4 Other Reasons to Implement an Information Disposition Program

james.crane@altep.com — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

This post is 4 other reasons because I’m not going to list legal and regulatory issues. I’m avoiding those because there are so many other stakeholders within the organization that there’s plenty of incentive for all departments, not just Legal and Compliance.

Here we go:Reduce Costs : By properly disposing of unneeded data, you lower storage costs, make retrieval of active records more efficient, and eliminate the costs associated with retent [...]

The Joys of Professional Networking!

james.crane@altep.com — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

I know that all of my regular readers know how to reach me (email or call anytime!) but I wanted to also invite everyone to check out www.linkedin.com. It is a useful professional networking site and a good place to re-connect with old friends and colleagues and keep up with your current roster of professional friends.

You should be able to find my profile by entering james crane and altep.

I’ll look for you there.

The Subprime Mortgage Fallout

james.crane@altep.com — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

We can expect that litigation over subprime mortgages is going to increase into the near future. Plaintiff firms have either already brought actions or are putting together their playbook. Additionally, attorneys general in New York, Ohio, and Massachusetts have sued lenders and appraisers. The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division are also active in this area. Corporate counsel across nearly every industry should examine the issues [...]

Great Metadata Stories in History�

james.crane@altep.com — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Back in 2005, there was an interesting little controversy swirling around metadata that I thought I would bring up as a reminder to some and news to others. President Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court and there was a good chance that the confirmation process would be contentious. In the days leading up to the Senate Confirmation hearings, an unsigned memo criticizing Alito was circulating.

The memo was a Microsoft Word® document and as it ga [...]

A Quick Trip to Tampa to See Some Great Legal Professionals

james.crane@altep.com — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of presenting Altep’s Quarterly e-Discovery Case Law Update to the Tampa Bay Paralegals Association at the Tampa Club. (TBPA = http://www.tbpa.org/ and Tampa Club = http://www.thetampaclub.com/tampa_club.htm). It was a great venue and an outstanding group of people. I have to offer a special thanks to Yvonne DeAntoneo and Leslie Matthews!! I look forward to presenting a review of online review platforms at their fall technology confere [...]

More Metadata, Please

james.crane@altep.com — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

So, metadata is the hidden data about a document. To see an example of metadata, open a Microsoft Word® document, click on the “File” menu, and choose “Properties.” A dialog box will open up, where you’ll find a variety of information such as when the document was created, last edited, and other little tidbits, like editorial comments and when and if it was printed. On an email, the metadata would include any recipients, even BCC, and in [...]

Metadata: What Exactly Is It?

james.crane@altep.com — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

I am so energized as more and more legal professionals are taking an interest in e-Discovery! The greatest accomplishment of the amended Rules is that it forced legal professionals to account for the digital world around us. One integral and sometimes misunderstood part of that world is metadata. Since I am asked fairly regularly about what metadata is and why it matters, I thought we could look at a few metadata items over the next few posts.

First, what is metadata? Bas [...]

3 Ways Corporations Can Avoid �Business Role� Privilege Waiver

james.crane@altep.com — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Privilege review is one of the most costly and complicated parts of defending a large-scale action, for a variety of reasons. Given a population of potentially privileged documents, attorneys will often have a reasonable difference of opinion regarding the privileged nature of particular documents. Ddeciphering between the business and legal roles of corporate employees is challenging. Here are 3 actions a company can take to establish, maintain, or preserve privilege in [...]

In Case You Missed It: Safe Harbor Protection Requires Good Faith (Of Course)

james.crane@altep.com — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

In Disability Rights Council of Greater Wash. v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., the District Court of the District of Columbia examined a case that illustrated what not to do if you want to rely on the Safe Harbor provisions in the Federal Rules. (242 F.R.D. 139, D.D.C. 2007).

The class action was filed in March of 2004, yet for more than 2 years, the defendant made no attempt to stop its email system from deleting all emails more than 60 days old. The Court denied the [...]

Breaking Down the Cost of e-Discovery

james.crane@altep.com — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0100

I could go many different directions with a headline about the costs of e-discovery. I could discuss cost-saving techniques, like I did here (http://www.altep.com/content/view/3/52/). I could explain how you often “get what you pay for” … you know there’s a reason why that vendor charges 50% less than all of the competitors…

However, the focus today is just to break down the basic categories of cost associated with ex [...]

Blog Entries - April 2008