You are here: Home / Archives for paper

Electronic Discovery: As an Attorney, Are You Prepared For It? | Tech Help USA

January 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Electronic Discovery: As an Attorney, Are You Prepared For It?

Youre sitting in your office when your secretary buzzes you and says you have a letter in from the mail. Upon opening it you realize its a request for electronic discovery. The opposing attorney is asking for your clients hard drives, emails, phone records, tape backups, and other legacy media.

Do you know how to respond to their request? Do you know what is relevant or not to the litigation? How do you review and do productions on electronic discovery? What kind of software exists out there to help? And cant you just give them paper and let them be happy with that?

So many questions, and not surprisingly, so many answers. To begin, you need to know what electronic discovery is before undertaking any kind of response. Electronic discovery is the term coined to indicate any information in electronic format that is passed between two parties for the sake of discovery during or before litigation commences. Such information can be electronic files on a hard drive, emails on a pda, server, laptop, or desktop, and voice and video recordings among other things.

Generally, most electronic discovery is centered on anything that could be paper, but is usually electronic. Emails, word documents, and excel spreadsheets seem to be the most highly sought after items in discovery. Whereas an attorney could get away in the past with printing out an email and handing it over the other side, these days that is generally not good enough. Email files contain what is called meta data which shows who sent the email, what time, who was ccd and who was even bccd. It may even show what email servers sent the data out originally.

Because emails are kept in electronic format during the ordinary course of business, it seems only right to ask for it in the same format. There are many vendors out there that can assist with processing emails and electronic files for the sake of discovery and productions. Doing a price comparison wont always give you the best solution for a service provider. Ask around. See who is doing a good job among other firms and who isnt. Vendors will take the electronic data, process it by taking out the metadata and create what is called a tiff image and a corresponding data record linked to that image that you can search on. These vendors will even OCR the image so that you can search on the words actually on the image.

Computer forensic experts also exist and would be happy to provide consultation to the attorney who needs help in deciding how to handle this new realm of discovery. Such consultants are usually well versed in discovery requests and can assist in making your own discovery request as well.

via Electronic Discovery: As an Attorney, Are You Prepared For It? | Tech Help USA.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: Tech Bytes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

New EDRM White Paper: E-Discovery Research Roundtable: Buyers’ Perspectives on Challenges and Solutions « The Electronic Discovery Reference Model

December 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Cost containment for electronic discovery is a priority for most organizations today, even to the extent that some quantified and managed risk is now deemed acceptable. This is the assessment from a research roundtable conducted by Integreon at a recent legal industry conference. During the event, Integreon brought together more than thirty participants from top corporations and law firms. These individuals represented a cross section of industry roles, including lawyers and litigation support professionals, IT managers, and compliance and records management experts. This report summarizes the key e-discovery challenges organizations are currently facing (or expect to face in the future) and the initiatives they are undertaking to address them.

via New EDRM White Paper: E-Discovery Research Roundtable: Buyers’ Perspectives on Challenges and Solutions « The Electronic Discovery Reference Model.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Document Management: How Purging Paper Boosts Bottom Line – Case Studies

November 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Maya Assurance Company, based in Long Island City, NY, provides liability insurance for taxis, limousines, and related vehicles in New York City’s five boroughs. The company was founded in 2005 and acquired its office space in 2006.It was quickly obvious to management that the most pressing problem was lack of office space for document storage. One reason was that regulatory requirements are such that documents must be retained at least six years. The company had originally reserved 20 percent of its space for document storage, but soon needed more. It would either need to move to a larger office, and thus slow its growth, or find another solution.

Besides a lack of office space, efficiency was another challenge. “I was hired to do the IT,” says K.J. Singh, vice president. “I quickly realized the importance of creating an efficient system for handling document workflow.”

Singh and one of the company’s claims adjusters, who was a self-taught programmer, began looking for a technology solution. “He provided a lot of information from the workflow perspective,” says Singh. “We looked at several different options together.”

