recently wrote about sanctions that were imposed on outside counsel for Plaintiff Bray & Gillespie Management LLC for a “pattern of withholding and concealing information concerning discoverable material” from both the Court and opposing counsel.

The problems began with a failure to Object to the Request for ESI in Native Format and then failure to produce it. Continue reading….

by Dennis Kiker, Esq., Director, Fios Consulting, Fios, Inc.

On September 8, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 2450 without amendments, which adds Rule 502 to the Federal Rules of Evidence. The bill was approved by the Senate way back in February (who says Congress doesn’t act quickly?), and President Bush has officially signed Rule 502.

So what? Well, this is actually pretty good news for corporate 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 substantive law continue…

There is a mindset among many that retaining old e-mails will put a company at risk. Many reason that e-mails handed over to an adversary during e-discovery, for example, will contain a “smoking gun” that could result in embarrassment or the loss of a legal judgment. Read more from Michael Osteman and Network World.

As the burdens of e-discovery continue to mount, the search for a technological solution has only intensified. The holy grail here is a search methodology that will enable litigants to identify potentially relevant electronic documents reliably and efficiently. Read more from H. Christopher Boehning and Daniel J. Toal on Law.com.

“The Increasing Importance of Metadata in Electronic Discovery,” by W. Lawrence Wescott II, provides a detailed look at the value of metadata and presents a strong argument to encourage counsel to preserve metadata as a regular practice.

The Legal and Economic Implications of Electronic Discovery; Options for Future Research

By: James N. Dertouzos, Nicholas M. Pace, Robert H. Anderson

From The Rand Corporation website:

Pretrial discovery — the exchange of relevant information between litigants — is central to the American civil legal process. As computer technologies continue to develop, concerns have arisen that, because of the sheer volume of electronically stored information, requests for electronic discovery can increase litigation costs, impose new risks on lawyers and their clients, and alter expectations about likely court outcomes. For example, concerns about e-discovery may cause businesses to alter the ways in which they track and store information, or they may make certain types continue…

The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel’s interview of Brad Harris, Director, Discovery Center of Excellence, Fios, Inc., entitled, “Managing e-Discovery And Avoiding Sanctions Under The FRCP Amendments.“

In its latest annual 2008 Litigation Trends Survey, the international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. predict a rise in corporate litigation.  “This year’s survey appears to mark an inflection point for American business, between the end of a prolonged period of prosperity and the start of a period of economic challenge that is likely to fuel litigation over who is to blame and who should pay for the consequences,” said Stephen C. Dillard, who chairs Fulbright’s global litigation practice. “Given that we were polling in-house counsel on the cusp of that transition, it’s no wonder that this year’s findings highlight both the evident calm before the storm, as well continue…