Controlling the Cost of E-Discovery Through Preparation and an Organized Response
Martin D. Beirne,David A. Pluchinsky and Donald W. Towe of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.
The sending of a "preservation" letter is rapidly becoming the norm in litigation today. The typical preservation letter demands that your client sequester its entire computer network and each employee?s PC at Fort Knox, pending the final resolution of either anticipated or currently pending litigation. Such tactics are clearly designed to raise the cost of litigation while at the same time positioning your opponent to seek a spoliation instruction as well as any other sanction that the presiding court may order against either the client or the attorney in charge.
What are the Benefits to Alternative Dispute Resolution?
Robert E. Woods of Briggs & Morgan
Time According to statistics compiled by Judith Resnik, 95 percent of all federal lawsuits settle, most of them.
Low-Tech, Low-Cost Document Automation Systems
Norvell E Brasch
This article discusses the best way to manage and retrieve documents through a three-level approach to knowledge management systems.
The Impact of Discovery Limitations and Cost-Sharing on the Corporate Class Action Defendant after Zubulake
Curtis P. Cheyney and James C. Haggerty of Swartz Campbell LLC
Corporate defendants today are faced with numerous discovery dilemmas stemming from the increasing use of electronic information storage. The exponential growth of computer use in both the business and private sector has led to an explosion of information stored on hard drives, floppy disks, and back-up storage devices. Data can be in the obvious form raw data, or the less obvious cookie and cache files, metadata or other embedded data. Even data believed deleted may still be retrievable from file servers.
Expanding Scope of Attorney-Work-Product Doctrine: United States v. Aldman
Keara M O'Donnell of DLA Piper LLP
This article discusses the opinion in U.S. v. Aldman, 134 F.3d 1194, in which the Second Circuit held that the work-product doctrine may shield business reports from disclosure under the attorney work product doctrine).
Controlling the Cost of E-Discovery Through Preparation and an Organized Response
Martin D. Beirne,David A. Pluchinsky and Donald W. Towe of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.
The sending of a "preservation" letter is rapidly becoming the norm in litigation today. The typical preservation letter demands that your client sequester its entire computer network and each employee?s PC at Fort Knox, pending the final resolution of either anticipated or currently pending litigation. Such tactics are clearly designed to raise the cost of litigation while at the same time positioning your opponent to seek a spoliation instruction as well as any other sanction that the presiding court may order against either the client or the attorney in charge.
Must Surveillance Videos Be Disclosed Prior to Trial if Only Used For Impeachment Purposes?
James C. Haggerty and Christine P. Busch of Swartz Campbell LLC
There appears to be a unanimity in the federal and state courts with respect to the discoverability of video surveillance materials. Regardless of whether a defendant intends to use the surveillance tapes as substantive evidence, for impeachment purposes, or for no purpose at all, disclosure is advisable once damages have been explored through deposition.
Document and Record Management--Its Time has Come...
Michael R Arkfeld of US Attorney's Office, Arizona
Examined are the characteristics of various document and record management systems and methods.
Helpful Tips for Electronic Document Management in Construction Litigation
Todd Mayo of PinnacleOne
It's not uncommon today for parties involved in construction litigation to request or receive documents in electronic form. Most of us have experienced receiving or producing documents on CD/DVDs by now. However, electronic document management is relatively new to the litigation process.
Document Retention Policies Revisited
Laura Ariane Miller,William Scott O'Connell and J.P. Ellison of Nixon Peabody LLP
A year has passed since last spring's prosecution, conviction, and collapse of Arthur Andersen based on that firm's destruction of documents. Last summer's passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which among other changes, broadened obstruction of justice statutes and enhanced criminal fraud penalties, is no longer front-page news.
Big Guns: Involving Senior Lawyers in Cases from the Outset Leads to Better Results and is More Cost-Efficient.
Barry W. Lee of Steefel, Levitt & Weiss
In this economic climate and in the current competitive legal marketplace, virtually all companies are focused on reducing the expenses associated with retaining outside counsel to handle litigation and transactions. When deciding which law firm to retain, companies are keenly interested in hourly billing rates. Indeed, in some instances the amount of the hourly billing rates is the decisive factor in selecting one law firm over another.
Service Providers and Contracts
Judith A. Silver of Coollawyer.com
As the customer, it is common and expected that you may request a contract for the work. There is no reason to feel guilty or apologetic for making sure that things are clear and you get what you paying for.
Are The Documents Of A Corporate Defendant Plaintiff's Work Product?
Bowman and Brooke LLP
With the explosion of instant communication through the Internet and organizations like the Attorneys Information .
Electronic Discovery Under the New Federal Rules
Wayne S. Moskowitz of Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, LLP
Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing electronic discovery took effect on December 1, 2006. Litigators must familiarize themselves with the new rules, which create a procedural framework for addressing electronic discovery issues, while leaving substantive issues for continued development by the courts.