Ultimately, they ended up selecting a document management system from Cabinet NG. Cabinet NG’s Shared Access Filing Environment (CNG-SAFE) is designed to consolidate all information into one organized system. While the solution is not specifically designed for the insurance vertical, its core platform is flexible and easily customizable.

via Document Management: How Purging Paper Boosts Bottom Line – Case Studies.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: Tech Bytes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Updated iPhone Forensics white paper released – viaForensics «viaForensics

November 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

viaForensics has released an updated version of its free white paper on iPhone Forensics. The paper reviews specific software and techniques that analysts and investigators can use to recover the vast amount of information stored on Apple’s iPhones.

In addition to reviewing forensic tools, the iPhone forensics white paper takes readers through a forensic analysis with each tool and reports on the installation, acquisition, reporting and accuracy of the tool.

The use of mobile forensics to uncover data has become increasingly important in corporate investigations, civil disputes and criminal cases. During a typical iPhone investigation, viaForensics has recovered more than 60,000 files, including text messages, contacts, GPS locations, website history, online banking credentials and Facebook images. This type of data has been used by law enforcement, federal agencies and corporations in investigations and criminal and civil cases.

The white paper is available at http://viaforensics.com/education/white-papers/iphone-forensics/. Registration for future updates is available and will also provide information on an upcoming white paper on Android Forensics.

via Updated iPhone Forensics white paper released – viaForensics «viaForensics.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: Tech Bytes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Litigation Watch: Transocean Settles FCPA Charges With SEC, DOJ

November 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Westlaw Business) Beleaguered oil rig giant Transocean will pay more than $20 million in fines to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The SEC had charged that Transocean, most famous for its Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, made payments to Nigerian customs officials over a five-year period to import its drilling rigs.

The original complaint also named Panalpina World Transport Holding Ltd, a Swiss freight forwarding company, as a relevant party. Panalpina, the complaint alleged, acted as a courier for cash payments to the Nigerian officials.

The complaint had further alleged a scheme whereby Transocean manipulated a phony paper trail in order to show that rigs had left Nigerian waters before permits expired, thus avoiding “severe penalties.” Keeping the rigs in Nigerian waters enabled Transocean to avoid costly drilling interruptions “thus avoiding moving costs of approximately $1,088,985 and gaining profits of approximately $3,172,378. Falsified documents and corrupt Nigerian officials allowed Transocean to show that rather than move from one off-shore Nigerian block to another, the rigs physically left the country and re-entered months later for a different assignment. The SEC complaint put Transocean’s total gain from the paper moves at “approximately $4,261,363.”

via Litigation Watch: Transocean Settles FCPA Charges With SEC, DOJ.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Litigation Watch: Transocean Settles FCPA Charges With SEC, DOJ

November 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Westlaw Business) Beleaguered oil rig giant Transocean will pay more than $20 million in fines to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The SEC had charged that Transocean, most famous for its Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, made payments to Nigerian customs officials over a five-year period to import its drilling rigs.

The original complaint also named Panalpina World Transport Holding Ltd, a Swiss freight forwarding company, as a relevant party. Panalpina, the complaint alleged, acted as a courier for cash payments to the Nigerian officials.

The complaint had further alleged a scheme whereby Transocean manipulated a phony paper trail in order to show that rigs had left Nigerian waters before permits expired, thus avoiding “severe penalties.” Keeping the rigs in Nigerian waters enabled Transocean to avoid costly drilling interruptions “thus avoiding moving costs of approximately $1,088,985 and gaining profits of approximately $3,172,378. Falsified documents and corrupt Nigerian officials allowed Transocean to show that rather than move from one off-shore Nigerian block to another, the rigs physically left the country and re-entered months later for a different assignment. The SEC complaint put Transocean’s total gain from the paper moves at “approximately $4,261,363.”

via Litigation Watch: Transocean Settles FCPA Charges With SEC, DOJ.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

How to Prepare Legal Documents for Discovery & Litigation | Legal Language Services

October 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Steps to Preserve Legal Documents for Discovery

Whether you are sifting through an opposing party’s legal documents or keeping your own company prepared, Legal Language Services can help you catalog, organize and summarize legal discovery documents.

Business records in another language may prove difficult to organize. However, Legal Language can take this  be cataloged and summarized by Legal Language. Certified translations can make your legal documents court-ready.

Your company should be knowledgeable about the documents being retained. Whether they are paper or electronic documents, they should be regularly reviewed to determine what is being stored, where it is being stored and for how long. This will help your company monitor your information and make decisions about whether too much information is being stored or if it is too easily accessible.

