Download: The Comprehensive Guide to Early Case Assessment

Exterro has published a new e-discovery guide called The Comprehensive Guide to Early Case Assessment. The guide can be downloaded at no charge.

The guide discusses how the concept of ECA is changing in today’s digital age and provides tips for creating an ECA strategy to get to the facts of a case quickly.

The guide includes:

  • 22 pages of best practices for incorporating e-discovery considerations effectively in your ECA strategy
  • Six chapters on everything you need to know about ECA, including new techniques for quickly accessing and assessing case data
  • One custodian interview template and one ECA checklist for implementing a winning ECA process

Download the e-discovery guide.




The Case for Continuous Open Source Management

Black Duck webinarSpeakers from Black Duck Software and Wolters Kluwer will be presenters in a webinar addressing key open source security and management questions.

The complimentary event will be Wednesday, March 22, at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Speakers will be Bob Genshaft, Director Strategic Programs at Wolters Kluwer, and Black Duck’s VP and General Manager On-Demand Audits Phil Odence.

“Companies are constantly seeking ways to ensure their application code is secure and effectively managed. For example, M&A acquirers conduct one-time code audits on companies they are buying to avoid legal, operational or security pitfalls. Other organizations are proactive, using an an ongoing solution to make sure their application code is secure and well managed on a day-to-day basis. Increasingly, many companies are opting to use both approaches,” Black Duck says in a release.

Topics will include:

  • When is it appropriate to conduct an audit?
  • When should your company consider an ongoing solution?
  • What are the benefits of doing both?

Register for the webinar.

 

 




McKool Smith Welcomes Frank Vecella From Ericsson

Frank VecellaMcKool Smith has announced that Frank Vecella, the former associate general counsel of litigation at Ericsson Inc., has joined the firm as a principal in its Dallas office. Vecella was with Ericsson for 16 years and managed and supervised all of the company’s significant litigation in the United States and Canada, and often provided guidance with respect to Ericsson’s major disputes around the world.

“Ericsson is a long-time client and Frank has been a very dear friend of the firm for many years,” said McKool Smith managing principal David Sochia. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Frank with us. He has significant litigation and industry expertise, and his in-house counsel perspective will be invaluable to the firm as we continue to strengthen our client service initiatives.”

Prior to joining Ericsson, Vecella was a senior partner at Jackson Walker L.L.P., where he worked for 18 years.

Read details about Vecella’s career move.

 

 




9 New E-Discovery Case Law Summaries

ZapprovedZapproved has published its new E-Discovery Case Law Summaries: 2017 Winter volume, covering the latest trends in applying the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) to address cases involving preservation and discovery missteps.

The volume illustrates what e-discovery pitfalls to avoid and how the courts are bringing issues of proportionality, cooperation and preservation to the forefront. These rulings reflect more nuance in curing prejudice, such as ordering “measures no greater than necessary” and awarding attorney fees and permissive jury instructions, according to Zapproved.

Summaries cover the gamut of cases, from the high-profile U.S. v Volkswagen AG to the quieter Security Alarm Financing Enterprises and Arrowhead Capital Financial. Together, they add up to a snapshot of where courts are leaning and why noncompliant e-discovery practices are dangerous.

This free volume includes quick e-discovery case law abstracts from the last 10 years, plus full summaries of nine recent cases.

Download the new case summaries.

 

 




Webinar: The Future of Whistleblower Hotlines Revealed

Hotline - phone - operator - call centerNavex Global will present a complimentary webinar on the company’s annual Ethics & Compliance Hotline Benchmark Report, a tool compliance professionals around the globe reference every year to help measure their program and highlight areas for improvement.

The event will be Tuesday, March 21, 2017, beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Anyone who registers but can’t attend the live event will receive a link that will provide access to the recording at a later date.

Navex studied more than 936,000 anonymized reports from their clients’ intake systems, analyzed the data and interpreted the trends.

This webinar will address questions such as:

  • Are the number of reports increasing or decreasing?
  • What’s happening with case closure times?
  • Are retaliation reports being substantiated within the organization at higher rates?
  • How do open door reports impact the data?

Register for the webinar.




Houston Janitorial Service Wins $7.8 Million from Union Over Disparagement

A Harris County jury has delivered a $5.3 million verdict against the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for wrongly disparaging Professional Janitorial Service of Houston when the company refused to recognize the union without a secret ballot by its employees. The judge added $2.5 million in prejudgement interest for a total of $7.8 million owed to the company.

According to a post on the website of Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C.the law firm representing Professional Janitorial Service:

The case was filed 10 years ago by Professional Janitorial based on claims that SEIU issued an onslaught of false statements to try to harm the company for refusing to give in to the union’s demands. In the four-week trial, jurors heard evidence that SEIU officials systematically lied about the janitorial service to its customers and caused the company to lose millions of dollars in business. The evidence showed union members rejoiced and took credit for causing the janitorial business to lose some of its customers.

