E-Discovery and Information Management

As technology advances, both plaintiff and defense attorneys are facing unanticipated challenges from the massive impact of such advances on discovery obligations. Knowing how to manage these challenges may, literally, be the difference between victory and defeat.

To successfully handle the demands of electronic discovery, it is vitally important to develop effective information management strategies.

As the $1.45 billion damages award in the Coleman Holdings v. Morgan Stanley Co. case made evident, failure to properly handle electronic documents can prove very costly.

Moreover, the Supreme Court has approved the Judicial Conference's new e-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure -- and they will go into effect later this year.

Listen as our authoritative panelists help corporate counsel and legal advisors understand the new rules and develop strategies for managing document retention and electronic discovery in a period of uncertainty.

Deborah Klar, Senior Partner, Liner Yankelevitz Sunshine & Regenstreif, Los Angeles, is a senior partner in the firm's Litigation Department, where she specializes in complex business litigation and administrative proceedings in a variety of areas such as corporate, securities, antitrust and healthcare. She has also conducted independent and pre-litigation investigations.

David Nolte, Founder, Fulcrum Financial Inquiry, Los Angeles, provides leadership for the firm, as well as direct client engagement in matters involving electronic discovery and other forensics involved in litigation. Prior to forming Fulcrum, he was responsible for the Southern California forensic accounting, valuation, and damage analysis practice for a large international accounting and consulting firm.

Thomas J. Smith, Partner, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, Pittsburgh, concentrates his practice in the area of complex commercial litigation. He is a founding member of the firm’s Records Management & E-Discovery Practice Group, and regularly counsels clients in matters involving complex records preservation and collection issues, litigation “holds,” e-discovery, and records management and retention policies.

The panelists consider these and other key questions:

• How should document retention policies be crafted to incorporate the unique aspects of preserving and producing electronic records?
• What lessons can be learned from the Zubalake decision, the Morgan Stanley verdict and other cases in which electronic documents were critical issues?
• How does Sarbanes-Oxley affect electronic document retention policies and procedures?
• How can the costs of collecting electronic documents best be managed – and can any of the discovery costs be shifted or shared?

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