Welcome to the e-Discovery Team Blog by Ralph Losey who can be reached at ralph.losey@gmail.com. Ralph is a lawyer in private practice with a background in litigation and computers since 1979. He is a Partner of Jackson Lewis, LLP and the firm’s National e-Discovery Counsel. Ralph has limited his practice to e-discovery law since 2006. See the important disclaimer and notice about this blog, which is his own creation and has his own views, not that of his law firm or anyone else. All Ralph and other contributors to this blog provide is education and information, not legal advice. Ralph is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Florida and author of numerous legal publications in the field of e-discovery, including four books on e-discovery: Adventures in Electronic Discovery (West, Spring 2011); Electronic Discovery: New Ideas, Trends, Case Law, and Practices (West 2010); Introduction to e-Discovery, (ABA 2009); and, e-Discovery: Current Trends and Cases (ABA 2008). Ralph’s latest project is the formation of an extensive online education project providing law school quality instruction to everyone. See the School tab above for more information.
As the name of this blog suggests, it pertains to all aspects of Electronic Discovery and stresses the team approach. It is designed for all levels and types of readers, from litigators with years of experience in e-discovery, sophisticated in-house counsel, beginning lawyers and paralegals, and law students, to non-lawyer IT experts and other professionals in the growing fields of e-discovery and information management. These essays discuss the unique problems of e-discovery, and the latest trends, case law, and events in this field. These blogs also explain in detail one part of Losey’s solution to the problems of e-discovery, an interdisciplinary team approach, led, but not dominated by, technologically savvy lawyers. Naturally, the views and opinions expressed here are Losey’s own, and not those of his law firm or clients.
The world as we know it today is dominated by computers and other technologies. This is not a passing fad; it is a new culture. An information and technology age is rapidly replacing the old ways in every field, including the law. This is particularly evident for companies and attorneys involved with litigation. They must not only understand the law, and the facts of a dispute, but also the organization’s computer systems and data retention practices. The failure of otherwise excellent in-house counsel and their trial lawyers to understand the new technologies and their impact on evidence and discovery has led to some spectacular losses over the past decade by some of the top corporations in the country and the law firms that represent them. The December 1, 2006, changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and recent case law, especially Zubulake, have only intensified the problem. Check out my “right brain” creative interpretation of this situation in the e-Discovery Team video found in the ”Blog Videos” widget at the bottom of the right sidebar.
If a large organization is involved in litigation, and that includes almost every large company and branch of government, it must solve this problem, fast. My solution (which at this point appears to the consensus solution) is formation of an e-Discovery Team, an interdepartmental group comprised of lawyers, IT and management. It rests on the three pillars of knowledge essential to effective e-discovery: Information Science, Law and Technology.
I assist my clients to form their own internal, e-discovery response teams. Along with other attorneys in my law firm we serve as the Team’s coach and trainer. Experience shows that the well-coached and well-trained client Team is the best way for large organizations today to control the otherwise high risks and costs of e-discovery. We also appear in Court when needed to advocate the corporate Team’s position and partner with local counsel to make sure that e-discovery is done right.
Please let me know your ideas and comments concerning this blog. You can send me a personal email at ralph.losey@gmail.com. Also, please feel free to leave any non-commercial comments to this blog, which can be read by all. I retain all copyrights and may need to edit comments, but I welcome dissenting views.
YOU ROCK.
very resourceful!
just found this resource. a really good job. thanks sam
are you going to sedona end of april? if you are we can meet then. sam
Thank You
Excellent insight and instruction – thank for the time invested in this useful resource.
This is a very informative and insightful blog. Definately one to put on your favorites and check everyday. Thanks for shedding light on complex issues.
[...] About [...]
[...] About [...]
Enjoy your blog. I am very experienced in complex litigation/e-discovery work and I must note that I have not yet seen a discussion of the best ways to properly prepare a client for all the tech supprt necessary to actually conduct the large scale doc review (# 6) above. This process requires hiring from 30 – 100 + attorneys to work 60+ hours a week for months on end on large scale projects. This is a very labor intensive and expensive phase of e-discovery. It has been my experience that the software programs/vendors/consultants/servers/internet pipelines etc. etc. are poorly chosen (cost) causing serious delays and cost over runs on many projects. I also note that so called service providers in this area often employ very junior and inexperienced people to serve as “techs” and ‘on-site trainers’ who are not really up to the task of servicing the daily needs of complex project workflow. I understand that clients make cost driven choices in these matters but they wind up paying far more in the end in excessive attorney hours and overtime because they don’t properly prepare for the review phase.
