Lawyers are constantly asked by clients if there is any way to recover attorneys’ fees and costs from the opposing party. The typical response is that such fees and costs are only recoverable by the successful party by contract, or under a specific statute. This response often sends lawyers to the “rule books” so that
Never Agree to Do Something Your Client Cannot Do
Under the New York State Supreme Court Commercial Division Rules counsel are expected to agree at the Preliminary Conference as to the method and manner of their e-discovery (“ESI”) production. Counsel will sometimes readily agree to produce emails in their native format, with attendant metadata, without knowing whether or not their clients are able comply
Better Not Toss A “Crashed” Computer
Judge Kimba M. Wood found for the first time in the Second Circuit in Dorchester Financial Holdings Corp. v Banco BRJ, S.A. that a party must not destroy a “crashed” computer, or it will be subject to a punitive adverse inference. One of the issues in the case was the propriety of certain documents which