The Big Picture in Capturing, Analyzing Data Ecosystems

A torrent of data is created every day by the interactions of millions of people using computers, GPS, mobile devices, and social media. Electronic data has become so prevalent in our culture that we now have data ecosystems developing similar to ecosystems in nature.

Data communities include mobile, social media, transactional, communications, etc. These ecosystems also create a huge amount of so-called exhaust data — data created as a byproduct of other data — like transaction logs, metadata, etc.

The challenge is being able to channel these data communities into actionable information that can be used for business intelligence, investigations, e-discovery, and predicting trends. Currently most data is lost, not used, or partially analyzed in a reactive setting during litigation.

Consultants Key to Predictive Coding Success

Predictive coding is only as good as the person(s) seeding the initial document set. Identifying, analyzing, and coding the seed document set requires skilled content analytics consultants.

Otherwise there is the risk of unreliable results and statistical uncertainty. Garbage in: garbage out still applies.

To that end, I saw service providers at LegalTech promoting their consulting teams. For example, RenewData launched RDC Analytics, which is a group of forensic linguists, mathematicians, librarians, and attorneys who provide content analytics consulting for legal, regulatory, and business purposes.

The real stars at Legatech this year were the regional service providers driving the technology. As Recommind points out, predictive coding does not replace human review. It optimizes it!

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EDD in the EU: Proceed With Caution

"Don't assume anything about technology systems when your firm is working outside of the United States," was one insight reporter Evan Koblentz gleaned from the LegalTech New York panel, "A GC's Nightmare: A U.S. E-Discovery Request Into Europe."

The risks and problems that follow from wrong assumptions about multinational e-discovery were laid out in detail by panelists from both the U.S. and the European Union.

"The biggest concern that I have is the competing interests of the U.S.courts versus the EU privacy concerns," said Craig Cannon, discovery counsel at Bank of America.

Read the full article, "LegalTech Panel Examines E-Discovery Challenges in Europe."

Cloud Cover at LegalTech

Seeking an open, affordable way to collect data from the cloud? LTN Technology Editor Sean Doherty suggests you look to the left of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model — where information management enters the e-discovery picture.

ZyLab, a child of the marriage of e-discovery and storage repostories, offers open, non-proprietary data archiving in Extensible Language Markup format. It now offers the first in a series of "Cloud Collectors" that captures email from Microsoft Exchange Online, as well as messaging applications such as Gmail and Windows Live Hotmail.

Guidance Software also offers collection from cloud-based email systems such as Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo Mail, in version 4.4 of its Encase eDiscovery. The addition of a new connector framework supports direct data collection from more than 30 information repositories and email archives such as IBM.

For more detailed cloud coverage from LegalTech, read Doherty's full report, "E-Discovery Collectors Get Cloud Cover and Other Updates From LTNY."

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Microsoft Deputy GC Thinks Globally

Where does Microsoft's deputy general counsel identify a major untapped market for e-discovery? If you answered global corporate ethics you're more market-savvy than most or you were in the crowd for Deputy GC John Frank's keynote speech at LegalTech New York.

As Evan Koblentz reports, Frank pointed out that it was a government official's bribery request that led a Tunisian fruit vendor to set himself on fire, touching off the Arab Spring of popular revolts against unjust rule. "A repressive regime can control a limited number of western journalists, but having everybody out on the street corner with a smartphone can change the regime," Frank said.

But he added, noting overseas bribery at companies such as Alcatel-Lucent and Siemens, "The business practices of international companies too often support the same corrupt governments and the same corrupt business practices [that] people protested." And things don't appear to be getting any better.

Ralph Losey at LegalTech

Legal Tech New York is the big event of the year in the world of e-discovery and I am happy to be a part of it. If you see me around, please stop and say hello. I like to meet all of of my e-Discovery Team blog readers whenever possible. Please forgive me if you catch me at a time during the day when I don’t have time to chat, but I always have time to shake hands and say hello.

This year I will be presenting at four events. I am thinking of preparing for them the way Pat Sajak prepared to host "Wheel of Fortune."

