In Mt. Hawley Ins. Co. v. Felman Production, Inc., 2010 WL 1990555 (S.D. W. Va. May 18, 2010), Judge Mary E. Stanley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia held that the Plaintiff waived its attorney-client privilege with respect to a key email for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent inadvertent disclosure. 

In Jones v. Bremen High School Dist. 228, Judge Susan E. Cox of the United States District Court for the District of Northern Illinois granted sanctions against a defendant for failing to issue a timely litigation hold and relying on employees to "self-identify" relevant information.  2010 WL 2106640, 1 (N.D.Ill. 2010). 

Judge Shira A. Scheindlin recently amended her opinion in Pension Comm. Of the University of Montreal Pension Plan, et. al. v. Banc of America Securities, LLC, et. al., 685 F.Supp.2d 456 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) scaling back the definition of negligence within the discovery context.

For a copy of the correction, please click here.

In Einstein v. 357 LLC, 2009 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3636 (Sup. Ct. New York, Nov. 12, 2009), Judge Charles E. Ramos denied plaintiffs' request to strike the pleadings of defendant The Corcoran Group, but ordered an adverse inference instruction for misleading plaintiff and the court regarding their efforts to preserve and produce electronically stored information.

In Secure Energy, Inc. v. Coal Synthetics, 2010 WL 597388 (E.D. Mo. Feb. 17, 2010), District Court Judge Jean C. Hamilton held that FRCP Rule 34 did not require the production of electronically stored information in its native format, but rather permitted such productions, upon request, from the requesting party.

In Consolidated Edison Co. of New York & Subsidiaries v. United States, 90 Fed. Cl. 228 (Fed. Cl. Oct. 21, 2009), Judge Marian Blank Horn ruled that plaintiff did not anticipate litigation prior to the migration of its email system and could not be sanctioned as a result.

In Kwon v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13614 (D. Hawaii Feb. 17, 2010), U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright granted, in part, plaintiff's request, in limine, for an adverse inference instruction due to defendant's failure to preserve video surveillance footage.

eDiscovery Readiness for Government is a two-day training conference exploring best practices for proactive electronic records management, information assurance and litigation readiness. Scheduled to be held at the Sheraton in Arlington, VA, June 8-9, 2010, this event is specifically designed for executives in Federal and Government agencies involved with data and records management. Speakers at the event include the Honorable John M. Facciola, US Magistrate Judge, US District Court, District of Columbia, Jason R. Baron, Director of Litigation, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Miriam Nisbet, Director, Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Catherine Teti, Managing Director for Knowledge Services, Chief Agency Privacy Officer, Government Accountability Office (GAO), and other respected members of the Federal Government. Click here for the event's flyer.

 http://www.wbresearch.com/ediscogov/ 

INTEGRATING ALL ASPECTS OF E-DISCOVERY INTO ONE SOLUTION
FOR COMPANIES TO REDUCE LEGAL SPEND IN LITIGATION...Ryley Carlock Announces "I-3"

2/24/2010

(Phoenix, Arizona) Ryley Carlock & Applewhite, a leading law firm which serves as e-Discovery counsel for clients nationally and for the past six years has operated a fifteen thousand square foot review and litigation unbundling center (see: www.legalonramp.com), serving some of the world's largest companies, today announced a comprehensive new offering for litigation departments faced with ever-mounting litigation fees.

The program, dubbed "I-3" enables litigation departments or outside law firms to have a single source solution and point of contact throughout the collection, processing review and production of the e-Discovery process. Under the umbrella of the firm's e-Discovery counsel, this single point solution provides clarity in pricing, expert project management, SmartReview, and defensible processes. The program provides single price bids for end-to-end discovery projects and single point billing solutions. The firm leverages its six years' experience in the evolving electronic discovery marketplace to match solution providers to projects, optimizing both price and performance.

"Most of us in the industry have realized that an end-to-end solution is the best offering we can make to our clients," said Bill McManus a founder of Ryley Carlock's Document Control Group. "But often attempts at partnerships can lock providers into solutions that may not be the best fit for the client in a particular matter. Our approach gives us the flexibility to bring all of our relationships to bear and to bring a simple, cost-effective solution to the client."

"We work with some of the leading law firms, and many of the largest companies in the country," added Matt Clarke, a founder of Ryley Carlock's Document Control Group. "The two things we have heard are they would like end-to-end project management, and they want clarity and value in price. I-3 does both." Clarke serves as national e-Discovery counsel to companies with operations nationwide.

How I-3 works. Companies in litigation, or law firms contemplating a case, or in search of a better enterprise-wide e-Discovery solution, can contact a shareholder in Ryley Carlock's Document Control Group. The group assesses the matter and makes recommendations or bids on the entire project, end-to-end, based on matching the right providers to the unique aspects of the case (or caseload for master service agreements), while serving as e-Discovery counsel. The firm then puts together an action plan which maximizes the value for the company, and the effectiveness of trial counsel, by making all aspects of the process clearly defined, clearly managed, and consistently communicated.

"The Document Control Group assists clients even further to the left of the EDRM model," said McManus, who has overseen retention and document strategy for multinational companies. "We work on the retention plans and continuous compliance of leading U.S. Companies. What I-3 does is bring all the elements of the process in one place. Clients can better predict costs and see what is occurring with clarity."

"We are often asked to plug in our SmartReview system into existing cases or to work in tandem with our network of solution providers, and we will continue to provide that service," said Clarke (who recently spoke at LegalTech 2010, regarding Project Management in Litigation and Discovery). I-3 combines that offering with our abilities as e-Discovery counsel, and maximizes our national and international network of solutions providers throughout the model. We are a leader at staying abreast of e-Discovery law (see www.rcalaw.com/e-Discovery) and guiding clients in compliance."

Under I-3, Ryley Carlock works in tandem with the litigation team to efficiently find the right documents they need, presents them in a most useful format, and does it in compliance with emerging e-Discovery law in a defensible manner.

Cost savings in discovery could be up to 30 percent in many matters and even more significant savings will come to companies who select the solution over multiple matters or jurisdictions. Clarity on price will strengthen the client and the law firm's side in all matters related to discovery and enable better planning and budgeting.

Why I-3?

Ryley Carlock brings to the e-Discovery marketplace the integrity of a 60-year-old leading regional law firm. The firm embraced e-Discovery as part of the process of solving a key issue for major clients, and has been innovating its approach for six years, contributing the definitive annual report on e-Discovery to Law Technology News in 2008 and 2009; participating significantly in the Sedona Conference for years; and seeking intelligent solutions for companies and law firms. "I-3" represents integrity, innovation and intelligence in e-Discovery.

What is SmartReview?

Our core team consists of licensed lawyers who are employees of the firm, and who have largely been working together on discovery matters for several years. They are hired by the law firm and are vetted just as any law firm associate or shareholder would be. We follow modern project management processes, which enable this qualified team to add value along the way of each review under the direction of the litigation team. The review team can prepare litigation and deposition notebooks or provide whatever support best serves the litigators. We find this "Smart" approach improves the accuracy of time estimates, builds stronger cases, and eliminates waste and excessive spend.