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One of our major concerns has always been the security of our clients' sensitive data. Recently, there have been stories in the news about data media getting lost or exposed, often with damaging or embarrassing consequences. Backup tapes, hard drives, CDs and other sources contain exponentially more data than a box of paper, so we have had to become very focused on how these data storage devices are tracked, stored, managed and disposed of when the time comes. Now that storage is so inexpensive, more data is sitting on a single disk or drive. New terabyte disk drives are setting a new standard for capacity ' but they also send up a huge red flag for risk. What if one terabyte hard drive was to fall into the wrong hands? Imagine the fallout and liability to which a law firm could be vulnerable.
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The offering of combined services and devices is a direct response to consumer demand for streamlined, one-stop, bundled convenience. Take me for instance: I held out for several months until my cell phone provider finally started selling Blackberries so I could get the e-mail push from work without having to carry two devices. This bundling concept is also emerging in the legal profession. Platforms such as LexisNexis Total Litigator and Westlaw Litigator, for example, which bundle services and features that previously had to be accessed independently, are rapidly gaining popularity. So, just how well does the bundling concept work?
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As most e-discovery vendors will happily tell you, 99% of all new business information is being created and stored electronically, and an estimated 60 billion e-mail messages are sent daily in the U.S. Sifting through all this data in a meaningful manner requires strategic thinking. On one hand, parties have an obligation ' and courts have created incentives ' to be fully forthcoming on electronic discovery requests. On the other hand, processing and reviewing data collected from hundreds of desktops and servers can become very expensive. During the e-discovery search process, even the most strategic keyword selections can leave a lot to be desired. Even case-specific terms may generate a lot of hits, but it may also produce more false positives than relevant material. Creating a strategic plan for data filtering through a well-researched selection of keywords and file types helps to ensure efficiencies in cost, time and resources, while generating fully forthcoming materials.
In today's world, most business activity creates electronically stored information ('ESI') ' whether it's an e-mail, document, voice-mail or database transaction ' and the exponentially increasing volume and diversity of those digital files at corporations represents exponentially increasing corporate risk. However, according to a survey of corporate counsel attorneys, only 7% of them rate their companies as prepared for the electronic discovery amendments to the FRCP. This lack of preparedness is not surprising since, until recently, many in-house legal departments have taken a back seat and let outside counsel manage their discovery needs.
The harms that can result from computer security breaches are largely uncovered by the types of insurance policies most law firms maintain. Combined with the inadequate security most law firms provide for client data, the resultant risk exposure arguably violates legal professional ethics. A firm's failure to adequately protect computer-based master files, time-and-billing records, court filings, wills, powers of attorney, corporate records, and other client-related materials is a violation of bar association requirements to preserve client files and more generally a failure in the firm's overall duty to act competently in the best interests of its clients.
In a victory for big telephone companies, a federal appeals court has upheld a ruling by the FCC that effectively deregulated high-speed Internet access service provided over traditional telephone lines.
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A Minnesota woman was found guilty oif illegally downloading music onto her computer -- to the tune of $222,000, a jury decided in federal court in Duluth on Oct. 4.
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Today's bills are as thick as case files, and at least as detailed. Concerned over what lawyers are doing with their time and who's working on a matter ' whether to track diversity or to keep expensive but inexperienced first-year associates off the case ' clients demand exhaustive accounting from their outside counsel.
The harms that can result from computer security breaches are largely uncovered by the types of insurance policies most law firms maintain. Combined with the inadequate security most law firms provide for client data, the resultant risk exposure arguably violates legal professional ethics. A firm's failure to adequately protect computer-based master files, time-and-billing records, court filings, wills, powers of attorney, corporate records, and other client-related materials is a violation of bar association requirements to preserve client files and more generally a failure in the firm's overall duty to act competently in the best interests of its clients.
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Most law firm managers understand the importance that business analysis plays in steering a firm toward success. However, as with so many things in life, a little bit of analysis can be a dangerous thing. Management reporting processes typically collect, organize, and ultimately combine data sets from different practice areas, offices, industries, etc. Superficial reports compare aggregate characteristics (<i>e.g.</i>, top-line results) without identifying the varying components contained within the data sets and normalizing for these variables. This can lead those who examine such reports to draw misleading or even totally wrong conclusions.