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eDiscovery Needs More Smooth Operators: eDiscovery Best Practices

In the 80’s, there was a popular singer named Helen Folasade Adu who was a contemporary jazz music singer. She even appeared in the mega concert Live Aid conducted in 1985. Don’t recognize that name? That’s because her stage name was Sade (pronounced shah-DAY for those who’s musical memories don’t go back that far). Probably Sade’s biggest hit was a song called Smooth Operator and the title of the song reflects her smooth vocal and contemporary feel of the music. Organizations are finding more and more that they need to be that they need to be “smooth operators” in their approach to eDiscovery and legal operations professionals need to integrate eDiscovery into their purview of legal ops.

by Doug Austin

Putting the “Govern” Into Information Governance: eDiscovery Trends

This week’s blog post for Ipro’s blog reminds us about the type of organization in eDiscovery that doesn’t get talked about enough – the government entity. While corporations have information governance and eDiscovery needs, government agencies typically have the same stakeholder groups and many of the same challenges that corporations do, and some additional challenges as well.

by Doug Austin

Worried About Malware? eDiscovery Could Be Your Biggest Malware Threat: eDiscovery Trends

When I read this article, I thought “well, of course”. But not everybody realizes the potential malware threat that transfers of data for eDiscovery purposes could bring. This article from Legaltech® News provides an important warning for those who don’t realize it and an important reminder for those who do (but might inconveniently forget).

by Doug Austin

Court Sets Scope for Apple’s Rule 45 Third Party Subpoena on Valve: eDiscovery Case Law

In the case In re Apple iPhone Antitrust Litigation, California Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson ordered third party Valve to “produce the aggregated data sought by RFP 2 by March 8” to Apple, but narrowed the per app information for RFP 2 “and order[ed] Valve to produce the per-app information only for the 436 apps available on both Steam and the Epic Games store (as providing that information broken down for all 30,000+ apps is an unnecessary burden on Valve), and to produce that within 30 days.” Judge Hixson also ordered Valve to “produce the requested information for the 436 apps within 30 days” in response to RFP 32, limiting the time frame to 2017 to the present and also ordered Valve to remove non-privileged redactions from its volume 5 document production, finding that the protection from the protective orders was “sufficient”.

by Doug Austin

Feeling Burned Out? You’re Not Alone. What Can Your Employer Do to Help?: Pandemic Trends

Usually, I have either the words “eDiscovery” “Cybersecurity” or “Data Privacy” in the title of my post, but this issue extends far beyond the normal industries I write about. You probably won’t be surprised to hear this, but employee burnout, which was already an issue before the pandemic, has become a huge issue since as this recent article in the Harvard Business Review discusses.

by Doug Austin

Court Rejects Plaintiffs’ Motion for Sanctions Against Defendants’ Counsel for Their Own Sanctions Motion: eDiscovery Case Law

In Lincoln Memorial Academy, et al. v. State of Florida, et al., Florida Magistrate Judge Amanda Arnold Sansone denied the plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions and attorney’s fees against defendants’ attorney Erin G. Jackson, stating “the School Board’s motion to compel and motion for sanctions were legally sufficient and not made in bad faith”.

by Doug Austin

First Circuit Reverses District Court on Scope of Device Searches at the Border: Data Privacy Case Law

In Alasaad, et al. v. Mayorkas, et al., Nos. 20-1077 | 20-1081 (1st Cir. Feb. 9, 2021), the First Circuit Court of Appeals in reviewing the district court ruling regarding warrantless device searches at the border did “affirm in part, reverse in part, vacate in part, and remand for the entry of a revised judgment consistent with this opinion” that “the district court erroneously narrowed the scope of permissible searches of such equipment at the border.”

by Doug Austin

Same Case, Different Motion for Spoliation Sanctions, Same Result: eDiscovery Case Law

In Reed v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., Florida Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan denied the plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions for Spoliation of Evidence as to Body Camera Footage Admitted by Defendant to Exist and Supporting Memorandum of Law failing to preserve the body camera footage of the interview of John Doe, finding that “the plaintiff has not met her initial burden of showing body camera footage of John Doe’s interview ever existed”.

