Sophisticated Litigation Support

We've moved our blog!

2009-06-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

We've gone upscale and added a lot of new features (not to mention a fancier design!)

Come visit us at our blog and let us know what you think!

www.sophisticatedlitigationsupportblog.com.

We look forward to seeing you at our new digs!

Upgrades and Improvements to TERIS website

2009-05-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

New visitors to the TERIS.com web site will notice some changes. The most exciting upgrade is the addition of video - we are now featuring two of our prized clients providing video testimonies on the home page. We plan on adding more of these in the coming weeks and months.

We also have a legal industry news headline section and make it easier for visitors to track our latest blog posts and Twitter "Tweets"- all of these steps are aimed at helping our clients and visitors glean as much information as possible from us online.

Please check out the site and let us know what you think about the changs. We welcome your input!

Join TERIS at the IPRO Innovations 2009 Event Next Week

2009-05-06T14:17:00.001-07:00

You have more reasons than ever
to attend this FREE event.

May 14-15 | Phoenix, Arizona

Notable Industry Speakers Including

William Kellermann, Electronic Discovery Manager for Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati

Cliff Dutton, expert in the litigation support industry with more than 20 years experience as an entrepreneur, technologist, and executive

George Rudoy, Director of Global Practice Technology & Information Services for Shearman and Sterling

Karen Brookman, President and Cofounder of Commonwealth Legal

J. Bart Holladay, Director of Litigation Support Language Services for Linguistic Systems, Inc.

Peter vR Sternkopf, Chief Technology Officer of Teris

John Auman, Director of Forensics Services for Forensics Consulting Solutions

Terry Harrison, Managing Director of Hobs Legal Docs

For all the details, go to the IPRO Innovations Registration Page

ACC San Diego Featured Article - "Buckle-up California"

2009-05-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

From ACC "Focus on San Diego:"

Buckle-up California
Written By Micah Kasdan (mkasdan@TERIS.com)

Earlier this year, the government postponed the Digital TV Transition rollout by six months to allow for a significant amount of viewers to upgrade their television set-ups. One reason was that a lot of older and lower income citizens were about to lose their television access which is a major resource for the Emergency Broadcast Network. This was a perfect example of technology outgrowing those who rely on it. Similarly, something of this very nature is playing out in the California Courts system.

On December 1st, 2006, the Federal Rules for Civil Procedure was amended to specifically address the handling of Electronically Stored Information (ESI). Since that time, attorneys and their clients have been wading through the ambiguity of these rules. Sanctions aplenty, legal practitioners have been learning the hard way how to keep aggressive opponents and opinionative judges content. Time and again, the lessons learned are fairly simple:
* Keep a transparent approach to handling data
* Handle data with kid gloves (never delete/alter anything without an approved approach)
* Understand the Rules and follow them
* Always consult eDiscovery professionals before making judgment calls on perceived best practices

Generally speaking, many practices have become quite effective at approaching ESI productions. In fact, the mere presence of ESI has significantly altered the strategic approach to discovery. Many of these practices are based at law firms with a national footprint. Here, they have had the resources and money to add technology and personnel to help grind out the eDiscovery process and yield positive results. With having access to watch the progress of federal court practices, one might deduce that California practitioners had advantages with the State’s wait-and-see attitude. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the case.

In a town like San Diego, many talented and competent attorneys practice in the California Courts system alone. They tend to have smaller budgets than those of the national opponents and many have put off learning this new part of the game. Just like the last breath of relief sighed in February when the Digital TV Transition date had been postponed, many California attorneys felt the relief when Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a previous measure to amend the civil procedure rules for handling ESI. Sadly enough, there is still a strong contingent of practices that is no more prepared to address this elephant in the room than they were in December of 2006.

Recently, there have been growing concerns amongst local attorneys that they may not be ready to face this sleeping dragon. The first concern is that they are simply not prepared. More alarming to some, however, is that they regularly oppose national counsel. After 2 years of difficult lessons learned, these opponents are ready to attack. They have faced their fears of sanctions and they have trained their clients to be prepared for the invasiveness and costs of litigating in the information age. They have used the rules to their advantage and they know how to size up a rookie. But there are some saving graces.

Right now, there are very hungry attorneys, consultants and vendors that are excited to share a piece of this new pie. They have worked for, and with, the national firms on the national cases. They have proven their approaches and they are ready to hold some more hands. And, conveniently, the costs associated with this assistance are cheaper than ever. These pending changes are probably only months away. The smart ones will heed all of the warnings and embrace what is to come. The rest will start to build the State’s ESI case law library soon enough.

iCONECTnXT Enhances TERIS E-Discovery, Hosting, and Litigation Support Services

2009-04-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles, CA (April 28, 2009) – iCONECT Development, LLC’s award-winning litigation support platform, iCONECTnXT, will now be offered by TERIS as part of their e-discovery, hosting, and litigation consulting services. nXT is used by 83 Am Law 100 firms, corporate legal departments, Fortune 500 corporations, and government agencies to organize, review, and analyze e-discovery.

“TERIS is excited to offer iCONECT's leading litigation support software to our growing client base. It provides an ideal blend of flexibility, power and security that law firms and corporate legal departments alike require with their e-discovery projects,” said Stefan Wikstrom, TERIS founder and CEO. “We look forward to a very productive relationship with iCONECT.”

TERIS is a full-service litigation support solution provider that works with leading law firms and corporate legal departments to provide sophisticated consultation-based solutions, state-of-the-art technologies and highly experienced project management. Backed by an experienced staff of over 275, TERIS also offers traditional hosting and scanning services for law firms and corporate legal teams across the U.S. and internationally. The company was named one of the top e-discovery service providers by industry researcher Socha-Gelbmann in 2008.

“As part of our commitment to iCONECT users, we only permit companies with excellent services and top-notch customer support to license our software, and TERIS exceeds that high standard,” said Cynthia Williams, CEO of iCONECT Development, LLC.

nXT has a proven track record with over 980 cases and 3.7 billion pages hosted worldwide. Key features include support for Chinese, Russian, Arabic and over 250 other languages worldwide, e-mail grouping for faster review, advanced searching, and scalable database technology to keep up with growing e-discovery demands. To learn more, send an e-mail to info@iconect.com.

About TERIS:

Founded in 1996, TERIS (previously known as ALC Legal Technologies, Duplex Legal Discovery Solutions, and Digital Discovery Solutions), provides legal support and sophisticated e-discovery solutions to law firms and corporate legal teams across the U.S. and internationally. TERIS’ staff of over 275 was named one of the top 20 e-discovery service providers by industry researcher Socha-Gelbmann in 2008. The company operates a free job board for the legal profession at www.discoverlegaljobs.com and has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, Phoenix, and Austin. To learn more about TERIS, visit www.TERIS.com.

About iCONECT Development, LLC:

iCONECT® Development, LLC is your reliable choice for litigation support software, with products trusted by prestigious Am Law 100 firms, corporate legal departments, Fortune 500 corporations, and government agencies to host, organize, review, and analyze e-discovery for litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and multi-party international cases.

Awards include: #1 Web-Based Litigation Software (Am Law Tech Survey), Top 10 Service Provider for Review, Analysis, Production and Best Overall (2008 Socha-Gelbmann Electronic Discovery Survey), Honorable Mention Winner (Oracle 2007 North America Titan Awards), #1 Online Document Repository (Am Law Tech Survey), and #1 Litigation Support Software (Law Technology News Awards).

