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Few areas of information security are as misunderstood, or as critical to understand and employ, as digital risk management. Some organizations see it as an information technology (IT)-only issue. Others view risk management as relevant to everything but IT. <br>But the truth is that digital risk management is one of the most important components of an effective information-security program. For many industries, including the legal profession, digital risk management is also an integral part of a business' strategy aimed at enabling revenue while reducing risk for clients and law firms. <br>And, for organizations involved in e-commerce, digital risk management can make the difference between futility and fortune.

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The eyes of e-commerce entrepreneurs ' and lawyers who advise them ' are peeled to see what comes of two lawsuits filed against 800-pound Internet search-engine gorilla Google.

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e-Meetings have the same Constitutional protections and require lawyers to take the same precautions to preserve associated privilege as they must in traditional meetings. It is important then for counsel advising e-businesses and those conducting e-meetings to note ' and for those participating in them ' that e-meetings impose the same ethics requirements for confidentiality that traditional meetings do. <br>But the ethereal nature of e-meetings can induce in participants and counsel a false sensation of security, which is something to guard against. This false sense of security is erroneously based on the belief that the Internet hides identity, and that because of that, confidentiality perhaps needn't be a concern.

Today, the vast majority of the top 200 U.S. law firms are sending electronic invoices to one or more clients. Many work with four or more e-billing vendors, depending on the client demands. Electronic billing can provide significant value to the firm and to its clients, but it is absolutely imperative to align corporate client e-billing goals with law-firm participation and vendor functionality. With proper alignment and support, e-billing is a powerful tool that strengthens the relationship between the attorney and client.

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In today's information-driven society, businesses rely heavily on technology and knowledge. Because of that, just as corporate boards have long relied on committees to focus on such key areas as audit and finance, many have come to establish a tech committee as well. But does the average corporate board member understand today's technology well enough to serve competently on a tech committee? Indeed, should directors even try to provide guidance on technology issues, when the state of the art changes from day to day?

The Department of Labor's new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (Wage and Hour Regulations) regulations, which went into effect Aug. 23, 2004, are an attempt to modernize pay scales, increase employee coverage, and clarify rules for employers. Nevertheless, if one were to judge merely by the sheer number of opinion letters the U.S. Department of Labor has issued since the regulations went into effect, it would seem that the new regulations have generated as much confusion as the previous ones. The DOL has issued 31 opinion letters since the effective date of the new regulations, nearly as many opinion letters as for the entire years 2001, 2002, and 2003. This article will summarize the major changes brought about by the FLSA regulations and examine this recent spate of DOL opinion letters.

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At least two large law firms have now decided to implement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages (in both cases, software from SAP AG), and are now in some stage of implementation. Anyone who reads the business press is aware that ERP implementations can lead to catastrophic results, as happened not long ago when a well known chocolate company found itself unable to fulfill orders following an ERP implementation. There are also many accounts of companies, especially manufacturing companies, successfully implementing ERPs, with attendant benefits. Clearly, ERPs present a risk/benefit choice for the businesses implementing them. The question I address here is whether the benefits of ERP outweigh the costs and risks for law firms.

A look at cases across the country.