by Doug Austin

Here’s the Spring Predictive Coding Survey Results from Complex Discovery!: eDiscovery Trends

Last August, when the Fall 2020 edition of Rob Robinson’s semi-annual Predictive Coding Technologies and Protocols Survey conducted by ComplexDiscovery came out, I was bemoaning triple-digits temps in Texas. Now, I’m a week past low temps in the teens! So, the first sign of Spring (via the Spring Predictive Coding Technologies and Protocols Survey), is a welcome sight too!

by Doug Austin

Tomorrow’s Webcast Combines Privilege Review with AI – Today and Tomorrow!: eDiscovery Webcasts

See what I did there? It’s a webcast tomorrow – for today and tomorrow! 😉 Anyway, privilege review and logging have always been a major headache in eDiscovery, but artificial intelligence (AI) tools and methods, when thoughtfully integrated into a litigation workflow, are changing review today—and are poised to make a major impact on the review of tomorrow. Tomorrow’s webcast that will discuss what you need to know about those tools, methods and impacts!

by Doug Austin

Migrating Data Through Workflows is What eDiscovery is All About: eDiscovery Best Practices

How do I know that migrating data through workflows is what eDiscovery is all about? Because it’s reflected in the EDRM model! Most people notice the nine phases from Information Governance through Presentation, but a lot of people don’t notice the shadings at the bottom of the model reflecting diminishing Volume and increasing Relevance as you move data through the life cycle. According to this latest article from Compliance, the workflows for migrating data can vary widely, depending on the type of data being migrated.

by Doug Austin

Tomorrow’s EDRM Case Law Webinar Has a Wide Variety of eDiscovery Disputes for Discussion!: eDiscovery Webinars

2021 is a new year, which means, as always, there are new eDiscovery disputes and case law decisions to address them! Tomorrow’s February monthly EDRM webinar of cases covered by the eDiscovery Today blog discusses a wide range of eDiscovery dispute topics, including the case that was so big, it took me two blog posts to cover it!

by Doug Austin

Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA) is Imminent: What Does That Mean?

It looks like there will be a new acronym to learn for people working in Legal, IT, Data Privacy, and Compliance. Virginia is set to be the second state to pass a data privacy act which mimics Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), giving consumers access to personal data collected by a company, as well as the ability to opt out of processing personal data for purposes of targeted ads, sale, or profiling.

by Jim Gill

Here’s a Webcast to Tell You What to Do in the Event of a Cybersecurity Incident: Cybersecurity Webcasts

It’s webcast/webinar day! For many organizations, the question isn’t whether they will be affected by a cybersecurity incident, but when. Is your organization prepared for what to do if/when that happens? Here’s a webcast tomorrow that will discuss what to do if your organization is impacted by a cybersecurity incident, as well as how to avoid them in the first place!

by Doug Austin

Sixteenth Annual Norton Rose Fulbright Litigation Trends Survey: Litigation Trends

Here’s an annual litigation trend that’s been around almost as long as this thing called “eDiscovery”. Last week, Norton Rose Fulbright released its sixteenth annual Litigation Trends Survey report, which makes it the longest-running survey of corporate counsel on litigation issues and trends! And, as usual, there were some interesting results in a very unusual year.

by Doug Austin

Despite the Cold, It’s Always Good Weather for Phishing: Cybersecurity Best Practices

It’s going to be a cold few days for a lot of us in the US. Even in Spring, Texas (just outside of Houston where I live), it’s expected to be freezing for parts of this weekend and all the way down to 10 degrees(!) on Monday evening. I can only imagine what it’s going to be like up north! But, regardless how cold or hot the weather is, expect a lot of phishing this weekend!

by Doug Austin

This Webinar Combines Privilege Review with AI – Today and Tomorrow!: eDiscovery Webcasts

Privilege review and logging have always been a major headache in eDiscovery, but artificial intelligence (AI) tools and methods, when thoughtfully integrated into a litigation workflow, are changing review today—and are poised to make a major impact on the review of tomorrow. Here’s a webcast that will discuss what you need to know about those tools, methods and impacts!

by Doug Austin

Court Grants Several Significant Sanctions for Defendants’ Discovery Failures, Part Two: eDiscovery Case Law

