eDiscovery Journal » law_firm

Separating the Wheat from the eDiscovery Software Chaff

Chuck Rothman — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:00:44 +0000

There are hundreds of e-discovery software applications available. Every stage of the EDRM can be assisted by one or more commercially available applications. Some of these are designed for very specific functions, such as trial presentation, while others claim to have multiple parts that can be used at different EDRM stages, such as software that collects, processes, analyses and reviews electronic information. The marketing collateral that accompanies many of these products proclaim each of them as “the best” at what they do. They advertise various types of functions, such as near duplicate identification, conceptual clustering, predictive coding, etc. With all the different options available, how can one filter out the “sales-speak” and actually evaluate an e-discovery offering on its merits? The following tips may help: 1. Make sure the software fits you, not the other way around The reason you [...]

The making of strong Project Management Offices within Legal IT

eDJ Syndicator — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:35:31 +0000

Law firm IT leaders about the success of their PMO The definition of a Project Management Office is a group or department within a business, agency or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization. For...

Allergies, E-Discovery and Karma: Yes, The Rules Apply to Law Firms, Too

eDJ Syndicator — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:38:59 +0000

For many years, I was pretty unsympathetic to allergy sufferers. After all, it was only allergies for heaven’s sake. How bad could it be? Well, after 12 years of allergy-free living in Virginia, I learned how bad it could be. Virtually overnight, I lost my voice, couldn’t sleep, and found myself walking around in a daze struggling to breathe. That was last spring. This year, with allergen counts hundreds of times their normal levels, well, let’s just say that Karma paid me another unfriendly visit. So, when I read Pouncil v. Branch Law Firm, Case No. 10-1314-JTM-DJW (D. Kan. Mar. …

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It’s Time for Smaller Firms to Question BigLaw Technology

eDJ Syndicator — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:54:00 +0000

They can learn from larger firms, but may have better, more nimble, options.Technology leaders in smaller law firms have three prime directives: They must maintain technical operations, keep legal professionals happy and productive, and continually inn...

The Law Firm Learns It Can Cut Staff with Software

eDJ Syndicator — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 05:11:44 +0000

I know there is considerable enthusiasm for smart software. Most of the eDiscovery vendors suggest that humans and whizzy new systems can coexist. Now, a new chapter in justifiable staff reductions may be upon us. Navigate to “A New View of Review: Predictive Coding Vows to Cut E-Discovery Drudgery” to learn that recently released research [...]

Alternative Fee Arrangements Are a Tool, Not a Strategy

eDJ Syndicator — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:44:27 +0000

Earlier this year, I met Pat Lamb, one of our fearless leaders in the New Normal, for coffee near his office. Given his success in delivering high-quality legal services under alternative fee arrangements, I wanted to hear his thoughts about their use in practice. Pat emphasized that lawyers should be paid for successful outcomes and not for quantity of work. We talked about my own early experience with an AFA in which my outside counsel arrived at a flat fee by multiplying the number of hours they expected to put into the matter by their traditional hourly rate. We agreed…

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Size Matters: Small-Firm Spinsters, I Have Good News

eDJ Syndicator — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:15:06 +0000

Small-firm columnist Valerie Katz cannot really offer any more advice about how to find a job other than networking, networking, and going on informational interviews. Oh, and occasionally allowing yourself a good cry. She can, however, offer some pric...

Nasuni Enables Law Firms to Scale Instantly to Store, Access and Protect Terabytes of Files

eDJ Syndicator — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 18:40:26 +0000

Nasuni is an active participant with International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) regional members and most recently presented in Chicago on February 7 at the ILTA event How Do You Budget for ? Storage, Storage ...

Nasuni Enables Law Firms to Scale Instantly to Store, Access and Protect Terabytes of Files

eDJ Syndicator — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:58:00 +0000

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nasuni describes how its storage services solution is ideally suited to solve the IT storage challenges that law firms face. One law firm, Segal McCambridge, stores 20 TB of active files with Nasuni.

Walking the Lines of Transparency and Attorney-Client Privilege for ESI – An Interview with Sarah Jane Gillett, Partner at Hall Estill – Part Two

Amber Scorah — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:23:55 +0000

The line of transparency and privilege is a difficult one to walk. In part two of this interview, we discuss more issues faced by outside counsel, including some insights into asserting attorney client privilege for electronically stored information, where the line of transparency lies, and how to ensure that reasonable steps were taken to prevent inadvertent disclosure that may result in a privilege waiver. Amber Scorah (AS): How does one effectively assert attorney client privilege for electronically stored information? Sarah Jane Gillett: There is a growing debate about how to claim privilege for large groups of electronically stored information, such as volumes of email. Preparation of a log in the event of thousands of communications is extremely burdensome and time-consuming, if done email by email. While some jurisdictions continue to require a document-by-document log, other courts are more open to [...]