For more information, or if you would like to schedule a demo, send an e-mail to info@iconect.com or visit www.iconect.com.

iCONECT Media Contact:
Frank Trovato
e. ftrovato@iconect.com
t. 519.645.1663

iCONECT is a registered trademark of iCONECT Development, LLC. All brand names are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

-###-

TERIS adds leading litigation support professionals Julie Hinkle, Josh Rasmussen and Christy Harder to serve growing San Francisco office

2009-04-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

TERIS adds leading litigation support professionals

Julie Hinkle, Josh Rasmussen and Christy Harder

to serve growing San Francisco office

Appointment of industry sales veterans solidifies firm’s expertise in eDiscovery and related technical services

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – April 21, 2009 – TERIS announced today the addition of three leading litigation support sales professionals to its growing San Francisco office. Julie Hinkle joins as a new Electronic Projects Manager; Josh Rasmussen as Electronic Account Manager and Christy Harder as Account Manager for the company. The trio brings a combined mix of experience from both the legal and litigation support industries that bring immediate value for new and existing TERIS clients.

“We are excited to have a group of very valuable professionals with such caliber and experience join TERIS,” said Rob Robinson, TERIS San Francisco Managing Partner. “As our San Francisco office continues to grow, our clients are requiring a greater level of experience and proficiency in eDiscovery and related services. Josh, Christy and Julie are valuable additions as we continue to expand our considerable expertise and success to serve an ever-growing market requiring unique knowledge in eDiscovery and digital forensics.”

A certified paralegal, Hinkle brings more than 15 years of litigation support experience to TERIS. She was both a Senior Production Manager and Project Manager at First Advantage litigation consulting. She previously served as Production Manager of large scale Electronic and Paper Scanning projects with ALC Legal Technologies (now TERIS). Hinkle has special expertise with older microfilm/fiche technologies and converting film to electronic images.

Rasmussen has experience working with various Fortune 500 companies with projects that involved complex procedures with high confidentiality documents and has conducted discovery reviews for numerous private lawsuits involving complex electronic and paper discovery, which included millions of pages each. He also has experience working with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Attorney’s Office.

Harder comes to TERIS after a successful four-year stint at a legal industry leading software company CT Summation, where she most recently served as West Coast Regional Sales Director, with a territory that spanned 24 states. A driven sales professional with more than three-years experience focused on software sales and account management, Harder has demonstrated success building relationships with upper management in Fortune 500 companies and Am Law 200 firms alike.

ABOUT TERIS

Founded in 1996, TERIS (previously known as ALC Legal Technologies, Duplex Legal Discovery Solutions, and Digital Discovery Solutions), provides legal support and sophisticated eDiscovery solutions to law firms and corporate legal teams across the U.S. and internationally. TERIS’ staff of over 275 was named one of the top 20 eDiscovery service providers by industry researcher Socha-Gelbmann in 2008. The company operates a free job board for the legal profession at www.discoverlegaljobs.com and has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, Phoenix, and Austin. To learn more about TERIS, visit www.TERIS.com

Media Contact: David Kaufer, Director of Marketing, 425-275-8814; 206-521-8717 or DKaufer@TERIS.com

Using Facebook as Employment Prescreening Tool

2009-04-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is one of those topics that seems to straddle legal/ethical/practical lines with employer/employee relations and practices and depending on which side of the fence you sit, you undoubtedly have your own view of the practice.

From the blog Mashable (which we highly recommend if you are at all interested in social media developments) comes this post: NFL Scouts Wants NFL Prospects ASL on Facebook. The post is a synopsis of a Yahoo Sports report that outlines how NFL teams are setting up fake Facebook accounts (appearing as attractive women) and then asking to become friends with college players/prospects. Once they are accepted as a friend, they then have access to all kinds of personal information including potentially embarrassing photos, links and friends/connections.

The NFL draft is a huge financial gamble for teams. First and 2nd round draft picks typically receive multi-million dollar guaranteed contracts. It is hard to blame a team (as a potential employer) for doing as much due dilligence as possible before committing to a potential prospect. Yet if you are a young player, how would you feel if you found out your potential (or actual) employer/team used this tactic to access what you thought was your private life?

It is likely only a matter of time before this practice spreads even further into the private sector and companies begin employing similar measures with prospective employees. How long will it take before this practice is legally challenged?

Legal Implications of "Free" Wi-Fi

2009-04-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

With Wi-Fi being so pervasive today, it's easy to take for granted the ability to log into a hotspot no matter where we are to surf the web and conduct email.

What many people don't realize however is that there actions could amount to the commission of a felony, as it may be illegal in many states to access another person’s and/or entities’ open Wi-Fi network.

Check out this interesting Blog post, "Legal Implications of Wi-Fi Usage" to learn more about potential legal implications in this area.

TERIS participates as expert witness in mock argument for San Francisco Bay Area IP Inn of the Court

2009-04-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

Educational session focused on the complexities of litigating eDiscovery issues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Palo Alto, CA – Apr 03, 2009 – Legal professionals now face even greater challenges when trying to determine where to search for critical data and information that can be used to help build (or defend) a case. This has led to the continued importance and growth of companies and firms that provide technologies or services that make Electronic Discovery – or eDiscovery faster and easier for the legal community. Information that was once was contained to paper files has now exploded to digital devices as the use of mobile devices (i.e., iPhone, Blackberry), portable computers, and social networking sites (i.e., Facebook), and related items are used more frequently.

TERIS, a full service litigation support services provider, was invited to participate in a recent mock argument for the San Francisco Bay Area IP Inn of the Court to disclose the difficulties and expenses of complex IP litigation and vendor costs. The event featured five legal professionals as well as Judge Zimmerman who presided over what was considered an educational, if not contentious, argument fraught with the complexities of eDiscovery litigating for all parties involved.

Shawn Sieck, Regional Director of Electronic Sales, represented TERIS and spoke to the importance of involving outside service providers who have specific expertise in eDiscovery to keep the costs as low as possible. Sieck said attendees walked away from the event with a number of other key nuggets of information:

o The importance of early case assessment.
o Finding a vendor that is also a consultant (not just an order-taker)
o Taking the time to go thorough custodian interviews to determine all data sources

“It was a great honor and pleasure to be able to participate in this event,” said Sieck. “The San Francisco Bay Area Intellectual Property American Inn of the Court is much respected for its focus on intellectual property issues and for its work facilitating the exchange of ideas among legal professionals who work with intellectual property issues. We look forward to assisting the group in future exercises and continuing to be a resource whenever possible.”

ABOUT TERIS

Founded in 1996, TERIS (previously known as ALC Legal Technologies, Duplex Legal Discovery Solutions, and Digital Discovery Solutions), provides legal support and sophisticated eDiscovery solutions to law firms and corporate legal teams across the U.S. and internationally. TERIS’ staff of over 275 was named one of the top 20 eDiscovery service providers by industry researcher Socha-Gelbmann in 2008. The company operates a free job board for the legal profession at www.discoverlegaljobs.com and has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, Phoenix, and Austin. To learn more about TERIS, visit www.TERIS.com

Media Contact: David Kaufer, Director of Marketing, 425...; 206-521-8717 or DKaufer@TERIS.com

# # #

TERIS is a full-service litigation support solution provider. We work with leading law firms and corporate legal departments to provide sophisticated consultation-based solutions, state-of-the-art technologies and highly experienced project management. We simplify enterprise-wide information flow, allowing for professionally enhanced case management, which provides our clients with improved workflow and a much higher return on their investment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.prlog.org/10209795-teris-participates-as-expert-witness-in-mock-argument-for-san-francisco-bay-area-ip-inn-of-the-court.html">TERIS participates as expert witness in mock argument for San Francisco Bay Area IP Inn of the Court

The Industry Standard: eDiscovery gets an F

2009-04-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

From the respected Industry Standard comes an article talking about how far eDiscovery has to go still (according to technology industry standards):

E-discovery in the age of Web 2.0 has a long way to go, according to industry experts, who recently convened at a Symantec Inc.-hosted Webinar to bemoan the state of record compliance in enterprises today.