1. On Monday the 30th, I present at 12:30 on "The Promise and Challenge of Predictive Coding and Other Disruptive Technologies" with Judge Andrew Peck, Maura Grossman, and Dean Gonsowski (sponsored by Clearwell/Symantec).

LTNY Editors' & Bloggers Breakfast

A quick reminder that ALM will continue our tradition of our Editors' Breakfast Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 8 a.m., in the Petit Trianon room, at the Hilton — followed by our bloggers' get together.

David Snow, head of our ALM technology unit, will kick off the breakfast with a short report about ALM's recent survey of vendors — we asked them how they see the current State of the [Legal Technology] Union. This is a great oppty for vendors and PR teams to meet "face-to-face" with editorial staff from our national publications and newsletters.  It's free, no badges are required.

Finally, a reminder that Exhibit Hall/Keynote/Plenary session badges are free BEFORE the show, but cost $50 onsite. So if you have procrastinated, hit this website pronto.

I look forward to seeing you there!  If you have any questions, you can reach David at dsnow@alm.com.

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Here Comes the EDD Tidal Wave at LTNY

More e-discovery vendors are announcing products and services ready for viewing at LegalTech New York.

• Ipro Tech reports that it is adding predictive coding, concept searching, and other features to its Eclipse discovery system.

• Recommind reports that it is updating its Axcelerate eDiscovery to be manageable through a single interface.

• Australia's Nuix is adding defensible data deletion to its suite of offerings.

Expect on-premise software versus the cloud; cloud data collection; and product compatibility and integration to be among the major e-discovery themes on the floor and at the show, blogs Enterprise Strategy Group analyst Katey Wood.

Read the full report from Evan Koblentz, "Second Wave of E-Discovery Products Targets LegalTech."

New E-Discovery Software Heads to LegalTech

Visitors to LegalTech New York's vendor floor can check out eagerly anticipated e-discovery releases.

AccessData is adding an early case assessment module to its Summation product, while Clearwell promises a more tranparent predictive coding. Other e-discovery players bringing out their wares include BIA, debuting social media collection for its TotalDiscovery.com, and bit-level litigation hold from Index Engines.

Check out the whole story, "E-Discovery Software Leads the Charge to LegalTech New York," from LTN reporter Evan Koblentz.

Analysts "Rundown"

Amy Juers checks in to let us know about an upcoming "Analysts Rundown" panel, at LegalTech New York 2012, from 8-9 a.m. on Weds. Feb. 1, in Concourse A of the Hilton New York.

The "shoot-out" roundtable will feature analysts who cover e-discovery, information governance, and risk management, from four competing consultancies:

• David Horrigan (a former reporter for The National Law Journal and Law Technology News), now an analyst with The 451 Group.
• Barry Murphy, co-founder and principal analyst of the eDJ Group.
• Katey Wood, analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group.
• Christine Taylor, analyst at the Taneja Group.

"E-Discovery professionals (and consumers) often do not have a deep history in IT and frequently do not understand the value provided by industry analysts or the difference between the various firms," says Juers, CEO of Minneapolis-based Edge Legal Marketing, the sponsor of the session. The program, designed to help attendees understand the role of analysts and differentiate between the companies, will be moderated by Brad Blickstein, of the Blickstein Group, a consultancy that focuses on corporate law departments.

The free program is open to all attendees of LegalTech New York.

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Mobile Security - Tips to Safeguard Your Devices

Mobile devices pose significant risks for sensitive corporate information. As lawyers become more dependent on mobile devices for their practice, they need to be cognizant of the significant security risk these devices present.

ViaForensics recently released its latest 80-page Mobile Security Risk Report.  Both the Android and iPhone risk is amplified by the fact that these devices tend to hold personal information for a long time by design, i.e, nothing is ever truly deleted.

Mobile devices have become easy to hack by remote exploits due to all the applications loaded on them. Hackers can now remotely jailbreak and root a device over the network which essentially provides the hacker with unrestricted access to the entire file system of the target mobile device.

