Few aspects of litigation cause more concern for businesses today than the rapidly changing impact of information management and electronic discovery, which can add a layer of complexity to litigation. E-Discovery and related technology is constantly changing, often outpacing the law.
Our clients face varying and unsettled standards across different jurisdictions regarding electronic discovery in their litigation matters – many states have still not adopted procedural rules, and those that have tend to vary significantly in the duties they impose on litigants. To further complicate matters, many rules are new and lack interpretive case law.
Even within the federal court system, standards and expectations vary from circuit to circuit. Effectively managing electronic discovery in a manner that fulfills duties imposed on counsel and serves the client is among the biggest challenges facing litigators today.
The single most expensive aspect of litigation is electronic discovery. Electronic discovery must be comprehensively managed as its own cohesive project, within the context of the litigation. Properly managed, electronic discovery can serve the client, focus the litigation, and remain cost-effective. From defensible preservation efforts, data collection, and processing, to analysis and production, to management of the client’s discovery efforts should meet the client’s expectations and serve the client’s goal.
To address these immediate and substantial needs, an E-Discovery matter is assigned to project manager Sarah C. Haslett, CEDS, and is assisted by Haley M. Paulmero, Paralegal andReviewer, and is overseen by the lead attorney for the case.
In addition, the firm has engaged with PageOne Legal to provide our clients with direct and cost-effective access to Relativity, an online web-based platform that securely and efficiently controls and manages data for end-to-end litigation needs. This program has become the standard for E-Discovery management. Through our partnership with PageOne, Christian & Small provides its clients with hands-on access and experienced staff able to assist with questions or assistance.
Representative Experience
- Ongoing advisement and provision of Relativity platform access and management for a healthcare client to organize and renew data pre-litigation.
- Shared platform access with outside co-counsel co-counsel for collaboration and discovery management in complex construction litigation.
- Extraction and preservation of social media videos in a wrongful death claim.
- Importation and review of Gmail account emails in defense of wrongful termination suit.
- Review and analyze forensically extracted files from multiple devices belonging to a client in defense of an unfounded spoliation claim.
- Advised a large electronic discovery provider regarding the defensibility of its machine-learning tool.
- Defended a $33 mm commercial claim alleging property damage and the defense of a defective product claim seeking damages for quadriplegia, and multiple employment cases.
- Represented companies in the protection of trade secrets, as well as companies and individuals accused of misappropriating trade secrets.
- Defeated a plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction on all relief sought regarding supposed trade secrets except for software that clients undisputedly did not have.