Better to Fetter Prompts Letter

I get "letters to the editor" pretty often, but since no one but me wants to read the many nice things people offer, I  feel obliged to share just critical comments or those that proffer a correction. In the critical comments department, I had the novel experience of hearing from a lawyer-paralegal in the law firm for one of the parties in the Mintel v. Neerghen case. Thankfully, Mr. Michael Castellaneta's excoriation doesn't go quite so far as to question whether my mother and father were lawfully wed at the time of my conception. But, save for the incongruous "Kindest Regards" at the close, he pulls no punches in his assessment of my post on U.S. Magistrate Judge Valdez' Memorandum Opinion and Order in Mintel v. Neerghen.  It's a comment to the related post below, along with my response.

Plaintiff fails to respond promptly, court orders privilege waived

Brookdale Univ. Hosp. & Med. Ctr., Inc., 2009 WL 393644 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 13, 2009)

In this case, the court was asked to reconsider its prior order compelling defendants to return privileged documents inadvertently produced by the plaintiff.  The court declined to overturn its ruling regarding documents specifically identified by the plaintiff as inadvertently produced and addressed by the court’s prior order.  However, as to documents not identified at the time of the order, the court declared any privilege waived.  Read the entire post here.

What's Art Got To Do With It?

Curious to know what the art of Paul Gauguin, and Henri Rousseau (whose painting “The Dream” is shown right) have to do with e-discovery? Then check out my blog this week Should You “Go Native”? There is no reason legal writing should be boring or divorced from culture.

If Starbucks Were a Lawfirm

This is a pretty funny parable with a message on how law firms bill. I am trying to get away from it myself, but hard to do. 

Pirate Bay Prosecutors Try to Pull a "Perry Mason"

In day 5 of the well known "Pirate Bay" trial in Sweden, the prosecution tried unsuccessfully to sneak in surprise evidence. See this excellent short article Pirate Bay Trial Day 5: Perry Mason Episode Delays Trial by Richard Menta for the latest development in this P2P copyright case. In case you didn't know, Pirate Bay is one of the world's largest file sharing websites.

UBS Data and International Considerations

The court order came too late. The data had already been sent to Washington.

With UBS and the cloak of secrecy surrounding certain swiss bank accounts falling quickly around the ankles of those who’ve counted on it, international data concerns are now front and center.  We’ve seen scenarios like this before perhaps not in such  high profile. Tribune de Geneve, the daily newpaper reported that 8 of the UBS clients filed a motion to challenge the release of their names, along with approximately 250 others in Swiss court and were successful on their motion. Only problem is the data was already in Washington by the time the order rendered.

So now what? 

(Perhaps some our more internationally versed contributers would care to opine)

Better to Fetter: Mintel v. Neerghen

There's a new decision out of the N.D. of Illinois addressing the question of what justifies direct access to a non-party's hard drives in the context of employee data theft.  IMHO, the Court reached the correct outcome when it denied such access, but it's a frustrating opinion because the tenacious movant appears to have become so fixated on obtaining drive images that it ignored simpler, less-invasive ways to answer what should have been the critical question, i.e., did the competitor get hold of and use stolen data?

I have some thoughts about how this should have come down.

The case is styled, Mintel Int’l Group, Ltd. v. Neerghen, 2009 WL 249227 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 3, 2009), and once again a tip of the hat goes out to the excellent Ediscoverylaw.com website for flagging and hosting the opinion.

Managing user-generated content

Ethan J. Wall, an associate with the commercial litigation and corporate law firm of Richman Greer, observes that social networking web sites are taking the Internet by storm. And, that "these sites create a virtual gold mine of discoverable information that may have a devastating impact on a business' reputation or the outcome of litigation."

Of course, it would be difficult to argue with Mr. Wall on those and other points he raises in his article. They are all apparent when you visit the social networking sites. But he also states that we have "barely begun to scratch the surface on how to manage them [social networking sites]."

Who's managing them? It's user-generated content that, once is out there, it's out there. The trick to managing UGC is educating the user, just like we had to do for e-mail. 