The rush to develop user friendly apps has been at the expense of security. These apps collect and store a tremendous amount of information.  Even apps that appear to ask for no permissions during installation can become a back door to your phone. Check out appWatchdog for an objective analysis of various publicly available mobile apps.

Encrypting information on your device is not foolproof because encryption on both the iPhone and Android can been broken with minimal effort. Additionally, it is not that difficult to extract data from a passcode protected device as well.

To protect your mobile privacy:

1. Be cognizant of what you install on your phone and who the company is that makes the app.

Vendors: Early Bird Alert

As the holidays approach, our ALM team is already preparing for LegalTech New York (Jan. 30-Feb. 1, Hilton New York). The countdown is clock ticking away,  the LegalTech mobile app is available on Apple's App Store, and exhibitors are putting the finishing touches on the new products and services they will unveil at the show.

But as we all know, the showfloor competition is fierce for your attention, so Law Technology News wants to help you navigate the three floors of exhibits. So we'll will offer sneak previews of the most interesting, innovative, and important product launches and upgrades, on our website and our blogs (here on EDD Update, on LTN Products, and The Common Scold). And we'll have a preview article in the February edition of our print magazine, which will be available at the show to serve as your compass!

So vendors, don't dally! If you will introduce a new service, product, or upgrade at the show be sure to contact our reporter, Evan Koblentz, no later than Tuesday, Jan. 3 to make the print deadline. Send press releases to lawtech@alm.com, or contact Evan at 212-457-9601 — and be sure to include your booth number.

P.S. While most of you want to get the word out early about your launches and upgrades, we know from past experience that some of you will be tweaking products right down to the wire and may want to defer even the hint of an unveiling until Day One of the show. If you fall into that category, we'll be happy to negotiate an embargo. That way you won't miss the opportunity to get into the print edition. But remember, our space is very limited, and not every product will be mentioned — so early birds may well get the proverbial worms.

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Adobe Promises Acrobat Bug Fix Tomorrow

Adobe Systems said it intends to patch a software bug tomorrow in Acrobat 9.4.5 that many users have said cripples the program.

The bug, which causes search results to not highlight properly, was discovered by customers of Acrobat Standard and Professional upon the 9.4.5 release in mid-June. It makes the search results appear with only a thin yellow cursor at one side, instead of highlighting the full search result inside a block, which users say makes the program tedious for tasks such as document review during e-discovery processes.

Asked if the previously stated Sept. 13 patch timeframe still stands, Adobe replied in the affirmative. "Yes, it is scheduled for Tuesday and it will fix the search bug. It will go out automatically, and also can be downloaded," spokeswoman Courtney Brigham said in an e-mailed response to Law Technology News.

Baptisms & Reunions

Los Angeles — One of the joys of LegalTech is finally getting to meet some of our new writers who are contributing to Law Technology News and the EDD Update blog. Joshua Engel (left) vice president and general counsel of the Lycurgus Group, has been an enthusiastic contributor to our recently revived blog, and has already penned two articles for our LTN website, all addressing his favorite topic: the Fourth Amendment.

Here's a link to his April 29 article about police searches of cell phones incident to arrest; this link takes you to his article about police using GPS devices.

I was delighted to see Engel in action today, as he provided a grand tour of recent case law to an intrigued audience during his very first LegalTech presentation. Congrats, Joshua, on your "baptism" into the LegalTech speakers' cult!

It was also a special treat to finally meet John Waid, tax counsel with California's State Board of Equalization. We've had some great "pen-pal" e-mail conversations and his suggestions and comments have always been a delight. Of course, having a chance to brainstorm about potential articles with our "usual suspects" — George Rudoy, Al Barsocchini, John Jablonski, and  Tom O'Connor, just to name a few —  is always relished. (Watch out, we just might start singing Kumbaya any minute now :)

Today's sessions also included a thoughtful keynote from Manny Medrano, right, who has both prosecuted high profile cases as a trial lawyer, and covered high profile cases (starting with the O.J. Simpson trial) as a legal analyst for KNBC. His presentation reminded me of the early days of ALM's Court TV, as he recapped many of the arguments for live cameras in courtrooms, and detailed how social media tools have been wrecking a little havoc on voir dire. (See  my LTN website commentary here.)

