The Voyage to Electronic Evidence
February 27, 2007
In litigation involving computers and information systems, some technical knowledge can deliver real power. With knowledge of how data sets relate to one another, a lawyer can find caches of relevant data.
Marital Spying
February 27, 2007
While marital spying could land a spouse in hot water, it can also put attorneys in some sticky situations. Divorce lawyers say they are treading very carefully as to how they handle feuding spouses who spy on each other. Clients will often tell their lawyers they have proof that their spouses are cheating, but they will not disclose how they got it. Other times, they might wiretap or open private e-mails without knowing this was illegal, and then tell their lawyer about it. Lawyers have to be extremely careful not to condone or listen to information gained through these methods. They must also be cautious when discussing spying tactics with clients, because they could be held liable if they review, or even know about, private information obtained illegally.
Bit Parts
February 27, 2007
Stan Soocher's roundup of the news you need to know.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act Offers Recording Artists Potent Tool for Challenging Label Operations
February 27, 2007
Armed with a 'blue sky' law passed in 2002, new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations and a general shareholder mood of discontent that is turning into activism, artists have an unprecedented opportunity to seek meaningful corporate reform and oversight of the music industry through the corporate boardroom. What they couldn't accomplish as disgruntled artists, they may be able to accomplish as disgruntled shareholders.
Hotline
February 27, 2007
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Disclosing Information Security Breaches Under Privacy and Securities Laws
February 27, 2007
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse estimates that over 100 million records containing sensitive personal information have been involved in security breaches. This non-profit consumer organization has tracked these breaches on its website (www.privacyrights.org) beginning with the significant and well-publicized ChoicePoint breach in February 2005. As a result, over two-thirds of states enacted security breach notification laws governing the notification that a company must make in the event of a security breach. This article outlines the requirements for providing notification of a security breach under state security breach notification law by any company and the factors that a public company needs to take into account regarding whether to disclose a security breach under federal securities law.
Preparing for an FRCP 'Meet and Confer'
February 26, 2007
The intent of the new amendments is for cases to run smoother and focus on the merits rather than on the electronic discovery process. With the new elements in the 'meet and confer' conference requirement, counsel is now expected to understand its client's information infrastructure in order to negotiate what material will be disclosed, how it will be produced and in what timeframe. <br>Most alarming is that all of this discussion and a good part of this activity, under FRCP Rule 26(f), must take place and be presented to the court within 120 days of lawsuits being served in federal court.
Technology Tips for Reducing EDD Review Costs
February 26, 2007
The net result is that electronic data discovery (EDD) has increased the cost of litigation significantly. The largest component of EDD costs ' by far ' is attorney review. Analysts estimate that corporations spend between $10 billion and $15 billion per year on attorney review, and many corporate legal departments report that attorney review of electronic data now represents the single largest line item on their budgets.
Bragging Rights
February 22, 2007
For years, I've been bragging about our Law Journal Newsletters, and I often get the same response: 'But isn't all that information right on the Web? Why not just Google it?' The answer: Yes and No.