In DR Distribs. v. 21 Century Smoking, Illinois District Judge Iain D. Johnston, in a ruling so long it needed a table of contents (104 pages printed out in PDF form), assessed several significant sanctions to the defendants for their discovery failures, but did not grant the “nuclear option[s]” sanctions requested by the plaintiffs to default the defendants and dismiss their counterclaims.

by Doug Austin

Here’s a Proposed Protocol to Reform the Process of Privilege Logs: eDiscovery Best Practices

The process of creating privilege logs is cumbersome and complex, especially when you have a large number of documents designated as privileged. However, you might be surprised to learn that Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure does not specify the form of “privilege logs,” beyond the requirement of enabling other parties to assess privilege. The burden is on the producing party to support their claims of privilege, but the rule provides wide leeway to determine the optimal means of privilege logging. This, of course, leads to numerous disputes at least in Federal courts. Reform is needed and an EDRM project recently addressed this area with a proposed protocol.

by Doug Austin

Court Grants Several Significant Sanctions for Defendants’ Discovery Failures: eDiscovery Case Law

In DR Distribs. v. 21 Century Smoking, Illinois District Judge Iain D. Johnston, in a ruling so long it needed a table of contents (104 pages printed out in PDF form), assessed several significant sanctions to the defendants for their discovery failures, but did not grant the “nuclear option[s]” sanctions requested by the plaintiffs to default the defendants and dismiss their counterclaims.

by Doug Austin

Here’s Another European Privacy Fine for a Social Network: Data Privacy Trends

Nope, it’s not Facebook – this time, at least – and the stakes could literally be the threat of physical harm. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority said recently that it would fine Grindr, the world’s most popular gay dating app, 100 million Norwegian kroner, or about $11.7 million, for illegally disclosing private details about its users to advertising companies.

by Doug Austin

Our February Case Law Webinar Has a Wide Variety of eDiscovery Disputes for Discussion!: eDiscovery Webinars

It’s a rare three-post day, because I just had to fit this in! 2021 is a new year, which means, as always, there are new eDiscovery disputes and case law decisions to address them! Our February monthly EDRM webinar of cases covered by the eDiscovery Today blog discusses a wide range of eDiscovery dispute topics, so there’s something for everybody!

by Doug Austin

The President’s Peloton: The IoT and Cyber-Security Risk

Presidents all have their ways of keeping active while in office: Bill Clinton liked to jog, George W. Bush mountain-biked, Barack Obama played basketball, Richard Nixon bowled and Donald Trump golfed. A regular part of President Joe Biden’s exercise routine is riding a Peloton stationary bike, which unlike the exercise bikes of past eras, includes a tablet with built-in cameras and microphones, which has security ramifications.

by Jim Gill

Here Are Notable Sessions for Day 3 of Legalweek(year)!: eDiscovery Trends

As I noted last Friday, it’s a busy week this week with regard to Legalweek(year) (which concludes today)! As I’ve done for years during Legalweek (and Legaltech, as it used to be known), I will identify some of the sessions each day that relate to eDiscovery, cybersecurity and/or data privacy, so here are the sessions of note for today, Thursday, February 4th, including one today that I’m participating in!

by Doug Austin

Here Are Notable Sessions for Day 2 of Legalweek(year)!: eDiscovery Trends

As I noted last Friday, it’s a busy week this week with regard to Legalweek(year) (which started yesterday)! As I’ve done for years during Legalweek (and Legaltech, as it used to be known), I will identify some of the sessions each day that relate to eDiscovery, cybersecurity and/or data privacy, so here are the sessions of note for today, Wednesday, February 3rd.

by Doug Austin

Day 1 of Legalweek(year) is Here!: eDiscovery Trends

Hey, that rhymes! 😉 As I noted last Friday, it’s a busy week this week with regard to Legalweek(year) (which starts today) and EDRM’s Expocom, which concludes today! As I’ve done for years during Legalweek (and Legaltech, as it used to be known), I will identify some of the sessions each day that relate to eDiscovery, cybersecurity and/or data privacy. And don’t forget that the Fifth Annual Drinks with Doug and Mary this afternoon from 4-6pm at Expocom!

by Doug Austin

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