"E-discovery has always been an issue for lawyers to handle, but now there's that added complexity with wikis, Facebook, Twitter, and other new technologies," said George Socha, a litigation attorney who works with the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) Project. "A lot of lawyers' eyes roll back into their head and they curl up like possums because they just don't want to deal with it."

The full article can be found here

Will the legal industry reinvent itself as a result of the current downturn?

2009-04-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

In today's New York Times, Adam Cohen writes that the current economic downturn may finally force the legal industry to change its ways in a number of areas. As all industry observers know, law firms in all markets across the country have experienced layoffs - some have even completely closed. Cohen argues that the escalation of salaries for first-year associates has finally stopped and we should see salaries fall significantly - which in turn will have a ripple effect on the industry. He also asks whether law schools will use this opportunity to change and update their programs to meet new demands.

The complete article can be found here.

10 Steps to Manage E-Discovery Projects

2009-03-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

From Law.com

Like it or not, lawyers involved in e-discovery matters must become project managers. In addition to advising and representing clients, they must help clients select and supervise vendors of e-discovery services (from simple photocopying, to forensic analysis, to data retrieval and production, to expert testimony on the adequacy of e-discovery efforts). This article outlines 10 key steps in a typical e-discovery project, suggesting ways that lawyers can help ensure that such projects proceed successfully.

Read the rest of the article here

Social Networks used for Personal Injury claim investigations

2009-03-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

From Law.com comes an interesting article about how Paralegals are diving into social networks as part of their research into personal injury lawsuits and claims:

Paralegals now also turn their attention to the cyberworld, including social and professional networking sites, to investigate personal injury claims. Oftentimes, these sites can provide a deluge of data, including specific communications and entries concerning parties to the action.

Catch the full article here

TERIS has its own Facebook page - you should come by to say hello!

American Bar Association Publishes Next Generation Book on Electronic Discovery

2009-03-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

MIAMI, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Akerman Senterfitt, today announced that the American Bar Association has published and released Introduction to E-Discovery: New Cases, Ideas, and Techniques, authored by Akerman attorney Ralph Losey. This marks the second book on e-discovery to be authored by Mr. Losey in the past 13 months.

Mr. Losey, a leading authority on e-discovery, has more than 30 years of experience in computer technology; with 28 years of experience in associated commercial litigation leading more than 70 published legal opinions. He has authored numerous law review articles, including reviews of the mathematics underlying e-discovery and the "ethics" of e-discovery. In addition to these articles, Mr. Losey's first book E-Discovery: Current Trends and Cases is one of the ABA's bestsellers and has already been cited by several judges and commentators. Both books are based on Losey's popular weekly blog, "e-discovery Team" (www.ralphlosey.wordpress.com).

"In this economic environment, e-discovery has become recognized as an important part of any responsible corporate strategy to reduce costs," commented Michael McMahon, Chair of Akerman's Litigation Practice Group. "There is a universal need for people to understand the e-discovery process, and we are pleased to have an Akerman attorney leading the discussion of opinion in this space."

Mr. Losey's book explains, in easy to read language, the complex legal and technology issues involved in electronic discovery. Similar to his first effort, this book helps lawyers and IT experts better understand the latest thinking and techniques for transferring critical information from the computer to the courtroom. It includes examinations of new case law and opinions of jurists and experts in the field, and provides a diverse number of views on the subject, including the two most popular e-discovery guides used by judges. Furthermore, the book outlines the interdisciplinary team approach to solving the unique problems of e-discovery and also covers:

Self-organization and development of evidence preservation protocols
New articles of interest on e-discovery teams
The future of e-discovery suggested by a recent litigation survey
How negligent e-records management is creating stunning business risks
E-discovery at the Harvard Club in New York City
New California proposals for e-discovery laws
The conflict between our rules of discovery and the privacy laws of the rest of the world
The limitations of checklists and how to work best using them

Akerman Senterfitt's e-Discovery team, led by Ralph Losey and Akerman Shareholder Michael Simon, is comprised of attorneys and IT professionals throughout the firm's offices in Florida, New York, Washington, D.C., Denver, and Los Angeles, and represent a variety of practice areas, including trial law and intellectual property. They represent and consult with corporate clients, governments, and other law firms concerning a variety of technology law issues, ranging from litigation defense to prevention.

The team routinely handles the e-discovery aspects of major litigation and serves as "national e-counsel" to coordinate the discovery work of local counsel. They are also pioneering a new type of legal service where they assist clients to prepare for litigation by helping them to organize and operate their own internal e-discovery teams. The new "team-related" services include advice on: initial organization and budgeting of the e-discovery team; records retention policies, litigation hold procedures; ESI identification, retrieval, search and analysis; information management; software; hardware; and vendor selection.

About Akerman Senterfitt

Akerman is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the United States by The National Law Journal NLJ 250 (2008) in number of lawyers and is one of the largest firms in Florida. With more than 500 lawyers and governmental affairs professionals, the firm serves clients in major business centers throughout the United States, including Miami, New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. For additional information, please visit the firm's Web site at www.akerman.com.

    Contact:
   Pat Tucker
   RF|Binder Partners, Inc.
   (212) 994-7561
   patrick.Tucker@rfbinder.com

   Walter Fowler
   RF|Binder Partners, Inc.
   (212) 994-7512
   walter.fowler@rfbinder.com

Upcoming Digital Forensic Industry events

2009-03-20T12:05:00.001-07:00

Mark your calendars for some upcoming Digital Forensic Industry events (listing courtesy of DFI News - you can subscribe to their great newsletter here):

April 13-15, 2009

Cell Phone Forensics I Washington, DC

h11-digital-forensics.com

------------------------

April 15-16, 2009

8th Annual Security Conference

Las Vegas, NV

security-conference.org

----------------------

April 27-29, 2009

The Computer Forensics Show

Washington, DC

computerforensicshow.com

------------------------

April 27-29, 2009

eDiscovery

San Francisco, CA

ediscoveryevent.com

------------------------------------

May 5–7, 2009

Cell Phone Forensics

Pittsburgh, PA

bkforensics.com

------------------------------------------

May 12–14, 2009

Cell Phone Forensics

(Law Enforcement Only)

