Implications Of E Discovery To Companies

F RENSICS
CORPORATION TM

Implications of e-Discovery
For Companies

www.forensicscorp.com
info@forensicscorp.com
877.248.DATA
480.747.1732

What is “Discovery”?

The initial (pretrial) period of a lawsuit during
which the parties may request and receive
information relating to the factual issues in
dispute.

Rule 26(b)
“Parties may obtain discovery regarding any
matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the claim
or defense of any party…”


Sources: Traditional


Sources: New

• IM
• VOIP
• MP3 Storage Devices (iPods)
• Memory sticks and flash drives
• Global positioning systems
• Blogs


Sources: Volume
• 1 Megabyte (MB) will average around 75 pages
• 1 Gigabyte (GB) will average around 75,000 pages
• 1 Terabyte (TB) will average around 75,000,000 pages

• Email average 1-2 pages per each
• Word Processing File average 5-8 pages per each
• Spreadsheets average 15-30 pages per each
• Presentation average 12-24 pages per each
• Graphic average 1 page per each
• Adobe PDF File average 35 pages per each

• Diskette 1.44 MB if full 50-150 pgs
• Zip Disk 100 MB or 250 MB if full 7,500-18,750 pgs
• CD 640 MB - 800 MB if full 48,000-64,000 pgs
• DVD 4.7 GB - 17 GB if full 350,000 - 1.3 million
• Tape Drive 2 GB - 360 GB if full 150,000 - 27 million
• Hard Drive 20 GB and over if full 1.5 million and up


Cases
Microsoft. Microsoft balks at the government's frequent requests
for e-mails because many revealed aggressive business tactics.
Microsoft eventually settles.

Morgan Stanley. Court imposes sanctions against Morgan Stanley
and Ronald Perelman obtains $1.45 billion award.

UBS Warburg. In Zubulake v. UBS Warburg, U.S. District Judge
Shira Scheindlin makes an adverse inference ruling against UBS,
leading to a $29.3 million verdict.

Merck. Jury returns $253 million verdict against Merck & Co. Inc.,
when a scientist's e-mail suggests that the company knew two
years before it put Vioxx on sale that it might cause heart problems.

Is your company prepared?

Top 10 Corporate Pitfalls
Before & During Discovery
1. Failing to Have a Data 6. Performing Ad Hoc Desk-side
Collection Plan Collection
2. Failing to Prioritize the Data 7. Failing to Mirror Image v.
3. Neglecting to Conduct Imaging Excessively
Thorough Interviews
8. Limiting Names
4. Ignoring Key Data Locations &
Important File Types 9. Assuming IT Can Manage on
5. Conducting Do-It-Yourself Data Their Own
Collection
10.Failing to Maintain Proper
Chain of Custody


…And Remember
• Courts are not afraid and, in fact, increasingly prone, to
hold companies accountable for deficient discovery
practices

• Courts are unsympathetic to e-discovery ignorance and
misconduct, and are increasingly issuing more severe
sanctions for preservation failures and other discovery
misconduct.
• Courts consider electronic data a part of mainstream
discovery & are unwilling to tolerate destruction of
relevant information
• Counsel, organizations & individuals must take
affirmative steps to prevent intentional and negligent
spoliation
• Spoliation as a result of document mismanagement is
now seldom, if ever, excused


Bottom Line
• Risk Management Must Take Ownership of This Issue to
Create and Manage an ESI Team to:
– Develop a strategy, policies and procedures
– Obtain all necessary approvals from senior management and
in-house & outside counsel
– Enforce, assess, review and audit compliance

• Otherwise, your company will find itself at the sharp end of
regulation
– Unnecessarily at a disadvantage in legal proceedings
– Potentially under threat of severe legal damages
– Subject to high discovery costs


We Can Help
• The legal department and the IT department often do not have
experience working closely together.
o “Legalese” versus “tech-talk”
o Responsibilities may not be clearly delineated (e.g., Who is responsible
for handling subpoenas and discovery requests? How should these
requests be handled?)
• The IT organization may not be prepared for these requests
o Where is the requested data stored? What type of data is needed to
respond (documents, voice, etc.) Across multiple systems? Multiple
types of media (tapes, emails, etc.)? Where is the “original” electronic
record?
o What form is the data in? Native format? Metadata?
o What data is automatically being deleted or overwritten, and how
frequently?
• Record retention (ordinary course of business)
o Routine policies and practices for retention and destruction of
information.
• Litigation hold (actual litigation, or threat of litigation)
o Who is responsible for invoking a litigation hold? Who is responsible for
communicating it? What policies are in place? Who is responsible for
implementing in? Who has authority to lift hold? What If you’re
investigating someone in IT dept with access to this info?


Services Offered
• Computer forensics / investigative
– Recovering material previously thought to have
been deleted or lost
– Restoring to usable format data contained in
outdated formats, e.g., old e-mail systems
• Electronic discovery / litigation support
– Data collection and conversion
– Data hosting
– Filtering and searching data
• Consulting
– Advising on electronic discovery issues
– Reviewing / developing processes dealing with
litigations and discovery
– Acting as special masters

Why Us
• Unmatched Experience
o Over 12 years experience in this field working with many Global 2000
companies.
• Proven Methodology & Technologies
o Our elite cross-disciplinary team is comprised of computer forensic
investigators, attorneys, law enforcement specialists, and seasoned
business professionals who possess the technical expertise,
understanding of the legal system, and specialized tools
and processes that enables the expert discovery, collection,
investigation, and production of electronic information for investigating
and handling computer-related crimes or misuse.
• Legal Consulting
o Veteran legal consultants create a framework that effectively and
efficiently integrates sophisticated technology, relentless and clever
investigative processes, and rigorous evidentiary procedures to align
case strategies with electronic evidence and directly support litigations.
• Security and Strict Confidentiality
o Formal internal security procedures and processes are employed to
maintain tight controls over all forensic analysts and forensic laboratory
technicians. Strict chain of custody procedures are mandated, with only
industry leading equipment utilized to ensure that no data is lost or
equipment damaged during the data collection or analysis process.


Contact Us
Email: info@forensicscorp.com

Tel.: +1.480.747.1732 or
Tel.: 1.877.248.DATA (3282)

Or for more information visit us at:


Implications Of E Discovery To Companies

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