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Electronic Discovery's Impact: Policies, Technology and Security
This was the decade of electronic discovery. Rapid development of technology, law and business processes, both in and out of the courtroom, brought legal and technical issues involving electronically stored information (ESI) to the fore. Although the General Counsel's office was the primary recipient of this uninvited wake-up call, legal is not the only department impacted by this change. IT departments across organizations must now understand the impact of ESI discovery obligations and regulations. Collaboration with legal is needed to create and implement new policies, while altering existing policies to keep pace with the rapidly evolving data storage and communication methods coinciding with the rising tide of ESI.
As a result of this role evolution, IT can no longer afford to lag behind legal with regard to knowledge of ESI policies and technology any more than legal can avoid assessing the impact of planned technology implementations inside the organization. A common theme that emerged from the Fourth Annual ESI Trends Report, a survey commissioned by Kroll Ontrack, was the growing gap between IT and legal's awareness of implemented company technologies, such as an archiving platform, legal hold tool and early case assessment (ECA) technology. The report also revealed a knowledge gap in terms of the existence of an ESI discovery strategy ' whether it had been tested, and how repeatable and defensible the policy appeared to be. Encouragingly, the survey revealed that legal and IT are cooperating and sharing responsibility for managing ESI for discovery requests now more than ever. [Note: The report is based on an independent survey conducted by Echo Research Inc. on behalf of Kroll Ontrack. A total of 203 online interviews were conducted among IT and in-house counsel at commercial businesses in the United States. Survey questioning was completed in June 2010.]
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.