Allentown, PA

bkforensics.com

----------------------------------------

May 17-20, 2009

CEIC 2009

Orlando, FL

www.ceicconference.com

-------------------------------------

May 17-21, 2009

CSI SX 2009

Las Vegas, NV

www.csisx.com

-------------------------------------

May 20-22, 2009

ADFSL Conference

Burlington, VT

digitalforensics-conference.org

-------------------------------------------

May 22, 2009

SADFE

Oakland, CA

conf.ncku.edu.tw/sadfe/

--------------------------------------

May 26-30, 2009

Mobile Forensics World

Chicago, IL

mobileforensicsworld.com

---------------------------------------

May 31-June 3, 2009

Techno Security Conference

Myrtle Beach, SC

www.techsec.com

---------------------------------------

July 7-9, 2009

Cell Phone Forensics II Washington, DC

h11-digital-forensics.com

June 28-July 3, 2009

FIRST Kyoto Japan

www.first.org/events/first

----------------------------------

July 25-28, 2009

USA 2009 Black Hat

Las Vegas, NV

www.blackhat.com

--------------------------------

August 3-5, 2009

Computer Forensics Show

San Jose , CA

computerforensicshow.com

--------------------------------------

August 13-14, 2009

Third International Workshop on Computational Forensics

The Hague, The Netherlands

iwcf09.arsforensica.org

---------------------------------------------

August 17-19, 2009

Digital Forensic Research Workshop

Montreal, Canada

www.dfrws.org

-----------------------------------------------

August 23-26, 2009

2009 HTCIA International Training Conference

Lake Tahoe, CA

www.htcia.org

--------------------------------------

October 23-24, 2009

A National Symposium on the Collection, Analysis and Legal Applications of Digital Evidence - The Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law

Pittsburgh, PA

www.forensics.duq.edu

------------------------------------------

October 26-28, 2009

2009 Techno Forensic Conference

Gaithersburg, MD

www.techsec.com

--------------------------------------------------

November 8-11, 2009

PFIC 2009

Park City, UT
www.pfic2009.com

-----------------------------------------------------

Did you know that TERIS offers Digital Forensic services as well? You can contact us to learn more!

New Blog Alert - Check out new eDiscovery best practices blog written by law students

2009-03-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

We just came across this blog and the great folks behind it via Twitter.

E-lessons learned is an educational blog about e-discovery best practices that features insightful content authored by noted attorney and e-discovery law professor Fernando M. Pinguelo and his team of law students from across the country.

You can find the new blog at www.ellblog.com

We look forward to their posts and learning more in this area!

Lawyer Helps Smithsonian Find Secret Message on Abe Lincoln’s Gold Watch

2009-03-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

We've had so much bad news in the legal industry recently (layoffs announced nearly daily) we thought we would lighten things up a bit and share this tidbit, courtesy of ABA Journal:

On the day the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, in a salvo that began the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln's gold pocket watch happened to be in a repair shop in the Washington, D.C., area.

So, the watchmaker later told his family—and, in 1906, the New York Times—he wrote a secret message on the inner workings. Passed down through the generations in the watchmaker's family, the story intrigued Douglas Stiles, his great-great-grandson, who practices real estate law in Waukegan, Ill., near Chicago. Stiles found the old New York Times article, and alerted the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, which was given the watch in 1958, recounts the Washington Post.

The rest of the story can be found here

Laid-Off Lawyers and Other Professionals

2009-03-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Excellent post today on WSJ.com, "Laid off lawyers and other professionals"

Writer E. Kinney Zalesne discusses the broad impact that the loss of these kinds of jobs have on the economy both locally (in cities such as San Francisco, New York and Boston) but also nationally. It is rightly pointed out that these are unprecedented times given the shift of labor in our work force (the move towards professional positions - especially among women).

An excerpt:

We don't know how deep this recession will be and how much of this class will be wiped out. At first the idea of "laid-off lawyers" seems like the butt of a joke. "About time they got theirs," many people will say to themselves. But it's not a laughing matter to the hundreds of thousands of people and their families in all the professions who worked and studied hard to get to the next level in life, only to have their jobs and careers wiped out along with so many others.

Court holds that overlooking e-discovery information due to honest mistake may serve to avoid court-imposed sanctions

2009-03-04T15:07:00.000-08:00

From IBLS.com (Internet Business Law Services):

In the case of R & R Sails, Inc. v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, Case No. 07-cv-0998-H (POR) (S.D.Cal., Apr. 18, 2008), the court held that overlooking e-discovery information due to honest mistake may serve to avoid court-imposed sanctions. Though, the court found proper to impose sanctions upon the party claiming to have omitted production due to honest mistake when a reasonable inquiry into the nature of the requested material might have prevented the mistake from occurring.

In R & R Sails, Inc. v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, Case No. 07-cv-0998-H (POR) (S.D.Cal., Apr. 18, 2008) (R&R Sails), plaintiff requested several documents from defendant in the course of litigation. Plaintiff defined "document" as including every other means of recording any tangible thing and form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols or combinations thereof.

Upon plaintiff’s notification that electronic and handwritten daily activity records were missing from defendant’s response, defendant explained that it did not maintain daily logs or telephone records. Subsequently, the defendant realized that the requested records existed in an AEGIS computerized database and sent the electronic notes to plaintiff, conceding that his previous declaration was incorrect and was an honest mistake, and that a claim log was maintained electronically.

The full story can be found here

Software capable of reassembling deleted photos

2009-03-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

Interesting article in TG Daily yesterday that discusses technology that allows users to recover deleted photos - even those that have been cleared out of a recycling bin.

As the article notes, this has implications for individuals as well as legal and law enforcement officials:

This software serves not only the purpose of recovering photos which have accidentally been deleted by consumers, but also could aid law enforcement in the restoration of photos which have been purposefully deleted -- for instance in child pornography cases, where forensic analysis by police officers could help gather information for cases.

The full article can be found here

More Layoffs Hit - Latham & Watkins Sack 190 Associates; 250 Staffers

2009-02-28T09:20:00.000-08:00

From A Paralegal's Blog:

Latham & Watkins Lays Off 190 Associates, 250 Staffers

| ABA Journal - Law News Now

Posted: 27 Feb 2009 07:47 AM PST

Setting new records for layoffs, rumor has it that Latham & Watkins has let go of 190 associates and 250 staff members. However, they are offering an unheard-of severance package that includes six months' salary and medical coverage, capped at $100,000. The cuts are 12 percent of the firm's associates and 10 percent of paralegal and other staff. New York and Los Angeles offices were hit the hardest.

(Source: ABA Journal - Law News Now)

Handy Helper Product Review

2009-02-27T13:50:00.000-08:00

(photo from Law Technology Review)

Law Technology Review just posted a product review written by Donna Payne (of the Payne Consulting Group here in our hometown of Seattle, WA) for the "Handy Helper" projector - made by Dell.

The projector weighs less than a pound and is tiny at 3.64 x 4.12 x 1.46 inche - Donna points out that many wallets are bigger than the size of this piece of technology. It is plug-and-play compatible with USB ports, erasing fears and concerns of having it work when you need it for a big presentation.

Check out Donna's full review here.

Washington's Own Governor Gregoire's lawyer recommended for U.S attorney

2009-02-26T22:02:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE -- Washington's U.S. senators have recommended that Gov. Chris Gregoire's longtime counsel, Jenny Durkan, be named the top federal prosecutor in Western Washington.

Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell suggested Durkan for Seattle U.S. attorney in a Feb. 12 letter to the White House, according to a copy provided Wednesday by Murray's office. The senators also recommended Michael Ormsby, a Spokane lawyer, to be U.S. attorney in Eastern Washington.

Professional organization of the week: Women in eDiscovery

2009-02-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

Women in eDiscovery was founded on May 2, 2007. Since that launch, Women in eDiscovery has grown internationally to more than 1,800 members with new members from all over the world joining daily. At present time, there are more than 20 Chapters with regular meetings with new Chapters forming monthly.

The Founders of The Women in eDiscovery, (Shawnna Childress, Lana Schell and Margaret Havinga) envisioned an organization with no barriers for any woman to enter so membership is free and monthly meetings include your meal and education at no charge. If you are interested in joining, please register.

Please click here for the organization's Charity Events page.

