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Litigation support is an increasingly necessary service that helps attorneys and staff do all that they need to do with client data. Many billing options exist, but before we explore them, it might be helpful to identify the various things that commonly fall under the litigation support umbrella.

Our September edition included a report by legal journalist Leigh Jones on the appeal of 'closed' compensation decision-making systems that forego transparency in the interests of peace and efficiency. In the following roundtable discussion, seven present and former members of our Board of Editors comment on half a dozen aspects of this subject.

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As a divorce mediator, I find myself in the position of trying to bring divorcing parties to a consensus more often than many family attorneys might, but the techniques used in mediation can help even the attorney handling a more adversarial divorce to help his or her client see the 'big picture' and move toward an optimum outcome. To do this, it is important to understand some of the more common reasons why arguments between couples spiral out of control, and what tools are available to help them get past the obstacles to settlement.

An electronic communications policy (ECP) is an internal publication for employees outlining a firm's Internet, computer and electronic assets guidelines with the objective of reducing business risks.<br>Along with saving employees time, such publications can improve employee morale, prevent employee/management disagreements and keep users out of court. An ECP, it's easy to see, is an important part of safeguards and employee knowledge base at e-commerce firms.

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Identity theft has emerged recently as one of the greatest customer risks in e-commerce. Certainly, no one will shop or do business at a site if he or she feels personal and financial information isn't secure on that site.<br>But the truth of it is that from the dawn of the e-commerce era, the identity of the 'other' person in a deal has always been an unknown risk. The identity of the person requesting a customer's personal information, whether the sender of a marketing e-mail or the owner of an e-commerce Web site, may never really be clear, even to those who read the fine-print terms and conditions in disclosures and contracts.

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Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.

In August, a San Francisco Superior Court jury awarded $10.3 million in economic and non-economic damages in an asbestos case brought by a 60-year-old man allegedly suffering from mesothelioma. <i>Barnes v. Thorpe Insulation Co.</i>, 446017. It may be one of California's 10 largest compensatory verdicts for asbestos cases in the last 15 years.