Crane on Law by James Crane

Getting it exactly right has never been as important as when your client is producing documents in serial litigation. When a corporate defendant is facing similar cases across multiple jurisdictions, each production and privilege log has to be precise and complete. We all know the consequences of “missing” a couple of documents. Its like “missing” a hole-in-one by six strokes. It can be an outcome determinative case-killer. We’ve seen in cases like Zubulake and Morgan Stanley that any production gap becomes the basis for allegations of spoliation and demands for sanctions, including an adverse inference instruction. With all this in mind, we have decided to put a presentation together for the IQPC 5 th e-Discovery Conference in Las Vegas entitled “Defending Class Actions Across Multiple Jurisdictions.” Our panel will include high-profile in-house and outside counsel as well as a technology expert and myself discussing best practices for each step of defending serial litigation. Hope to see you there.

One of the most difficult assignments that corporate counsel face is the proper disposition of company information. In order to better decide what information must be retained and for how long, it helps to categorize it.

The five categories set forth by the Association of Records Managers and Administrators and approved by the American National Standards Institute are as follows:

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“Language is the source of misunderstandings.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Mr. Saint-Exupery, an avid aviator and author of The Little Prince , had it right. It is hard to get anything done when people are not speaking the same language.

In e-Discovery, the lexicon is extremely important. Attorneys and their legal support staff, IT pros, and any third-party vendors have to understand each other to get the job done right. One great resource was released by the Sedona Conference in December: The Sedona Conference Glossary: E-Discovery & Digital Information Management (Second Edition).

Check it out.

Just like in the global marketplace in general, many in the legal industry are considering offshore outsourcing, particularly to India, as a means to reduce costs. It is a seductive concept because who can argue that the rate you pay an employee living in India is going to be less than you will pay someone living in New York, Boston, or even our hometown of El Paso, Texas.

If only the comparison were apples to apples. If only there weren’t other factors that must be considered. If only everything were as easy as simply looking at the price. If I go buy a pair of discount tennis shoes for $7.99, I don’t expect the same quality I would get from a sporting goods store or from a name brand. If I go buy an economy car like a Yugo for $3990, I don’t expect the performance, reliability, or comfort of other “standard” priced cars. (For the younger readers, you can go here to learn more about the Yugo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugo

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I was part of the Altep group that attended the well-hyped and very crowded Legal Tech event in Manhattan last week. With hundreds of vendors hawking their services, it was, at times, a dizzying display of our beloved capitalism at work. Here are a couple of quick observations:

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As hard-charging legal professionals, we are dedicated to serving our clients nearly every waking hour, and even sometimes, in our dreams. Now, there is a quick and simple way to put those massive vocabularies to work saving the world in just a few spare minutes.

FreeRice.com is a site that allows you to test and build your vocabulary by answering multiple choice questions. The best part is that for every correct answer, Free Rice donates 20 grains of rice (in cash equivalent) to the World Food Program.

Right now there are over 10,000 words available and the site is attracting 500,000 visitors a day. So, do something good for your vocabulary and fight hunger!!

www.FreeRice.com

The Department of Labor announced that Alexander J. Passantino will serve as the acting administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. The W&H Division is responsible for administering such hot-button litigation issues such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and other laws establishing labor standards. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law (go dawgs), and was an associate at King & Ballow (www.kingballow.com) and Hunton & Williams (www.hunton.com). We’ll see if there is any impact on the wage and hour class action epidemic.

Alright, time for your February Latin lesson. This time, I feel compelled to add a bonus term*.

Inspicio* : to inspect; to view.

*Also the name of our best-of-breed online native review platform. Contact me for an in-person or webex demonstration. You can also go to the Inspicio(TM) page: http://www.altep.com/content/category/4/24/82/.

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