You raise a good issue. Any thoughts on how to do that would be appreciated. Many people, and cos, seem to be penny wise and pound foolish. Most of the expense in large projects is review, and I have tried to make that point several times.
Each process is explained thoroughly. Clears all doubts about e-discovery. Good job done
Wow. Fantastic flow charts. Your use of visuals here was better than most of the text books I read, let alone blogs. Thanks a million for putting in the time here.
Very informative website and appropriate. As a representative on the IT side of the house, I can confirm that cost is a big push-back on bringing attorney review technology platforms in house and for companies that are involved in a relatively small number of litigations (say once per year), the cost of maintaining expertise in operating those platforms is also of concern.
IT departments quite easily fall into the trap you describe of over collection not really understanding what happens once turned over for review. Even the in-house managing attorney is not cognizant of the cost of over collection. Outsourcers (both technology and outside counsel) are usually all too happy to get terrabytes of ESI to justify exorbitant review costs.
I have done some research into attorney review platforms that can be used in-house and I’m curious if you have any experience with any of those. As it’s an emerging product space, there are wide gaps in offerings and costs and I’m looking to narrow the field down by leveraging others’ experiences.
Thanks for your posts!
How does one subscribe to your blog? You are dead on. With being in the industry, I enjoy hearing others views to validate what I have learned thus far. Keep these coming. Have a great and most successful day.
Ralph, thank you for the insight and resource of your blog. I wonder if you would consider setting up and RSS feed (strictly for the ease of your readers)?
Be well,
Amy
Ralph,
Your blog represents the depth of your understanding of e-discovery on the whole.
What is more important is to make sense to the reader. I am new to e discovery and did derive immense knowledge and pleasure by reading your article.
Great job!
regards
balaji
Nice job on the blog!
I am a records management expert credentialed in medical records (HIM or Health Information Management) and specialize in Legal Health Records and eDiscovery in healthcare. I live near Orlando (Titusville) and thought I should reach out and make a connection. A friend of mine Kim Baldwin-Stried Reich speaks highly of you. When you have a chance please e-mail me at the e-mail address I posted with this message. Thank you.
Do you have a web feed I can save? I searched around but couldn’t
Enjoy your blog. I am very experienced in complex litigation/e-discovery work and I must note that I have not yet seen a discussion of the best ways to properly prepare a client for all the tech supprt necessary to actually conduct the large scale doc review (# 6) above. This process requires hiring from 30 – 100 + attorneys to work 60+ hours a week for months on end on large scale projects. This is a very labor intensive and expensive phase of e-discovery. It has been my experience that the software programs/vendors/consultants/servers/internet pipelines etc. etc. are poorly chosen (cost) causing serious delays and cost over runs on many projects. I also note that so called service providers in this area often employ very junior and inexperienced people to serve as “techs” and ‘on-site trainers’ who are not really up to the task of servicing the daily needs of complex project workflow. I understand that clients make cost driven choices in these matters but they wind up paying far more in the end in excessive attorney hours and overtime because they don’t properly prepare for the review phase.
+1
[...] concept. Ralph Losey has been talking about it for years over on his groundbreaking and irreverent e-discovery team blog, and it’s a frequent topic of keynote speakers on the e-discovery lecture circuit. However, [...]
[...] encourage you to check out Ralph Losey’s excellent summary of this case for more insight and hilarious facts about the ruling: Victor [...]
Where I can get technical insight about e-discovery?
1) How generally people do the extraction of attachments of a document? msgs of a PST… and have them ready for viewing?
2) How to have high fidelity rendering of the documents? (Are there any on the fly trasnformation of the files for viewing them or this is done at processing time.
[...] companies, including H5, Bluestar, D4, and Lighthouse, but they have caught the attention of Ralph Losey, who is a well-known expert in e-discovery. His blog, e-Discovery Team, is one of the most [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of the world of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of the world of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of the world of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of the world of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] Losey. Losey and his e-Discovery Team are staples of a universe of electronic discovery. Losey is a Partner and [...]
[...] of Sensei Enterprises, Inc. and John W. Simek, Vice President of Sensei Enterprises welcome Ralph Losey, a partner in the law firm of Jackson Lewis and a nationally known expert, author and lecturer on [...]