Practical eDiscovery Blog

2009-02-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

We found a new eDiscovery Blog to track: Practical EDiscovery (published by Hinshaw and Culbertson). This looks to be a great addition and resource for those in the industry.

Professional Association: Alliance of Legal Document Assistant Professionals

2009-02-15T14:31:00.001-08:00

The Alliance of Legal Document Assistant Professionals (ALDAP) is comprised of experienced legal professionals who have joined forces to boost consumer protection and increase the professional integrity of the Legal Document Assistant (LDA) and paralegal professions. To achieve these goals, ALDAP offers continuing education opportunities, requires strict compliance with the laws governing the LDA and paralegal professions, and promotes awareness of the LDA’s role, both within the legal community and among the general public.

TERIS Launches DiscoverLegalJobs.com - A Free Job Board For The Legal Industry

2009-02-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

For Immediate Release

TERIS Launches DiscoverLegalJobs.com -
A Free Job Board For The Legal Industry

New Web-based resource is ideal for cost-conscious law firms and corporations by eliminating job posting fees, which can be hundreds of dollars on most job sites

Seattle, WA - Jan. 28, 2009 – As a way to say thank you to the legal community that has helped TERIS grow to become one of the leading litigation support firms in the Western US over the past 13 years, the Seattle-based firm launched a free legal industry job board today: DiscoverLegalJobs.com (www.discoverlegaljobs.com).

TERIS, which provides sophisticated litigation support to law firms and corporate legal teams, also wanted a way to help companies and many professionals in the legal profession struggling during the national economic crisis. This week alone, companies across the US have announced plans to sack more than 10,000 employees. Employers and job seekers throughout major markets in the United States can post and look for jobs for free on DiscoverLegalJobs.com – no strings attached. The site features a wide range of full-time, temporary and freelance positions, from attorneys to legal secretaries to paralegals to clerkships. DiscoverLegalJobs.com currently has over 1000 jobs to choose from, with more being added every day.

“In these tough economic times, we wanted to make it easier for law firms and related companies to connect with job seekers,” said Stefan Wikstrom, TERIS founder and CEO. “Many job board sites charge more than $300 to post a single job – we want to help our friends in the industry by launching a site and making it free for everyone.”

“We were also looking for a way to say thank you to the hundreds of companies that have helped make us the leading legal services and eDiscovery firm in the Western U.S., and offering a free service like this seemed natural,” he added.

TERIS, (previously known as ALC Legal Technologies, Duplex Legal Discovery Solutions, and Digital Discovery Solutions), has six offices in four states, and employs more than 275. Wikstrom started the firm with a single copier in 1996, and was among the first to recognize that sophisticated technology would dramatically alter the legal support industry.

Media Contact: David Kaufer, Director of Marketing, 425-275-8814; 206-521-8717 or dkaufer@discoverteris.com

###

ABOUT TERIS

Founded in 1996, TERIS (previously known as ALC Legal Technologies, Duplex Legal Discovery Solutions, and Digital Discovery Solutions), provides legal support and sophisticated eDiscovery solutions to law firms and corporate legal teams across the U.S. and internationally. TERIS’ staff of 275 was named one of the top 20 eDiscovery service providers by industry researcher Socha-Gelbmann in 2008. The company operates a free job board for the legal profession at www.discoverlegaljobs.com and has offices in Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Phoenix and Austin. To learn more about TERIS, visit http://www.discoverteris.com

Leading eDiscovery Firm Changes its Name to TERIS After 13 Years, 6 New Offices and 3 Different Names

2009-02-14T20:56:00.000-08:00

(In case you missed it)

For Immediate Release

Leading eDiscovery Firm Changes its Name to TERIS
After 13 Years, 6 New Offices and 3 Different Names

Company Grows From One Employee and Copy Machine to
Top Tech-Driven E-Discovery Firm in the Western US

Seattle, WA – February 2, 2009 – It began 13 years ago in Seattle in a small office with a single copy machine and one employee. The company steadily grew in its home market and expanded into other areas including the San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, Phoenix, and Austin. The company that began as American Legal Copy has grown to become the leading litigation support and eDiscovery services company in the Western United States, with more than 275 employees across six offices.

The company recently decided that the time was right for an important change that better signifies its core technology strengths and unites the offices under a new name - TERIS.

TERIS, which provides sophisticated e-discovery services to law firms and corporate legal teams, has grown organically and through industry-leading partnerships, with offices in four states. Its clients include many of the largest and most prestigious law firms and Fortune 500 companies in the country.

“We have seen an explosion in the demand for our eDiscovery services as legal professionals adapt to new federal requirements in this area,” said Stefan Wikstrom, Founder and CEO of TERIS. “Corporations and law firms alike require technological expertise to maneuver through the mountains of electronic and paper-based documents that come with the growing number of lawsuits stemming from the recent financial industry turmoil. We expect this growth to continue as we build one of the strongest eDiscovery teams in the industry. ”

Wikstrom was among the first to recognize that sophisticated technologies would dramatically alter the legal support industry. He has since invested more than $1 million in litigation support technologies, including eDiscovery, document hosting, and digital forensics. TERIS has the power to process more than 63 million pages a week or the equivalent of one terabyte every two days. According to a study conducted by UC-Berkeley, roughly 50,000 trees would be required to create enough paper to hold a terabyte of information.

TERIS partners with leading technology providers, including IPRO Tech, Inc. and Clearwell Systems, Inc., to provide a broad range of eDiscovery services; such as culling through information to discover critical case facts in only hours or days, instead of days and weeks, as well as quickly eliminating irrelevant data. TERIS’ services range from sophisticated consulting, computer forensics and eDiscovery, document imaging, case repositories/hosting, and traditional services.

By outsourcing electronic and paper-based document management to TERIS, law firms and corporate legal teams realize significant savings and are confident they will receive the best solutions to match their specific needs. By using TERIS, law firms and corporate legal departments avoid buying expensive computer servers to host mountains of data that tie up their IT department’s resources, significantly reduce the time required to sift through electronic files, and save on wasted billable hours managing document reviews.

TERIS is uniquely positioned to address new challenges and opportunities within the emerging eDiscovery and related markets.

Media Contact: David Kaufer, Director of Marketing, (206) 521-8717 or mailto:dkaufer@discoverteris.com

###

ABOUT TERIS

Founded in 1996, TERIS (previously known as ALC Legal Technologies, DupLEX Legal Discovery Solutions, and Digital Discovery Solutions), provides legal support and sophisticated eDiscovery solutions to law firms and corporate legal teams across the U.S. and internationally. TERIS’ staff of more than 275 was named one of the top 20 eDiscovery service providers by industry researcher Socha-Gelbmann in 2008.
TERIS currently has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, Phoenix, and Austin. The company operates a free job board for the legal community at www.discoverlegaljobs.com

To learn more about TERIS, visit www.discoverteris.com

Guidance Software eDiscovery Lawsuit Demonstrates Challenges for its Clients

2009-02-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

Fascinating story on AP: Guidance Software Inc. 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.

Whether Guidance intentionally hid documents or just couldn't find them is a matter of dispute. The company said it did all that was required. But its inability to cough up certain e-mails, even over several months, led an arbitrator to accuse it of gross negligence and proceeding in bad faith.

At the very least, the case shows how thorny electronic evidence searches can be, even for a specialist.

The full AP story can be found here.

FAA suffers massive data breach; more than 45,000 affected

2009-02-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

The Federal Aviation Administration has notified employees that one of its computers was hacked, and the personally identifiable information of more than 45,000 employees and retirees was stolen electronically. All affected employees will receive individual letters to notify them about the breach, the FAA said Feb. 9.