Finally a quick tip from our for those of you who have downloaded the LegalTech mobile app from our support team: "Be sure to click on the 'Data Sync' button at the top right of the Home screen. This will ensure that you have all of the latest information."

So as we wrap up LTWC, special thanks to all the wonderful speakers who helped educate attendees about trends and developments, and to the vendors who demonstrated new products and services in the busy exhibit hall, and to everyone who took time off from busy schedules to attend. We hope you enjoyed all the synergies.

No matter how many social media and devices we embrace, you can never replace good old-fashioned social networking. There's just nothing better than sharing a coffee, a beer, or a tasty meal with new or well-established colleagues and friends.

Safe travels home.

Photos: Monica Bay/LTN  Click images to enlarge

Back to the Future: LegalTech @ the Bonaventure

There's an upbeat mood at LegalTech West Coast, both on the show floor and in the conference halls. The medium may be the message all right, but being in a comfortable venue seems to enhance our ability to receive and process all that information!

Everybody seems really happy to be back in the cozy confines of the Westin Bonaventure hotel, rather than the cavernous halls of the L.A .Convention Center — where we always seemed to share the building with the happy occasion of the swearing in of hundreds of ecstatic new citizens. LTWC 2011 changed its dates somewhat abruptly, so some of the usual EDD suspects had scheduling conflicts (most significantly with the Guidance Software über user group meetings in Orlando) but the exhibit hall was jumping and the keynotes and plenary sessions were crowded.

 
The kick off keynote address was presented by Meetup.com's top lawyer, David Pashman (left, with ALM's senior vice president Kevin Vermeulen who introduced him). See LTN's associate editor Michael Roach's report here. 

I was honored to moderate the plenary session, "The Corporate Perspective: Why the Legal Industry Needs to Embrace Technology," featuring Tim Hart (below left), of McKesson, and Brian Renken (below right) of Dell. Both offered  sage insight from Hart's large "enterprise" perspective to Renken's small-and-midsized business  services point-of-view. We focused primarily on how organizations struggle to provide users with the most beneficial technology, while keeping work environments secure to minimize risks and keep the organization agile enough to respond to e-discovery and compliance demands.

During the discussion I gave the audience a "sneak preview" of our upcoming June issue cover story, "Catch Me If You Can," about how CIOs and other law firm leaders are rethinking security protocols in the wake of the recent insider trading charges filed against attorney Matthew Kluger, who allegedly made $32 million in profits by trading on information he acquired while working at  Wilson Sonsini;  Skadden; and Cravath. Pashman, in attendance at the plenary panel, told the group he had been aboard Wilson Sonsini when Kluger was there, generating a gasp from the audience. Of course, he immediately assured everyone that he did not participate in any of the mischief. 

If you are in the Los Angeles area, it's not too late to head over the LTWC Day 2! This morning's 9 am keynote speaker is Manny Medrano, and you can get an hour's worth of CLE credit for his presentation," Trial by Sound Byte: Law in the New Millennium." And EDD Update regulars Joshua Engel, Tom O'Connor, John Jablonski, Bobby Malholtra, and George Rudoy will be presenting today. Get your complimentary pass to the show. We'd love to see you!

Photos: Monica Bay/LTN  Click images to enlarge

 

LegalTech West Coast Presentation

I am glad that I don’t have to match George’s Conference Marathon.  Like George, I will be presenting at LTWC, but my flights from Ohio now seem easy in comparison.

I hope folks will stop in to the discussion on social media and electronic discovery.  The use of social media sites for both civil litigation and criminal investigations has been heavily in the news recently.   For example, an article in the May 15, 2011 New York Times discussed the use of Facebook and other social networks in divorce case.

My focus at LTWC will be on criminal investigations.  By way of a preview, news reports suggest that social media plays in large role in the current Grand Jury investigations regarding the Wikileaks case.  The government is apparently attempting to establish that Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, violated the Espionage Act by publishing military and intelligence secrets.  In order to make this case, the Government will have to show that Assange encouraged  government personnel to leak the classified information.