Be sure to have an effective retention policy for company documents that all employees should be aware of. Educating your staff on the obligations to preserve any documents for legal discovery will certainly save time and money, especially if done before a claim for evidence arises.

If your company is on notice of claim, employees should be informed right away. Employees may try to eradicate some files without knowing they may be necessary to the discovery process, and that may inadvertently subject the company to liability.

Additionally, many companies schedule the automatic destruction of electronic or paper information on a regular basis. Does your company do this? Failure to stop those processes could be viewed as willful destruction of evidence, which will not curry favor in court. Effective litigation hold processes can help an employer minimize the burdens of legal document discovery.

via How to Prepare Legal Documents for Discovery & Litigation | Legal Language Services.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Interest in Records Management Rises, Email Still Badly Managed

October 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

e-Discovery and Efficiency

On the good news front it seems that many enterprises are beginning to see the value of e-Discovery software and the value of moving from paper to electronic records. For enterprises with no records management system, the average legal e-Discovery request takes 25 days, while with one it takes 12 days.

For those using paper, the corresponding figures are 19 days on average, with 28% taking more than a month. Paper is also considered a good deal less efficient than e-Discovery software, which is reckoned to be three times more efficient than paper.

Search was also considered key to successful e-Discovery processes with 47% using ad-hoc search across file shares and email systems to find discoverable records. A further 24% use native search in their ECM or RM system, while 7% use enterprise search.

via Interest in Records Management Rises, Email Still Badly Managed.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Ratio of Electronic Files to Paper in E-discovery | Technology News And Tips

October 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Skip What Can Be Skipped: Not everything needs to be processed. In most cases the relevant material are just your basic MS Office documents. Program and system files which do not affect the litigation or deal should be eliminated from your estimates. Get more details from the attorney as he or she may not be aware that out of the entire 80 Gig hard drive just handed to you, perhaps only 5 Gigs are worth reviewing.

But, above all else, seek advice. Getting the DATA to PAGE conversion ratio is just the tip of the iceberg. Electronic Discovery as a whole has now become a necessity rather than a convenience. While electronic data was less than 20% of most litigations just a few years ago, that trend is now reversed with electronic files comprising 80% of the data that needs to be reviewed by an attorney. That means pitfalls abound. Protecting the forensic integrity of the data, keeping the chain of custody, mining relevant meta-data fields, and even the credentials of potential witnesses who’ve handled the data are important areas which can make or break a case/deal. Electronic data is here to stay, and dealing with them from a legal standpoint has become the life blood of litigation.

via The Ratio of Electronic Files to Paper in E-discovery | Technology News And Tips.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Loophole Big Enough for a Cookie to Fit Through – NYTimes.com

September 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

If  you rely on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer’s privacy settings to control cookies on your computer, you may want to rethink that strategy.

Large numbers of Web sites, including giants like Facebook, appear to be using a loophole that circumvents I.E.’s ability to block cookies, according to researchers at CyLab at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Engineering.

A technical paper (note: clicking on the link will initiate a download of a pdf) published by the researchers says that a third of the more than 33,000 sites they studied have technical errors that cause I.E. to allow cookies to install, even if the browser has been set to reject them. Of the 100 most visited destinations on the Internet, 21 sites had the errors, including Facebook, several of Microsoft’s own sites, Amazon, IMDB, AOL, Mapquest, GoDaddy and Hulu.

Typos and honest mistakes likely explain many of the errors, says Lorrie Faith Cranor, director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory and one of the paper’s authors. But she estimates that more than half represent deliberate efforts to keep I.E. from blocking certain types of third-party cookies based on privacy policies.

Cookies are used to store information about a user or computer’s Web use so sites can customize that user’s experience, including what ads they see. So-called persistent or tracking cookies are data placed not by the site visited, but by other third-party Web sites that have placed content or advertising on the visited Web page. These types of cookies can stay on computers for long periods of time and gather data about surfing habits, and have long raised hackles among those concerned about privacy online.

via A Loophole Big Enough for a Cookie to Fit Through – NYTimes.com.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: Tech Bytes Tagged With: , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »