Del. Chancery Court Judge Orders Predictive Coding

There is a new predictive coding case in Delaware Court of Chancery that could have a big impact on the attitude of corporate America to technology-assisted review. EORHB, Inc., et al v. HOA Holdings, LLC, C.A. No. 7409-VCL (Del. Ch. Oct. 15, 2012). This case involves a complex multimillion-dollar commercial indemnity dispute involving the sale of Hooters, a well-known restaurant, famous for its chicken wings, beer, and other things.

The judge hearing the dispute, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, is also well-known, but for something completely different, namely surprise rulings. This case adds to that reputation. He completely surprised the lawyers in this case with a surprise bench ruling that they all use predictive coding and share a common vendor. Here are his exact words:

FTI Consulting, Huron Legal Offer Predictive Coding

October is proving to be a busy month for predictive coding in the e-discovery industry. On the heels of Daegis and Exterro announcing PC offerings, two more e-discovery vendors have entered the fray.

International business and legal advisory firm FTI Consulting, Inc., announced the launch of a new Predictive Discovery service by its technology practice group, reports Sean Doherty. The new service promises to reduce review time and cost as well as unite people and processes with predictive coding software — familiar language to anyone watching technology-assisted review products. Doherty spoke with Joe Looby, senior managing director in FTI's technology practice, to see what sets FTI's Predictive Discovery apart from other offerings.

New Judicial E-Discovery Resource From Sedona

The Phoenix, Ariz.-based Sedona Conference has updated its reference manual to assist judges with electronic data discovery in litigation and promote cooperation between opposing parties, reports Monica Bay. 

The new version of The Sedona Cooperation Proclamation: Resources for the Judiciary has as senior editors Ron Hedges, retired magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and attorney Ken Withers, Sedona's director of judicial education. Among other additions, the latest version details 20 "stages of litigation from a judge's perspective," from preservation to post-judgment costs.

The nonprofit law and policy think tank will also be offering a password-protected collaboration area exclusively for judges on its website.

Read the full story on LTN online.

Image by Ken Thomas

Daegis, Exterro Add Predictive Coding

Two more e-discovery vendors hopped on the predictive coding bandwagon this week, which may have some speculating at what point the technology will be omnipresent in the industry.

Roseville, Calif.-based Daegis Inc., a company that hosts its software for law firms and corporate legal, announced Acumen, its machine learning technology that will be available as a standard feature for subscribing clients and also for customers on a per-gigabyte model, reports Evan Koblentz. Acumen takes what Doug Stewart, vice president of technology at Daegis, describes as a "process-driven" approach.

How to Walk Upright With Digital Evidence

From time to time, LTN columnist, trial attorney, and E-Discovery Special Master Craig Ball likes to rail at his fellow travelers who have passed the Bar that their legal education is far from over.

In this month's "Ball in Your Court column," Ball traces what he sees as the necessary evolution from barrister as bare, forked creature who trafficked in paper and banker's boxes, Homo Erectus, to legal starchild of the digital age, "Homo Electronicus" (cue tympanies) — who not only totes a tablet but knows exactly where the data entered into it resides (and what to do with it). Once again, it's time for attorneys to get schooled in technology.

Big Data Technology

Incident to the cover story for the October 1 issue of Law Technology News, "Defending Big Data," we sent a request for information to vendors who attended LegalTech New York 2012 and asked them if their products or services addressed the tension that exists in mining, exploiting, and monetizing customer data versus the security and privacy of that data.

I summarized some of the responses in the story "Big Data Technology." For the most part, the responses showed that legal technology was focused on Big Data to extract evidence used in litigation and government investigation and not to address the privacy and security interests in the large data sets owned by enterprises. The software manufacturers that predominantly handle enterprise Big Data, e.g., IBM, Oracle, and SAP, do not apply the same wares to e-discovery and litigation support -- yet.