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In Parts One and Two of this article, we discussed the strategies involved in deciding when to question the opposing party's expert; during preliminary <i>voir dire</i> or during cross examination. We noted that, in a jury trial, it is usually prudent to wait until cross-examination to attack the expert, so that the jury can see where the holes in the witness's qualifications and conclusions are. But sometimes, questioning during <i>voir dire</i> is preferable, especially when the result is likely to be the witness disqualification to testify as an expert.
Recently, the California Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division One) issued a decision that confirms and clarifies the broad scope of trial court authority under California Evidence Code section 801 to exclude expert testimony that lacks adequate foundation. (<i>Jennings v. Palomar Pomerado Health Systems, Inc.</i> (2004) 114 Cal.App.4th 1108 [8 Cal. Rptr.3d 363].)
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Particularly during the past 2 years, the onerous task of filtering e-mail messages has grown to become a business and operational necessity - largely because of the influx of spam, as well as regulations and legislation that mandate the retention of e-communications such as e-mail and, increasingly, instant messages. Coupled with the traditional reasons for filtering ' malicious code attached to or embedded within the message, and inappropriate or sensitive message content ' filtering technologies and the market are undergoing radical change. This makes purchasing and implementation decisions difficult. Best practices for effective e-mail filtering can ease the decision-making process.
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As the legal industry leverages IT to deliver enhanced services and improve overall business operations, Internet threats are increasing. According to the latest Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, one of the most significant threats today is malicious code that exposes confidential data such as passwords, decryption keys, keystrokes and more. Moreover, this malicious code is entering businesses from a widening array of sources. One of the most common delivery vehicles is spyware. According to security experts, millions of PCs in homes and businesses across the world are already infested with spyware. Yet, for all its ubiquity, it remains a relatively misunderstood threat.
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Like it or not, in order to produce and collaborate on documents, the legal community is dependent on more and more software products which are increasingly sophisticated and interdependent. To maximize the financial investment in these products, it's optimal to leverage the integration opportunities that they offer. Firms have the option to take on custom development to achieve this goal, or to invest in a third-party product where the software vendor is responsible for keeping their product updated to integrate with new versions of other programs on the desktop. Innova, developed by SoftWise Corporation, is an example of a comprehensive, feature-rich, template program that standardizes and simplifies the document creation process. It integrates with a variety of contact management, document management and fax server programs typically found on a legal desktop.
Software Technology, Inc., the maker of Tabs3, has released Tabs3 Version 11.2 of its time and billing software program. The Version 11.2 release of Tabs3 provides new and enhanced features that range from the use of proportional fonts in reports and billing statements and a new statement designer, to a redesign of data entry interfaces and reports.
The era of mega-case litigation has arrived. In the last 2 years, mega-cases ' those with more than 500,000 pages for review ' have become commonplace according to leading law firms and litigation support vendors. Indeed, in high profile cases today, document collections can easily run over 50 million pages ' roughly a terabyte of data, or the equivalent of about 20,000 Banker boxes. The rapid growth of electronic documents presents significant challenges for corporations and law firms involved in litigation. Dealing with the challenges of document reviews across multiple, related cases is also becoming increasingly important for many corporations.
In law firm management audits and strategic planning, an objective demographic analysis can be a very important analytical tool. On a firm-wide and practice group basis, charting firm demographics can provide a substantive foundation for conclusions about the current standing of a law firm, and sometimes, provide the genesis for startling insights about the short- and long-term strategic position of a law firm, individual office, or practice group.
Now, more than ever, women lawyers place enormous value on flexible work schedules. Firms that support such schedules reap benefits in the form of higher retention, increased profitability, and more diverse leadership. In turn, the legal profession ' and, on a broader level, society ' benefits from contributions by part-time lawyers who are in a better position to devote time to activities that make attorneys better citizens. These core conclusions emerged from a new survey of 167 lawyers at 37 firms in the Atlanta area. These attorneys included women and men, associates and partners, part-time and full-time lawyers, and retired and active attorneys.