Link to news article posted on OUT-LAW News, January 16, 2008:  Irish courts can order companies to undertake expensive data mining under electronic discovery rules, according to a ruling from the Irish Supreme Court. The ruling expands what is possible there under electronic discovery rules.

The ruling brings Ireland into line with the position across the UK, according to a legal expert.

In a telecoms industry dispute former state monopoly carrier Eircom was asked to produce a report based on information in its databases. The company refused, claiming that e-discovery did not cover the creation of new reports.

Though the Supreme Court said that it would be disproportionate to demand the report in this specific case, it did say that the Court had the right to ask for such reports….

Link to article by Jaculin Aaron and Laura J. Lattman posted on Law.com, December 11, 2007:

During the last decade, lawyers faced with the novelty of electronic discovery have reacted in different ways. Some lawyers have mastered it, some have become reasonably conversant with it and some have just added it to the list of things they know they don’t know. However, there is an aspect of e-discovery that even the most experienced practitioners may not even know they don’t know: the complexities of e-discovery in the international setting. This article gives a brief overview of issues that can arise in connection with international e-discovery, in particular those relating to data protection regimes, the technical requirements for processing data from other countries and other issues that may arise in the collection and review process….

Link to news article posted on Business Standard, December 12, 2007:

While cyber-crime is increasing in India rapidly, there is an acute shortage of trained professionals. At the current rate India needs about 20,000 trained professionals to solve crime related to the Internet and mobile phones.

To address this shortage, Agape India - providing services in cyber forensic law, biometrics solutions and storage consultant - today announced the launch of National Institute of e-Forensics (NIeF). A unit of E-forensic, with an aim to provide advanced specialised computer and mobile forensic training programs. The company also announced a toll-free number as an extension to circumvent e-crimes….

Link to press release, December 5, 2007:  Professional services firm Deloitte today announced a doubling in size of its Computer Forensic and Electronic Discovery group through a merger with the highly regarded firm Forensic Data®.

Forensic Data® is Australia’s longest serving company specialising in data recovery, data conversion, electronic discovery and computer forensics and is widely acknowledged as an industry leader in its field. Read the rest of this entry »

Article by Jerry F. Barbanel and Daryk Rowland posted on The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, December 2007:

U.S. multinationals that are making efforts to comply with data protection and e-discovery laws, rules and regulations in both the U.S. as well as other international jurisdictions face a multitude of challenges. If they are not in compliance, multinationals also bear the additional risk of significant sanctions, including monetary penalties. By identifying the appropriate experts within an organization and through proper planning, multinational organizations can ensure that they are in compliance….

Press release:  New Release of Outindex E-Discovery Improves Scalability and Flexibility of Deployment

KENNINGTON, LONDON (1 November 2007) – Outindex (www.outindex.com), the leading electronic discovery software company in Europe, today announced a new release of their flagship product, Outindex E-Discovery. This new version includes the ability to support multiple database platforms in order to increase the scalability of processing electronically stored information (ESI) and increasing the flexibility of deployment, thereby lowering costs. This makes OutIndex the only commercial electronic discovery application to support multiple databases. Read the rest of this entry »

Blog entry by Charles Christian posted on The Orange Rag, October 11, 2007:

With the amount of electronic evidence growing rapidly in litigation cases, a survey by KPMG Forensic amongst 100 litigators in 22 leading UK-based law firms has found that there are widespread concerns about ambiguity in the e-disclosure rules, and that 50% of those surveyed believe judges and masters should be trained on the difficulties routinely faced in an e-disclosure exercise.

The research, carried out on KPMG Forensic’s behalf by Ipsos Mori, found that overall 48 percent of those surveyed believe that judges and masters are ill-equipped to make effective e-disclosure case management decisions. Amongst those litigators more heavily involved in e-disclosure, this rises to 71 percent….

Computer forensics conference:  Edith Cowan University, School of Computer and Information Science, 2 Bradford St., Mount Lawley, WA, Australia.  Edith Cowan University, School of Computer and Information Science. Read the rest of this entry »

Article by Stefanie Jill Fogel and Lauren E. Bishow posted on Law.com, September 26, 2007:

Information technology has undeniably become a key element of most business organizations, supporting both the primary methods of communication and the means of processing and storing vast amounts of proprietary information. The application of technology systems to the day-to-day activities of business has naturally caused electronically generated and stored information to become a primary target for litigation discovery requests.

In response to what are now commonplace requests for discovery of such information, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have been amended to include specific provisions relating to discovery of electronically stored information. This change, along with the growing body of case law concerning electronic discovery, reflects the legal community’s effort to catch up with the rapid progress of technology.

Both lawyers and their clients have an obligation to adjust their respective practices to respond to the consequences of these legal developments. For a multinational corporation, the challenge of implementing policies to ensure compliance is twofold: First, the corporation must determine whether and to what extent its foreign affiliates should also establish compliance policies in light of the broad scope of U.S. discovery. Second, the corporation must ascertain which forms of electronic information should be considered when developing these policies and how they can be implemented to strike a balance between legal considerations and effective business practices….

Electronic discovery conference: Hotel Nelligan, Montréal, Québec, Canada.  Commonweath Legal. Read the rest of this entry »