Federal Computer Week

Legal Problems With Social Networks?

2009-02-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Attention all legal professionals - blogger and attorney Frederick Abramsom points out some legal perils to joining and participating in social networks. He makes some interesting points and should give all some cause to consider. Here at TERIS we just launched our own Facebook pages and also participate actively in LinkedIn and Twitter. So far, no problems of note (indeed we have enjoyed expanding our professional network and using the tools to help expand our communication programs) but we will take these warnings to heart.

Avoiding Sanctions in Ediscovery

2009-02-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

White Paper: In today’s society, the storage of documents is increasingly in electronic form. To search these documents requires some knowledge of technology and the best application of this technology to find the important facts in the tsunami of electronic information.

The complete paper can be found on the TERIS website or JDSupra.com

New Find: A Paralegal's Blog

2009-02-09T11:02:00.001-08:00

We just came across this incredibly well organized blog for the Paralegal Community (appropriately named "A Paralegal's Blog"). It includes personal stories and bios of others in the profession, professional tips and news from the industry. Definitely worth checking out and following if you are a Paralegal.

ONSITE3 Files for Reorganization and Plans to Be Acquired by Integreon

2009-02-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

ONSITE^3(TM), a leading global provider of electronic evidence solutions for law firms and corporations, today announced that it has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, and that it plans to be acquired by Integreon (www.integreon.com), the global leader of knowledge and legal process outsourcing (KPO and LPO). The Company also announced today that Integreon has completed the acquisition of ONSITE³'s outstanding pre-bankruptcy secured debt and has agreed to provide debtor-in-possession financing to assure ONSITE³’s continued operation throughout the reorganization process.

The full announcement can be found here.

S.F. public defender begs for 2 paralegals

2009-01-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco public defender said Wednesday that unless the city gives him two more paralegals, he will start turning away some defendants accused of homicide and other felonies Feb. 1 and instead hire private attorneys for them.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/28/BAV215JAEB.DTL

2009-01-28T15:00:00.000-08:00

TERIS Launches DiscoverLegalJobs.com -
A Free Job Board For The Legal Industry

New Web-based resource is ideal for cost-conscious law firms and corporations by eliminating job posting fees, which can be hundreds of dollars on most job sites

Are future eDiscovery solutions in the "clouds?"

2009-01-26T16:27:00.000-08:00

Wall Street Technology reports today that:

With the amount of infrastructure required to support e-discovery capabilities, firms are looking to cloud computing’s utility model as a way to rein in storage and retrieval costs while improving their regualtory response.

The full article can be found here

Divorces Just Got A Little More Technical

2009-01-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

Over the past decade, forensics experts have seen an increased use of digital evidence during family law proceedings. Given how much our lives have become increasingly tied to the many digital devices that make day-to-day living more efficient, we don’t realize that the electronic trail left behind becomes a record of the way we live. This includes:

* Desktop/Laptop computers
* Cell phones, BlackBerry, iPhone, and PDA
* Digital cameras/recorders
* iPod/digital music/video players
* GPS systems

The electronic evidence extracted from the digital devices is increasingly making its way into divorce court cases as more and more couples want to learn about their partner’s digital activities, plotting almost indefensible maps of a cheating spouse’s footprints.
What Digital Evidence Can Be Found?

Information that can be obtained includes:

* E-Mail and instant messages
* Names and address of financial institutions
* Asset and /or fund transfers
* Debt information and account activities
* User names and passwords
* Traces of Website visited/Internet history
* Deleted or encrypted files

Many of these sources include time-specific information, which can help build time lines in investigations. Digital evidence can be powerful, but it is often perishable and transient, and can be misleading. The key is to quickly identify and retrieve the pertinent facts before they are erased forever, and to subject the data to a fair and rigorous review by a trained expert.

In a world of increased dependency on electronic and computer-based technologies, evidence does not necessarily present itself as it has in the past. Digital evidence is critical in these cases and many times is the difference between settling a case and winning a case.

A growing number of firms such as TERIS provide these and related digital and eDiscovery services to law firms.

New laws pertaining to 'green' issues are predicted to be the fourth most important legal trend in 2009

2009-01-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

With the Inauguration of President Obama complete, we wanted to look at how his Presidency may affect the legal industry in the upcoming year.

According to the legal site Findlaw.com, "Green" laws are predicted to be one of the top 10 issues facing the legal industry in 2009. The site notes:

Whether or not we see a Roosevelt-like public works project in green technology, we will likely see large shifts in how our federal government uses its power to implement green change. From rules set or modified by a new Environmental Protection Agency, to the approach a new Department of Agriculture decides to take on ethanol, how the federal government uses its powers will set the tone for how America attempts to go green. Governments at the state and local level will also play key roles in implementing programs and laws to help us go green.

Going to Legal Tech? Check out this worthy event...

2009-01-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

If you are attending Legal Tech in NYC in a couple of weeks, you might want to check out Women in eDiscovery's fund-raising event for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. With a suggested donation of $25, the event (co-hosted by the National Association for Women Lawyers (NAWL)) will be from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the Hilton New York Hotel.

Details about the event can be found here.

A $6M eDiscovery Mistake

2009-01-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

Very interesting post on the Information Week blog yesterday by Andrew Conry-Murray outlining how:

A recent court ruling shows how easy -- and expensive -- it can be to screw up the e-discovery process.

Attorney Ralph Losey writes a detailed analysis of a recent case that demonstrates the perils of e-discovery. I've summarized here, but check out the post for the full details.

A government agency was compelled to spend $6 million on an e-discovery exercise for a case in which it wasn't even a party. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) was subpoenaed for documents in litigation involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The full post is here

eHarmony for Attorneys & Clients?

2009-01-16T12:48:00.000-08:00

We came across this interesting company via Twitter - AttorneySync.com is an online marketing tool for lawyers.

With AttorneySync, laywers receive contact information, in real-time, from potential clients actively searching for attorneys.

Sounds like an interesting concept and application of Web 2.0 tools in the legal business development world. We will be anxiously tracking the success of the site and wish it well!

Get ready for DiscoverLegalJobs.com - Free job postings

2009-01-15T15:54:00.001-08:00

A new web site created specifically for the legal industry will be launching in the next 2 weeks. DiscoverLegalJobs.com will allow organizations to post job openings for FREE. Professionals will be able to browse and search for jobs throughout the major metropolitan areas in the US (also for free).

DiscoverLegalJobs.com is a free service for the law community provided by TERIS as a thank you for the support it receives from the industry.

Stay tuned for the launch!

Georgetown Law announces E-Discovery Training Academy

2009-01-14T10:43:00.000-08:00

From Georgetown Law and ALSP:

Georgetown Law is excited to announce a new venture - The E-Discovery Training Academy. Georgetown Law is the first law school to provide you with the opportunity to gain the essential knowledge and skills necessary to help you lead or participate on your e-discovery team.

From February 9 — 13, 2009 at the Georgetown Law campus, you will learn from some of the country's leading e-discovery experts, including members of the federal judiciary, focusing on the nexus between the law and the technology. During this intense one-week session, you will benefit from the daily readings, hands-on exercises and in session discussions. At the conclusion of the week, you will return to your office with the practical skills and comprehensive knowledge to help guide your client or company through the myriad of e-discovery challenges ahead.

You are encouraged to register now to guarantee your seat at this inaugural event. Due to the interactive nature of the Academy, attendance is limited to 50 participants. For more information or to register please visit www.georgetowncle.org.

