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  • When Good Business Sense Doesn’t Make Good Legal Sense
    Legal Updates

    When Good Business Sense Doesn’t Make Good Legal Sense

    In my role as a Senior E-Discovery Attorney, I often provide guidance to organizations in how to develop and implement policies governing data retention and disposition. When developing those policies, it is critical to consider both the business and legal implications of preserving or deleting data and, ideally, find a balance between the two even when the concerns and priorities may not be the same. A recent case highlights what often proves to be a fundamental tension between the perspective of business stakeholders and legal stakeholders with respect to the preservation of ESI for pending or reasonably anticipated litigation in large corporations.

  • Information Governance
    Technology Advantage

    Information Governance and its Role in E-Discovery

    While the term sounds quite formal, with respect to e-discovery, in practice, “Information Governance” really means getting your electronic house in order so that you can mitigate risks and expenses should e-discovery become an issue in the future. “Getting your electronic house in order” covers the entire data lifecycle, from the initial creation of electronically stored information (“ESI”) through its final disposition, and potentially involves an organization’s entire suite of technology and related processes, policies and strategies. Indeed, IG becomes the foundation and framework of an organization’s  management of its information assets and, importantly, the degree to which e-discovery processes are streamlined and cost-efficient is dependent upon having effective IG policies and procedures in place.

  • Legal Updates

    PRIVACY PLEASE, DO NOT DISTURB: Proportionality and Privacy

    As you recall, in December of 2015, the amended FRCP 26(b)(1) sought to address the escalating burdens associated with data preservation and production by emphasizing proportionality and defining the scope of discovery. As the latest proportionality rulings show, Rule 26(b)(1) is having an impact on limiting the scope of discovery based on the associated expense and some state courts are even following the federal courts’ lead in enforcing proportionality. Interestingly, while expense continues to be a factor in the proportionality argument, parties’ objections on the basis of proportionality have extended to nonmonetary factors as well, including privacy. As a result, some courts are now recognizing privacy as a consideration in determining whether the discovery sought is proportional to the needs of the case.

  • Virginia Ring
    LitSmart News

    Quarterly Spotlight On..... Senior E-Discovery Attorney Virginia Duke Ring

    This Quarterly Spotlight focuses on Virginia Duke Ring, a Senior E-Discovery Attorney on Kilpatrick's LitSmart E-Discovery Team. Virginia joined the LitSmart team in January 2018 after previously practicing with the Firm's insurance recovery group. Virginia has proven herself to be a strong leader. She promotes collaboration among team members and is the consummate "team player." Scott O'Neal was fortunate to learn more about what makes Virginia such a valuable team member.

  • Structured Data
    Technology Advantage

    The Growing Source of ESI: Structured Data and Messaging Platforms

    It takes a minute to come to terms with the definitions of "structured" and "unstructured" data. It seems logical to associate “formatting,” such as the formatting that comes with word documents (indentation, headers and footers, paragraphs, etc.) with “structure,” but the terms are used very differently when it comes to describing data. This blog will explore structured data, particularly as it pertains to the preservation, collection, processing, review and production of such data, using the Slack instant communication tool as an example.

  • Big Claws
    Legal Updates

    My My, What Big Claws You Have! Navigating the Pitfalls of Drafting Clawback Agreements

    One of the greatest fears in any litigation matter is that you will somehow accidentally produce work product or attorney-client privileged documents to the opposing side and waive the privilege. As a result, it has become standard protocol for parties to enter into clawback agreements that protect sensitive electronically stored information (ESI). Clawback agreements allow parties to agree that the inadvertent production of privileged information will not automatically waive the privilege and provide a process for the return or destruction of that privileged material.

  • Best Practices
    Technology Advantage

    Planning for a Successful Document Collection – Best Practices

    There is often a lot of discussion around the processing and review of documents in a litigation, most likely because these phases end up costing the most money and taking the most time. What is often overlooked, however, is the collection process and how that phase sets the tone for the rest of discovery, including overall case strategy, knowledge gathering and cost thresholds for the case. In this blog, I lay out some best practices that can be followed to collect data in a sound manner while keeping costs reasonable and gathering all relevant information. 

  • Purple Rain
    Legal Updates

    It’s Purple Raining Sanctions: Litigation Regarding Prince’s Estate Provides Framework for Determining When Sanctions Apply Under FRCP Rule 37(e)

    You may have read my colleague Starling Underwood’s post on two recent Second Circuit decisions discussing sanctions for spoliation. If you have not, I encourage you to read it here.  In this post, and continuing our music-themed sanction discussions, I narrow the focus to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 37(e), which is used to determine whether and what sanctions are appropriate when ESI spoliation occurs. A recent decision from the Minnesota District Court involving the estate of the artist Prince Rodgers Nelson (“Prince”), Paisley Park Enterprises, Inc. v. Boxill, provides a detailed review of the sanctions analysis under Rule 37(e), while dealing with a category of very common ESI data often at issue in litigation today –  mobile phone text messages.

  • TBJ
    LitSmart News

    LitSmart Profiled by Triad Business Journal: How a Venture Launched by a Law Firm in Winston-Salem is Driving Growth, Innovation

    The LitSmart team has been profiled by the Triad Business Journal as a leader in growth and innovation. Led by Team Leader and Kilpatrick Townsend partner, Craig Cannon, LitSmart has grown from 10 members to 30 full-time team members and 100+ contractors in the past 5 years. The team is also an industry-thought leader in e-discovery innovation, developing its own applications to meet client needs. LitSmart expects to continue to grow over the next year as it expands both domestically and internally. Read the full article and learn more about LitSmart here.