Not long ago, the pain of analyzing electronically stored information (ESI) for legal e-discovery, regulatory inquiries, and corporate investigations was hardly a blip on the radar screen. Fast forward to 2007, where e-discovery and its concomitant analysis has become a major component of any discovery request. This article takes a step back to evaluate whether efforts to streamline the analysis of ESI data have been effectively applied. My sense is that although the times have changed and methods of communication (Blackberrys, instant messaging, etc.) have become unquestionably more sophisticated, the e-discovery process has stagnated. The legal industry as a whole has been slow to keep up with change. As a result, it's getting harder to justify the cost and time that goes into the antiquated process many have grown accustomed to using.
- January 28, 2008Eric Rosenberg
Over the past five years, the concept of an IT Utility for law firms has evolved from an interesting concept to an attractive business strategy. Growth of the IT Utility (off-premise IT services such as Co-location and Managed Services) is fueled by the confluence of increased interest by law firms in outsourcing routine administrative functions with rapidly maturing enabling technology such as security tools and services, affordable high bandwidth data communications, and management tools for large scale data centers. The IT Utility is part of a new model for managing technology infrastructure at law firms.
January 28, 2008Tom GelbmannWith the introduction of Microsoft Office 2007, many firms are reviewing their template and macro packages for Word before they upgrade. Since the look and feel of Word '07 is so different, the migration is a significant upgrade and new training is needed. Now is a good time to review the integrated products, discover what is available natively in Word, and make a change if necessary.
January 28, 2008Judye Carter ReynoldsA recent study by the LEDES Oversight Committee reported that 73% of responding law firms find that 'electronic billing is either an additional or huge burden on the firm, from which they gain absolutely no benefit.' More amazingly, these results are similar to ' but worse than ' the results of a LawNet survey done almost five years earlier. Taking note of the lack of progress encouraged me to sit down and seriously evaluate what's working, what's not, and what practical steps we can take to help move this industry in the right direction.
January 28, 2008Justin HectusSullivan & Cromwell has sued an electronic discovery company for allegedly missing deadlines and preparing the wrong documents for production in the course of a major litigation.
January 07, 2008Anthony LinHighlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
January 02, 2008ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |News about lawyers and law firms in the insurance industry.
January 02, 2008ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |Many companies have taken lessons from catastrophic events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and developed business-continuity plans to protect their people and assets and to restore operations as quickly as possible. While these plans are instrumental in restoring a company's operations, many miss an important aspect of any continuity plan — the programs and protocols that must be in place to prove losses related to the incident and recover funds from an insurance company.
January 02, 2008Daniel G. Lentz and Ryan D. PrattYour insurance company is insolvent. Now what? Your state guaranty fund may provide some relief, but is it worth pursuing? As explored in this article, that depends.
January 02, 2008Gerald R. Kowalski and Jodi D. SpencerWhether a D&O policy will afford coverage for the litigation resulting from the collapse of the subprime mortgage lending industry is yet to be seen. As discussed in this article, there are several policy provisions that are likely to be relevant in the subprime context.
January 02, 2008Nancy D. Adams