Pros and Cons about Paralegal Profession

2009-01-14T09:52:00.000-08:00

Interesting (but not very well written) post from a Career Tips blog about the Paralegal Profession and the pros and cons about working in this industry.

The top con? Long hours.

The top pro? Salary potential.

What do you think? Check it out here

From Paralegal to Organizer in chief

2009-01-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

Great article today in the Boston Globe about President-elect Obama's new personal secretary. The 27-year old rose quickly through the ranks, including serving as a paralegal for a brief period of time.

After 13 Years, 6 New Offices And 3 Different Names, We're Changing To One Name: TERIS

2009-01-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

What began in Seattle with one employee and one copy machine has grown to be one of the largest full-service litigation support companies in the Western US. With our six offices and 250+ employees, we have been delivering timely, innovative technology solutions to law firms and corporations alike.

To reflect these changes - as well as to fully unite our growing number of offices and resources - we have decided that the time is right for an important change. So it's with great pleasure and excitement to announce that as of January 1, 2009, our company name is officially changing to TERIS.

New name. Same mission. Same Ownership.

While we officially take our new name in January, our mission to create timely customized solutions with a high ROI for our clients remains the same.

When our founder Stefan Wikstrom chose the name American Legal Copy (ALC) for the company's first office in Seattle, it perfectly reflected the only service we provided at the time. And while our clients understand it and feel connected to our name, those who don't know us are often confused, thinking that we only provide traditional copy services. Since the company's inception, we have added five new offices - two of them with their own name. The time has come to unite our offices under one name and begin this exciting new chapter in our history.

Come visit us at www.discoverteris.com

What Does Schwarzenegger Veto of ESI Bill Mean?

2008-10-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed Assembly Bill 926 on October 9th of this year. According to Arnold, his veto was due to the ongoing burdens associated with implementing an overdue state budget. As they pertain to handling of Electronically Stored Information (ESI), this bill would have brought many civil codes in alignment with the FRCP rules changes of 2006. Many other states are implementing similar legal reform.

After the federal rule changes nearly two years ago, California took a wait-and-see approach to the handling ESI. The thought was to give the federal system a chance to set precedence and clear up some of the ambiguity. At this point, many questions still remain unanswered about lockstep ESI methodologies, but the industry as a whole has become much more cognizant about the subject and some solid standards have emerged.

By delaying approval, the Governor may have done a disservice to a community of lawyers that are still stumbling blindly around the topic. As we have seen at ALC, the FRCP rule changes forced many attorneys to change their traditional behaviors for managing document discovery. In the first year alone, we saw many firms fighting their obligations to properly handling ESI and in those cases risked hemorrhaging costs and sanctions. The two biggest areas that we consult on daily, safe-harbor and meet-and-confers, can easily be attributed to those changes.

With the advent of the new FRCP, attorneys found solace in safe harbor protections. Although this was not the biggest point of interest with the new rules, it has become a major function in current eDiscovery methodologies. As long as there are reasonable and good faith efforts to collect and produce data, law firms and corporate general counsel can wade through eDiscovery with more ease and for less money.

To further the safety net, the federally mandated meet-and-confer conferences for ESI production (Rule 26f) have created a safe environment for adversaries to discuss data issues with transparency. This has changed some traditional strategies that lawyers have employed for years. But, after the learning curve, this rule has enabled parties on both sides of litigation, to prepare for and manage review and productions in a timely and cost efficient manner.

Much of the proposed language awaiting approval for California civil code mirrors the language of the 2006 FRCP changes. Obviously, there are many other nuances that affect data discovery and after two years there is still significant grey area; however, it appears that the courts were being proactively ambiguous when developing these rules. No matter how they are viewed, these rules force attorneys to address and resolve data discovery issues productively. Until California adopts some of these guidelines for state level litigation, there will continue to be lawyers who exhibit unintentional and inadvertently risky behavior. Perhaps more important is the amount of money (yes - taxpayers money as well) that will be wasted on lawsuits by corporations and individuals, until these changes take hold in our local system. We’ll see how much more money the state wastes, before the Governor finds it important enough to sign in the previously vetoed bill.

The Law Requires Email Archiving

2008-10-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Nice article by Edward Alexei, Tangent's Vice President of IT Solutions, about the need for firms/corporations to archive and organize email.

According to industry experts, approximately 90% of the day's business communications are performed via email or by way of unsecured instant messages.

The rest of the article can be found here.

Reform of Federal Agencies May Require eDiscovery and Records Retention

2008-10-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

More and more tech companies are getting into and promoting their eDiscovery solutions...

Here is a link to a press release from CA, Inc. claiming that the company is:

"seeing an increasing demand from government agencies for its Information Governance Suite related to anticipated inquiries and reform measures expected after the US presidential elections in November 2008."

Leading E-Discovery and Digital Forensics Industry Veteran Terry Tao Joins ALC Legal Technologies

2008-09-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

Leading E-Discovery and Digital Forensics Industry Veteran
Terry Tao Joins ALC Legal Technologies

Appointment of industry veteran solidifies firm’s expertise in the practices of computer forensics, electronically stored information discovery, document production and management

Seattle, WA – September 2, 2008 – ALC Legal Technologies (ALC) announced today that leading E-Discovery and Digital Forensics industry veteran Terry Tao joined the firm as its new Director of Electronically Stored Information. Highly experienced in the E-Discovery and Digital Forensics areas, Terry comes to ALC with more than 10 years of experience in litigation data management and trial support technology systems. He specializes in the practices of computer forensics, electronically stored information discovery, document production, and trial technologies.

“We are excited to have a professional of Terry’s caliber and proficiency join ALC,” said Stefan Wikstrom, Founder and CEO of ALC Legal Technologies. “His addition is a valuable step in our evolution as we continue to build upon our considerable expertise and success to serve an ever-growing market requiring unique knowledge in e-discovery and digital forensics.”
In addition to performing computer forensics by analyzing drives for deleted information and other activities, Tao coordinates the gathering, searching, and processing of e-mail and electronically stored data. He has designed and trained legal teams on the use of online web-enabled data review applications. With his diverse technology background, Terry has designed and managed the architecture and methodology of numerous complex litigation cases in almost every facet of the process from initial concept and strategy to implementation.

Tao frequently consults with major corporations and law firms on a wide range of technical matters including data gathering, electronic discovery, and forensic data recovery. Terry graduated from Washington State University with a B.S. in Computer Science.

About ALC Legal Technologies
ALC Legal Technologies is an industry leading document and data services company providing innovative software solutions, state-of-the-art hardware technologies, and highly experienced personnel to deliver top quality and consistent results to the legal and corporate communities. The company provides products and services across several disciplines; including Consulting & Project Management, Electronic Discovery, Repository/Hosting, Imaging, and Traditional Reprographics.

ALC supports clients throughout the US and internationally, through its six offices – Seattle, San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Diego, Phoenix and Austin.

Media Contact:
David R. Kaufer
Director of Marketing
206.521.8717
david@alcweb.com

ALC Legal Technologies Named Top 20 Electronic Discovery Service Providers in the prestigious 2008 Socha-Gelbmann Electronic Discovery Survey Report

2008-09-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

ALC Legal Technologies Named Top 20 Electronic Discovery Service Providers in the prestigious 2008 Socha-Gelbmann Electronic Discovery Survey Report

Ranking validates ALC’s reputation as top
electronic discovery service provider to the legal industry

Seattle, WA – August 5, 2008 – ALC Legal Technologies (ALC) announced today that it has been named one of the top 20 electronic service providers to the legal industry in the prestigious Socha-Gelbmann Survey Report. The 2008 Survey examines the state of electronic discovery in 2007, compares this year's results with results from the preceding five years, and makes projections for 2008 through 2009.