Like e-mail, both individuals and businesses need some old fashioned rules and policies for Web 2.0. For individuals, it can be the sage advice: "If you don't want your mother to hear about it, don't publish it on the Internet." For businesses, it can be the same, or a slight variation. For example, "If you don't want your employer to hear about it, don't publish it on the Net." At base, employers need to inform users of their expectations in business communications and using new media. Mothers could do this too, but they lack the termination power.

In a nutshell, managing the creation of user-generated content starts and ends with the user. Managing user-generated content starts, but does never ends, on the Net. Focus on the creation and, as employers, let users know your expectations before they go to print.

Levit & James upgrade Best Authority

Levit & James Inc. says its Best Authority 2.5 automatically produces Tables of Authority. The upgrade includes new functions for reviewing the TOA and the document, as well as additional formatting options.
One new scheme (template) includes footnote/endnote notation with the TOA entry page number. Users can also now use Word’s Track Changes feature while running Best Authority. Full release here.

Wave Software partners with CT Summation

Wave Software and CT Summation Inc. have partnered to offer EDD processing and review. CT now offers Wave’s Trident Pro to help users cull ESI before review. Full release here.

Kazeon upgrades in-house EDD program

Kazeon Systems Inc. has upgraded its in-house EDD program, improving analysis tools, first-pass review, and review capabilities. The program can handle both small and large cases, and allows for multiple reviewers. Full release here.

Peak Discovery forms Subprime Mortgage/Credit Crisis Document Review Program

New York’s Peak Discovery Inc. has formed a Subprime Mortgage and Credit Crisis Document Review Program. The Peak Discovery team will work with their legal and outside counsel clients to analyze and evaluate documents associated with litigation stemming from the crisis. They will help their clients assess risks and potential liabilities, and help outside counsel develop and implement responses to the issues. Full release here.

Recommind launches MindServer Search 6.0

Recommind has launched MindServer Search 6.0, the latest version of its enterprise search product.
Built on the company’s Core (context optimized relevancy engine) program, new features include enhanced “relevancy tuning,” and an extended search framework. Full release here.

Anacomp adds CaseProduction Module to CaseLogistix

California-based Anacomp Inc. has added a CaseProduction Module to CaseLogistix, its litigation review program. It helps users process native file and image-based or mixed productions, and add image endorsements, such as Bates numbering, redactions, or confidentiality statements. The software exports metadata into any format for review, the company explains. Full release here.

Visual Computer Forensic Analysis

Computer forensics is a slow process. Examiners typically embark on a tedious file review process to determine each file's relevance to a particular case. This can quickly add hours and extra costs to computer forensics. However, recent research presented at the Black Hat 2008 conference in Las Vegas may curb that trend. Researchers Greg Conti and Erik Dean from the United States Military Academy, West Point, adapted a new concept to computer forensics: visualization. The researchers demonstrated how visual computer forensic methods can dramatically reduce the time it takes to review files.

New Wave Legal opens in Florida

New Wave Legal is a new Florida company offering legal technology, litigation and EDD support, and court reporting. Full release here.

Epiq Systems opens Hong Kong office

Epiq Systems Inc. has opened a Hong Kong office to provide localized e-discovery services for law firms, corporations and governmental authorities. Epiq is headquartered in New York. Full release here.

First Advantage opens German EDD facility

California’s First Advantage Corp. has opened an EDD facility in Germany, offering consulting, computer forensics, collection, multilingual processing and web-based review. Full release here.

Integreon acquires OnSite

Integreon Managed Solutions Inc. of New York has announced plans to acquire Virginia’s OnSite Sourcing Inc., which is filing for bankruptcy. Full release here.

Autonomy acquires Interwoven

Autonomy Corp. is acquiring Interwoven Inc. The acquisition is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2009. Both Autonomy and Interwoven have offices in California. Full release here.

iConect partners with Content Analyst

IConectnxt now features concept searching and document clustering from Content Analyst Co.
IConect Development Co. is based in California; Content Analyst in Virginia. Full release here.

