On August 1, 2018, Judge Beetlestone (E.D. Pa.) granted Defendants’ motion for sanctions based upon unequivocal evidence that Plaintiffs manipulated and fabricated emails material to the litigation. Although the Court imposed the drastic sanction of dismissing Plaintiffs’ complaint, the Court provided a detailed and instructive analysis supporting its ultimate conclusion. The Court’s analysis, addressed below, can be read in full
Continue Reading Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s Complaint As Sanction for Doctored Emails
The Risks of Social Media in Litigation
It has become apparent that lawyers must keep informed of changes in the law, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology. And, relevant technology is not limited to electronic dockets (i.e., NYSCEF, and ECF) and preserving text messages a client sends about his/her representation. Rather, relevant technology includes today’s world of social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
Continue Reading The Risks of Social Media in Litigation
The Dangers of Counsel Not Being Active Participant in the Discovery Process
Angela Lawrence (“Lawrence”) was a plaintiff in a civil rights action that alleged officers of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) entered her home in August 2014 without a warrant, pushed her to the ground, damaged her property, and stole $1,000 in cash. In September 2016, Lawrence provided photographs to her attorney (“Leventhal”) that she claimed depicted the condition
Continue Reading The Dangers of Counsel Not Being Active Participant in the Discovery Process
The Perils of Self-Collection
“Self-collection” refers to the situation in which the custodians of information potentially relevant to a legal proceeding undertake to identify and collect that information on their own and provide the collected content to counsel.
The typical self-collection situation involves some limited instruction or oversight from counsel (in-house or outside). For example, outside counsel issues a litigation hold notice identifying various
Continue Reading The Perils of Self-Collection
Important Update for Those Who Practice in the Commercial Division of the NYS Supreme Courts
On October 1, 2018, a new Rule (specifically, a new subdivision to existing Rule 11-e) of the Commercial Division Rules, will go into effect.
Rule 11-e governs Responses and Objections to Document Requests. The new subdivision, promulgated by administrative Order of Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks, governs the use of technology-assisted review (“TAR”) in the discovery process.
Rule 45’s Geographic Restrictions Do Not Apply to the Production of Electronically Stored Information
In a recent decision out of Oklahoma (Curtis v. Progressive N. Ins. Co., No. CIV-17-1076-C [W.D. Okla. June 13, 2018]), District Judge Robin J. Cauthron ruled that non-party ESI subpoenaed pursuant to Rule 45 was not subject to the 100 mile-limitation found in the Rule. Specifically, the Court held there is “no violation of the 100-mile limitation,” as
Continue Reading Rule 45’s Geographic Restrictions Do Not Apply to the Production of Electronically Stored Information
Ethical Information Gathering When Using Social Media
The American Bar Association Ethics 20/20 Commission and Rule 1.1 provide that a lawyer’s duty of competence “[t]o maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, [requires] a lawyer [to] keep abreast of changes in law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.” The New York County Lawyers’ Association Professional Ethics Committee Formal Opinion 749 (Feb. 21,
Continue Reading Ethical Information Gathering When Using Social Media
Developing Effective Key Words is an Iterative and Thought Intensive Process
In my December 2016 blog post, I wrote about how developing effective key words is very much an iterative and thought intensive process. This message was recently reaffirmed by a decision out of the Southern District of Ohio, wherein the Judge reminded us that the process of identifying search terms it not merely one of guesswork. Rather, it requires
Continue Reading Developing Effective Key Words is an Iterative and Thought Intensive Process
Is Mandatory Technology Training For Lawyers Headed to New York?
In 2016, Florida became the first state to mandate technology training for lawyers, when it adopted a rule requiring lawyers to complete three hours of CLE every three years “in approved technology programs.” The requirement went into effect on January 1, 2017. On April 20, 2018, the North Carolina State Bar Council approved a proposed amendment to the lawyer’s annual
Continue Reading Is Mandatory Technology Training For Lawyers Headed to New York?
Consider Document Clustering to Increase Efficiency and Accuracy in Review Projects
When tasked with a document review project, there are various analytic tools available to streamline the process in order to improve efficiency and accuracy. We’ve already discussed certain of these tools (see April 26 post discussing predictive coding and May 16 post discussing email threading). Today’s post focuses on another, interrelated tool: document clustering.
What is Document Clustering?
As you
Continue Reading Consider Document Clustering to Increase Efficiency and Accuracy in Review Projects