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Apple v. Samsung: Having to Go Back to the E-Discovery Basics

Created on August 2, 2012

By Mike Hamilton
Vice President, E-Discovery

“Old dogs won't learn new tricks." Sometimes old sayings hold true. Case in point is Samsung's conduct surrounding its past and still current email document retention policies. On July 24, 2012, Samsung was sanctioned for not taking adequate steps to avoid spoliation, making it the second time in less than 10 years that Samsung has been sanctioned for not turning off the auto deletion switch on its proprietary email system. In both cases, Apple v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (N. Cal. July 24, 2012) and Mosaid v. Samsung (D.N.J. 2004), the courts... Read More

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Present Real E-Discovery Challenges

Created on July 31, 2012

By Andrew Bartholomew

There are a lot of inherent complexities involved when one company acquires another. There are a whole host of economic concerns along with a number of regulatory hurdles that must be overcome. An equally vexing challenge involves the handling of electronically stored information (ESI). While M&A (mergers and acquisitions) is a broad term that describes a number of different business arrangements, a typical scenario involves one company purchasing another and taking over its business operations, which necessitates the migration of ESI and integration of at least some systems. In most cases, certain... Read More

Samsung Hit with Significant Sanctions and More E-Discovery News of the Week

Created on July 30, 2012

eDiscovery Journal: eDJ contributor Mikki Tomlinson analyzes the recent adverse inference order levied against Samsung for failing to preserve responsive ESI here.New York Law Journal: Reporter Mark Hamblett examines Judge Shira Scheindlin's recent ruling addressing ESI search strategies here.e-Discovery Team: E-Discovery attorney Ralph Losey posts his fifth in a series of narrative descriptions of  a search project involving Enron emails here.Electronic Discovery Law: K&L Gates bloggers share the latest on the much-discussed Da Silva Moore case here. Law Technology News: Monica Bay interviews Laura Zubulake about her new book which describes Zubulake's iconic... Read More

Adopting a Defensible Culling Strategy to Narrow the ESI Funnel

Created on July 24, 2012

By Andrew Bartholomew

Data culling may not be the flashiest of topics but it's an essential component to a defensible and efficient e-discovery process. One of the major challenges in e-discovery is that in most cases organizations simply don't know what electronically stored information (ESI) they have, let alone what they will ultimately need. It's common for legal teams to cast a wide preservation net to ensure potentially responsive ESI doesn't get deleted. However, costs begin to soar in the collection, processing and review stages if data sets aren't significantly purged of irrelevant material. Much... Read More

Judge Scheindlin Issues Strong Opinion on Custodian Self-Collection and More E-Discovery News of the Week

Created on July 23, 2012

Law Technology News: E-Discovery Attorney Ralph Losey lends his perspective to Judge Scheindlin's recent ruling addressing the adequacy of custodian self-collection here.Inside Counsel: Attorney Laura Fraher offers four tips for preparing for a discovery conference with the opposing party here.eDiscovery Journal: Analyst Greg Buckles looks at the e-discovery implications of the movement towards smart phones and mobile devices here.e-Discovery Team: Ralph Losey recaps days five and six of his legal search project here.eDiscovery Daily Blog: Expert Doug Austin looks at the growing role of Twitter in e-discovery requests here... Read More

Written Legal Holds: Standard Should Not Change Even with Recent Ruling

Created on July 19, 2012

By Mike Hamilton
Vice President, E-Discovery

For the past five or six years, legal holds and e-discovery have gone hand in hand. Since the landmark rulings in Zubulake v. UBS Warburg and Pension Committee (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 15, 2010), there has been a precedent set by the court that the issuance of a legal hold was in most cases a mandatory duty to ensure that custodians suspended the destruction of relevant electronically stored information (ESI). Surprisingly, few courts have addressed the semantics of how legal holds should be dispersed – electronically, in writing or via a telephone call.Much debate... Read More

Legal Hold Management: Are Manual Processes Still the Norm?

Created on July 17, 2012

By Andrew Bartholomew

In e-discovery, the identification and preservation stages set the foundation for a defensible process. Organizations can employ the most advanced technologies for collection, processing and review of electronically stored information (ESI), but failing to adequately identify and preserve potentially relevant evidence will almost always result in sanctions. While this might be old news for many in the legal industry, it appears as if the message is not getting through to all. In a recent eDiscovery Journal (eDJ) survey, 44% of the respondents reported to not utilizing software to manage the legal hold... Read More