This marks the first time ALC has been included and ranked in this survey, which is used by law firms, corporate counsel, and executives to help drive purchase decisions when searching for the best firms to manage litigation support services. ALC earned its ranking as one of the top 20 Electronic Discovery Service providers in the Corporate Rankings category. This category includes the assessment from actual clients that use ALC.

“We are honored to be ranked so highly in our first year in the survey,” said Stefan Wikstrom, Founder and CEO of ALC Legal Technologies. “This provides us an opportunity to showcase what our clients have known about our firm for the past 12 years – ALC Legal Technologies is committed to providing world-class service and settles for nothing less than total satisfaction with our clients. We anticipate moving up the rankings in coming years.”

“This is an impressive showing for ALC Legal Technologies,” said George J. Socha, Jr., Esq., Founder Socha Consulting LLC. “They are one of the firms that are successfully making the transition from the old paper-only service world into the new era of electronic data services. We look forward to tracking their growth and progress in the future.”

The Annual Socha-Gelbmann Electronic Discovery Survey Report provides the most comprehensive view of the legal services industry, by carefully examining the state of electronic discovery; the rankings are based on a detailed evaluation of more than 350 qualitative and quantitative factors. The survey comprises data from more than 155 organizations on the forefront of e-discovery, including leading law firms and Fortune 1000 inside counsel.
About ALC Legal Technologies

ALC Legal Technologies is an industry leading document and data services company providing innovative software solutions, state-of-the-art hardware technologies, and highly experienced personnel to deliver top quality and consistent results to the legal and corporate communities. The company provides products and services across several disciplines; including Consulting & Project Management, Electronic Discovery, Repository/Hosting, Imaging, and Traditional Reprographics.

ALC supports clients throughout the US and internationally, through its six offices – Seattle, San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Diego, Phoenix and Austin.

Media Contact:
David R. Kaufer
Director of Marketing
206.521.8717
david@alcweb.com

When should you look at an e-discovery platform?

2008-09-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Good post here about how corporations can lean on partners to identify and implement the best and most appropriate solution when (not if) the need arises for e-discovery.

The writer discusses what he had to do when approached by corporate counsel to pull together documents relating to a specific subject (3 times in one year).

He writes:

Instead of pulling valuable resources off of projects, I relied on a local partner to come in and perform the searches for me. The first one cost $10k, the second about $22k and the third was close to $35k and I still had to pull people off of projects to help out. These lawsuits plus the various human resources issues that IT is asked to help perform discovery on (i.e. insider information or sexual harassment) started adding up and threatened to revert my proactive IT team back to a reacting group of firefighters. There had to be a better way.

The rest of the post can be found here...

Test your skills with new legal crossword

2008-09-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

The Daily Report just launched a new online legal crossword puzzle. The site will post a new crossword puzzle every Friday. This is a fun way to test your legal (and crossword) skills and knowledge.

Companies don't know where their information lives - ediscovery drives costs up

2008-09-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

From CMS Wire today.

It seems companies are confused (and becoming more so) about document storage and management and and this is having a profound impact on their e-discovery capabilities.

The article points to a study from the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

Turns out, many companies are still not in the habit of retaining and organizing their documents in a logical structure. In fact, it’s so hard to uncover materials related to the legal cases that costs are rising as a result. Out of the 1,400 lawyers surveyed, 87% said that electronic discovery is too costly and driving up the price of litigation.

Companies who want to avoid these rising costs need to work with expert consultants and partners to develop best practice plans and processes.

A new e-Discovery worry to consider: Virtual Machines

2008-09-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

From EnterpriseStorageForum.com comes an article about Virtual Machines and the impact they may have on e-discovery.

First things first. What are Virtual Machines? EnterpriseStorageForum.com defines them this way:

A self-contained operating environment that behaves as if it is a separate computer. For example, Java applets run in a Java virtual machine (VM) that has no access to the host operating system. This design has two advantages:
• System Independence: A Java application will run the same in any Java VM, regardless of the hardware and software underlying the system.
• Security: Because the VM has no contact with the operating system, there is little possibility of a Java program damaging other files or applications.
The second advantage, however, has a downside. Because programs running in a VM are separate from the operating system, they cannot take advantage of special operating system features.

Companies such as Kazeon Systems are offering solutions for the problem. In Kazeon's case, they claim support for VMware (NYSE: VMW) in its Information Server product line. Version 3.1 of the software supports VMware instances and VMware images so users can discover unknown or hidden virtual instances on servers, laptops and desktops.

Taneja Group founder and consulting analyst Arun Taneja noted that the rise of server virtualization has led to more and more information being stored in virtual machines.

"Traditional e-discovery products and methods have not evolved sufficiently and can potentially miss out on important, relevant and incomplete information associated with a legal matter that is contained in unknown or deliberately hidden virtual environments," Taneja said.

The bottom line? While not as obvious as email, text and instant messages, this is yet another area that law firms and corporate counsel alike need to consider when developing and implementing their e-discovery plans and processes.

Is E-Discovery overwhelming the American Justice System?

2008-08-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

Interesting article in the most recent Economist that asserts "A deluge of electronic information may overwhelm American civil justice"

The article's author points out that it was not long ago when "In the rare event that electronic evidence was requested, 100 gigabytes (GB) was considered a large amount." Today, "almost every case involves e-discovery and spits out “terabytes” of information—the equivalent of millions of pages."

In an ordinary case, 200 lawyers can easily review electronic documents for four months, at a cost of millions of dollars, he says.

Not surprisingly, given the huge costs associated with these cases, many large corporations are trying to bring e-discovery in house and are building their own teams. Verizon is one company taking this step - and they project that they will save well over $11M per year once their team and technology is firmly in place.

Whether or not this prediction comes true, this does seem to be a trend among companies. And until limits are placed on the amount (and type) of information that can be requested during discovery, it seems this will only continue to grow.

Managing E-Discovery: The CIO Perspective

2008-08-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

Today's online version of Computerworld includes some good insight for IT managers and executives regarding the growing role of E-Discovery in their roles.

Author Benjamin Barnett describes a "call to arms in an electronic discovery battle" for IT professionals.

His top 3 rules:

Rule 1: Managing e-discovery is now part of your job.

Rule 2: E-discovery (for the most part) is a one-way street.

Rule 3: Legal landmarks in the e-discovery minefield are few and far between.

You can read the rest of his rules and the article here.

Tech Firms Pitch Tools For Sifting Legal Records

2008-08-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, last Friday the Wall Street Journal published a great article about the rise of technology solutions being created and pitched to companies who are feeling overwhelmed by the growing demands of e-discovery.

It is interesting to see how law firms are positioning themselves in this development. It seems to be a classic case of yet another service-oriented industry that is feeling the impact of technology solutions. As is the case in all markets (including our own), those who don't or won't evolve will eventually go the way of the dinosaur...

Welcome to our Litigation Support Sentinel Blog

2008-08-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

If you're reading this post, it means that you have found the new Litigation Support Sentinel Blog - published by the ALC Legal Technologies family of companies and professionals.

We plan to use this space to help keep our partners, clients and employees apprised of new developments within the litigation support industry as well as our company and local offices.

Check in frequently, bookmark us or subscribe to the blog via our RSS feed and you'll likely learn about new developments within this exciting and fascinating industry.

And of course, please feel free to share your comments and observations.