Blog Entries - June 2008

Five Reasons Companies Should NOT Conduct Their Own Forensic Investigations

james.crane@altep.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Corporate counsel is always dealing with the challenges of controlling costs and providing their corporate client with the most defensible position. One question that always comes up is "why shouldn't we just collect our own data?" It's a good question. Many corporations have an IT department staffed with talented and available personnel.

The short answer is that sometimes, in-house IT is the "logical" choice [...]

Even the Greatest Thinkers Are Not Always Right

james.crane@altep.com — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Aristotle thought that earthquakes were caused by subterranean winds. OK, so he was a little off, according the USGS - tectonic plate movement simply fell outside his realm of experience. Like Aristotle, though, many attorneys think their methods are as good as it gets. What we attorn [...]

Massachusetts Sues H&R Block Over Subprime Mortgages

james.crane@altep.com — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Whether the subprime mortgage situation is a crisis is the subject of debate. What we are able to do to help stem the increase in foreclosures is worth examining. What is clear, is that states are taking the problem very seriously and are aggressively going after lenders associated with subprime loans. On June 3 rd, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley joined in the subprime fray, filing a 59 page Complaint against Option One Mortgage Corp. and its parent H&R Block [...]

Even a Divorce Can Trigger a Look Into a Corporation�s ESI

james.crane@altep.com — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0100

The June issue of the ABA Journal featured an article about how divorces are as ugly as ever despite the legal profession’s efforts to provide nuanced and sophisticated solutions like the “collaborative approach.” Because my practice focus is the defense of corporations, I was reminded how easily a company and its electronic data can get dragged into disputes despite no wrongdoing on its part. With so many company employees using portable technology belonging to the co [...]