You may be in for a rude awakening.

Many lawyers and IT staffers “just assume if they put data in the cloud it’s going to be at their fingertips, that it’s inherently discoverable,” says Barry Murphy, co-founder and principal analyst at eDJ Group, a consulting firm specializing in e-discovery. “That’s not necessarily the case.”

Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party to litigation is expected to preserve and be able to produce electronically stored information that is in its “possession, custody or control.” But in the cloud, the situation isn’t so clear. Information that’s electronically stored in the cloud is presumably under your control, but it may not technically be in your possession, says James M. Kunick, principal and chair of the intellectual property and technology practice at law firm Much Shelist.

via E-discovery in the Cloud – Computerworld.

At least three state attorneys general have started antitrust investigations into Google, a source familiar with the matter said.

The source declined to elaborate on the details of the investigations by the attorneys general of California, Ohio and New York, as they were still in the early stages.

The attorneys general investigation into Google was first reported by the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the investigations.

The news of the attorneys general investigation emerged on the same day the Wall Street Journal reported that the internet search giant is about to receive the civil equivalent of a subpoena from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as part of a probe into the company’s Internet search business.

The company, which dominates U.S. and global markets for search advertising, has been accused by competitors of favoring its own services over rivals in its search results.

Google, the world’s No. 1 search engine, and the FTC declined to comment on the Journal report.

via Multiple antitrust probes of Google reported – latimes.com.

Before I start, it is important that readers understand why the Center in general and I in particular am qualified to conduct this investigation. The Center has, as its mandate, the responsibility for research and support for several advanced computing technologies including digital forensics and investigations. Our tools are best of breed commercial tools, our environment is controlled strictly and our security is maintained to avoid contamination. We conduct digital investigations routinely for Norwich University and such entities as the state of Vermont. My own background of nearly 50 years includes a PhD in digital investigation the designations CISSP, CISM and FICAF as well as decades of experience.

via Samsung laptops clean: No keylogger or spyware of any kind found.

The DoD Cyber Crime Center’s Digital Forensics Challenge is your chance to help digital forensic examiners solve real-world challenges and develop new investigative tools, techniques, and methodologies. To learn more about the Digital Forensics Challenge, visit: http://www.dc3.mil/challenge/2010/

See more DoD videos at http://www.dodvclips.mil.

Features Coming Soon…

Don’t get too excited just yet—Twitter’s business center is still in beta. Presently only a few chosen companies are able to enjoy the new features, which include:

Contributors Tab: The Contributors tab will streamline the tweeting process by enabling multiple users to access the account and tweet on the company’s behalf.

Verified Business Accounts: Previously only available to individuals, Verified Twitter accounts aim to assist in building trust between businesses and their customers. Now consumers won’t have to wonder whether the company they’re interacting with on Twitter is really the company, or just someone pretending to be affiliated with them.

DM Customers You’re Not Following: This is the biggie, especially for businesses with a large audience on the micro-blogging platform. Without requiring followership in order to communicate privately, Twitter is expanding the number of opportunities for interaction. Customers will be able to build a rapport with the brands they care about, and businesses can conduct customer service without it being in the full view of the public.

The feature is optional, of course, so if for any reason you’d rather not have customers contacting you directly, you don’t have to.

via Twitter Business Center Ushers Customer Service into the Age of Engagement.

via Golden Opportunity « Opening California to International Arbitration.

No lawyers will be located at the new business center at first, but the firm plans to add some basic document-review attorneys down the road, said co-managing partner William J. Perlstein. The new setup will add efficiency and cost less than housing business services in pricey offices in major cities, he said.

At present the firm divides back-office functions between its Washington, New York and Boston offices.

“As we addressed the question of trying to consolidate, that freed us up to look outside the metro areas, where space is less expensive and we can get a business campus setting,” Perlstein said. “It’s a combination of cost savings and the efficiency of having everyone in one location.”

The firm is still securing space for the new business center, and its not yet clear how much money it will save with the move, Perlstein said.

Wilmer is not the first firm to establish an off-site business center in a lower-cost area. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe established its global operations center in Wheeling, W.Va., in 2000. The facility now houses about 200 workers.

via Law.com – Wilmer Opening Business Center in Ohio for Back-Office Functions.

But not all of Asia is gloating. Missing altogether from Eversheds’ report is the city that’s most worried about losing ground to Shanghai: Hong Kong.

Obviously, such surveys are to be taken with a grain of salt; after all, over a tenth of Eversheds’ respondents predicted Dubai would emerge as the world’s preeminent financial center in decade’s time.

And Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China with a separate local government and legal system, has been booming recently. So far this year, its exchange is leading the world in initial public offerings, mostly on behalf of mainland Chinese companies. It remains the preferred regional base for global banks and, consequently, international law firms.

Still, Hong Kong has long had a complex about Shanghai, which was the region’s preeminent financial center before falling under communist rule in 1949. Now that that same communist government has embraced capitalism, fears abound that Shanghai will be promoted at Hong Kong’s expense.

That anxiety was reflected in a Reuters article last week, in which one Hong Kong banker fretted that his city would become a second city — a Boston or a Chicago to Shanghai’s New York.

via Will Shanghai Overtake Hong Kong as World Financial Center?.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced the long-awaited and politically fraught decision at a news conference Friday. He also said five other Guantanamo detainees, including a major suspect in the bombing of the USS Cole, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, will be tried through the military commission process.

Holder said the Sept. 11 defendants should be tried where their crimes occurred. Nearly 3,000 people died when the World Trade Center towers were brought down by two hijacked jetliners, another hijacked jet hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in the state of Pennsylvania.

“After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for that attacks of September the 11th will finally face justice,” Holder said. “They will be brought to New York to answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks away from where the twin towers once stood.”

Bringing such notorious suspects to U.S. soil to face trial is a key step in President Barack Obama’s plan to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obama initially planned to close the center by Jan. 22, but the administration is no longer expected to meet that deadline.

“For over 200 years our nation has relied upon a faithful adherence to the rule of law,” Holder told a news conference at the Justice Department. “Once again, we will ask our legal system in two venues to answer that call.”

via Law.com – Sept. 11 Mastermind, Four Other Detainees to Face Death Penalty in New York Trial.