Electronic Evidence Discovery and Daticon merge

Electronic Evidence Discovery Inc. and Daticon are now Daticon EED. EED acquired Daticon last July. Full release here.

Do you know what a "blook" is?

I didn't either until my publisher told me I had written one. A blook is a paper book derived from an Internet blog. I have now written my second blook, entitled Introduction to E-Discovery: New Cases, Ideas, and Techniques (ABA 2009). It is derived from my blog, e-Discovery Team. It is at the printers and will be available later this month, but can be ordered now from the ABA.

Message to the President: Don't Ignore EDD Issues While You Revamp Medical Records

President Obama's promised initiative to digitize our nation's health care records may seem a secondary priority in these tough and toughening times, but done right, it can be truly a lifesaving legacy for the administration.  Having spent the last several years dealing with a family illness, I can attest to how much time and energy is wasted re-creating, correcting and retrieving health care records.  Form-after-form-after-form relating the same complaints, histories and medication routines can wear you down. 

This carries a real and human cost, the more tragic because we have the technologies to reduce the cost, save the time and--most importantly--improve the quality of care.  It won't be cheap or easy to implement as doctors are as loathe to change as lawyers; but everyone benefits from the effort, most of all the people we love at the toughest times in their lives.

I post to remind readers that medical records are evidence, and in hopes that some who stop by here have the ear of the Administration--and perhaps the influence to insure that e-discovery concerns have a place at the table when standards and systems are established. 

Daticon announces Discovery Partner Image Conversion Server

Daticon EED's Discovery Partner Image Conversion Server creates images at the time of production, rather than during file processing prior to review. Full release here.

Inadvertent Disclosures

We use e-mail to communicate with colleagues, clients, adversaries, friends, courts and even complete strangers. It is so prevalent and accessible that little thought is given to the fact that every message typed creates a permanent record that could be an issue in a legal dispute.

Guidance Grilled Over Absent Memos

Guidance Software bills itself as the leading provider of technology that helps companies dig up old e-mails and other electronic documents that might be evidence in a lawsuit. Yet when Guidance itself had to face a judge, it was accused of bumbling its internal digital search.

StoredIQ expands to support Enterprise Vault

StoredIQ Inc. expanded its EDD software to support Symantec Enterprise Vault as a recognized data source in the discovery process. Users can access e-mail archives and automatically collect, process and prepare data for review. Full release here.

Mimosa releases NearPoint E-discovery

Mimosa Systems' new e-discovery suite automates information management by speeding up the discovery process while reducing information collection and storage costs. The software allows users to archive and search e-mails, contacts, calendar entries and files. Full release here.

Iron Mountain releases IP escrow service

Iron Mountain Inc.'s technology arm launched its IP Litigation Discovery Escrow Service, to better leverage intellectual property assets held in escrow. The service allows plaintiffs to securely access and examine the IP assets. Full release here.

IGC Releases Redact-It Desktop 1.1

Informative Graphics Corp. Inc. has upgraded its Redact-It Desktop to reduce the time necessary to redact and review documents. The upgrade includes plug-ins for the Microsoft Corp.'s Office suite and gives users more control over what is redacted. Full release here.

FTI Technology adds Attenex to Ringtail

FTI Consulting Inc.'s technology division has announced that it will combine two of its products. In its newest release of Ringtail Legal, it combines the review capabilities of Attenex with Ringtail's case management and production features. Full release here.

Equivalent Data releases NeedleFinder 3.5

The upgrade gives users the ability to search beyond keywords with a contextual search.  Full release here.

eMag Solutions launches new website

The EDD and data management company has launched a redesigned website:  Full release here.

Document Technologies improves tech support

Document Technologies - a legal support service and document outsourcing company - has expanded its client support service for litigation data hosting and review. Clients using its services on large cases can now access support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Full release here.

Stratify releases Legal Discovery 9.0

The update adds new matter portfolio management abilities that help users to manage multiple matters. Its multi-party support allows inside and outside counsel to securely access only their relevant documents. Full release here.

ABA publishes Ralph Losey's Second Book

The American Bar Association has announced the publication of my second book: Introduction to E-Discovery: New Cases, Ideas, and Techniques. Here is a link to the ABA webstore where the book can be purchased online. See the e-Discovery Team blog this week for the whole story. You can order it now at a prepublication discount. It is supposed to ship later this month.

Exterro announces Fusion Genome

The interactive data-mapping software allows legal and IT teams to manage electronically stored information so that they can track and understand it. Full release here.

KPMG using Clearwell's E-Discovery Platform

Clearwell Systems, Inc. has announced that KPMG is using their data processing, analysis and review software for its clients. The software is hosted both at KPMG's national processing center and remote forensic offices. Full release here.

Clearwell E-Discovery Platform available through EMC Select

The e-discovery platform will allow EMC users to bring more of the e-discovery process in-house and track their case data using Clearwell's case management and reporting abilities. Full release here.

LitWorks introduces litigation support project manager course

The three-day course for lit support professionals with three or more years of experience focuses on strengthening project management skills. LitWorks also has courses for those with more experience. Full release here.

Ipro launches Eclipse

Eclipse is a case database software which allows users to control all aspects of the case in a central application. It supports case data in multiple file types. Full release here.

i365 releases MetaLincs E-Discovery Suite 5

Seagate's i365's new software integrates multiple e-discovery steps and adds search, review and early case assessment tools. Full release here.

Kroll launches Ontrack Prepview

Ontrack Prepview is a Web-based trial preparation software that helps attorneys collaborate and organize case information in a central location. Its Transcript Manager allows users to work with deposition transcripts and reduce the time involved in document review. Full release here.

Fios releases On Request

Fios On Request is an on-demand service that allows legal teams to manage electronically stored information in small litigation matters. The hosted software can be accessed through any Web browser. Full release here.

Catalyst releases CR 8.0

This update adds analytics tools for document review and discovery management. It allows users to group and tag large sets of documents. Full release here.

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!

The great man was born 200 years ago today. If you have not already read my tech perspective on Abe Lincoln in last week's e-Discovery Team blog, you might want to check it out today. It is called - How To Practice Law Like Abraham Lincoln - Be an e-Discovery Lawyer! For another good article on Lincoln check out  Abraham Lincoln: A Technology Leader of His Time (U.S. News & World Report, 2/11/09).

A tidal wave of civil and criminal blame-game litigation is coming!

Ralph here. Did you catch the news today about Deputy FBI Director John Pistole's testimony at a Senate hearing? The Federal Bureau of Investigation has more than 1,800 open investigations into mortgage fraud, more than double the number in fiscal 2006. In addition, the FBI also has more than 530 open corporate fraud investigations, including 38 linked to the financial crisis. This just echoes the point I made in the e-Discovery Team blog Sunday night that "a tidal wave of civil and criminal blame-game type law suits will be filed in the next twelve months."

I am sure you can guess what this means for e-discovery. It may take a year, but it is coming, so hang in there and wax up the surf boards. My latest blog explores the reasons behind the coming witch-hunt, and what this might mean to employee privacy rights in the U.S. in the short term and long run, plus the tie into international e-discovery issues. Read on here for my core prediction -

Wave Software releases Trident Pro 6.0

This upgraded version offers near-duplicate detection helping law firms streamline their e-discovery and review process. Full release here

EDRM Participation Fee Update

February 11, 2009 - In response to the current economic challenges and the accompanying reduction in electronic discovery personnel at service and software providers, law firms and corporations, for select individuals we are temporarily waiving the individual EDRM participation fee.

This waiver applies to individuals who have lost, or are about to lose, positions in the electronic discovery field.

Individual participants who elect to attend the Spring and Fall EDRM face-to-face working meetings will still be required to pay a fee to cover a portion of meeting expenses.

We know this will not solve everyone’s problems; we hope at least it can ease the pain a little.

Please contact us with any questions.

Thank you,

George Socha and Tom Gelbmann (mail@edrm.net)