Attorneys Nathan Campbell, Adam Milasincic and firm co-founder John Zavitsanos of Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, represented Professional Janitorial. Mr. Zavitsanos told the jury that SEIU is “an evil, evil organization that used an intimidating campaign of extortion to try to run the janitorial service out of business.”

See a video on AZA’s website.

 

 




On-Demand: Managing Workplace Harassment: Trends and Objectives in 2017

HR - employees - jobs - hiringNavex Global and Bloomberg have posted an on-demand webinar discussing discuss discrimination regulations applicable to the workplace, from what constitutes discrimination to what limits employers can put on the words and actions of employees.

The 60-minute webinar is available free of charge.

“After the 2016 election, multiple studies have noted an increase in workplace harassment, through discrimination remarks and actions, from both sides of the campaign,” Navex says on its website. “This has resulted in divisive and sometimes hostile work environments.  HR, Compliance and Ethics officers must take action to create a welcome environment that is harassment-free.”

The video covers strategies for developing policies and plans for training departments and employees to minimize and manage workplace harassment, and understand when disciplinary actions should – or must – be taken.

Educational Objectives:
Program participants will learn:
• What actions constitute discrimination in the workplace, including sexism, racism, and homophobia;
• Limits on how employers can approach and manage workplace harassment;
• Strategies for developing training plans for leaders as well as employees to minimize and avoid workplace harassment;
• What types of disciplinary measures might be taken by employers.

Who would benefit most from attending this program?

Human Resources leaders; compliance officers; ethics officers; anyone responsible for employee training within their organizations.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

 

 




Is Your Board Prepared to Oversee Cyber Risk?

NACDThe National Association of Corporate Directors has published the 2017 edition of the NACD Director’s Handbook on Cyber-Risk Oversight and made it available for free downloading.

The book is constructed around five core principles designed to enhance the cyber literacy and cyber-risk oversight capabilities of directors of organizations of all sizes and in all industries, according to NACD.

This handbook provides

  • foundational principles for board-level cyber-risk oversight;
  • insight into management of cyber-risk oversight responsibilities; and
  • tools to improve and enhance boardroom practices.

Download the handbook.

 

 




Digital Disruption – Impacts for Corporate Legal Departments

Kim Technologies will present a seminar titled “Digital Disruption – Impacts for Corporate Legal Departments” on March 21, 2017 for corporate counsel and executives.

The complimentary event will be at Columbia University’s main campus in New York City, beginning with a buffet breakfast at 8:30 a.m. The main program will be from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Dr. Art Langer, director of Columbia University’s Center for Technology Management, will discuss digital disruption in the 21st Century.

Bjarne Tellman, SVP and general counsel of Fortune 100 company Pearson PLC, will discuss the vision for a transformed legal service.

Karl Chapman, CEO of Riverview Law, will talk about moving from a technology-enabled to technology-led legal service delivery model.

And Susan Hackett, LEL, former SVP and GC of Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), will host a moderated discussion involving in-house counsel.

Register for the seminar.

 

 




Workplace Harassment: New Considerations for New Administration

Employment - hiringNavex Global will present a complimentary webinar titled “Managing Workplace Harassment: Trends and Objectives under the New Administration” on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The event will begin at 9 a.m. Pacific time/noon Eastern time.

On its website, Navex says incidents of prejudice and discrimination are increasing in today’s polarized society—including harassment in the workplace. How do you mitigate this risk while tensions continue to flare?

Join this webinar to hear:

  • What actions constitute discrimination in the workplace
  • How to manage workplace harassment
  • Appropriate disciplinary measures

Navex also will share strategies for developing training plans for all levels of employment to minimize and avoid workplace harassment from the top down.

Register for the webinar.

 

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Download: The Comprehensive Guide to E-Discovery Data Collections

ExterroExterro has published an e-discovery guide examining must-have and new data collection best practices, which will empower a legal team to create streamlined and cost-saving data collection policies.

The guide is available for free downloading.

The guide includes:

  • 19 pages of best practices and innovative, new data collection/processing tips from e-discovery experts.
  • 6 chapters on everything you need to know about e-discovery data collections/processings.
  • 1 checklist to ensure you are creating an effective, proportional collection process.

Download the guide.

 

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Data Processing Benchmark Report Reveals the Next Big Trends

Zapproved Zapproved has published its new 2017 In-House E-Discovery Data Processing Benchmark Report, detailing the most satisfying and concerning aspects affecting data processing for e-discovery.

These insights can offer a roadmap to create better, more efficient data processing and review approaches in the year ahead, the company said on its website.

Each year, Zapproved produces a report on the the state of in-house e-discovery, based on a short survey. Participants include a range of in-house e-discovery professionals, from IT personnel to legal operations staff. The 2017 In-House E-Discovery Data Processing Benchmark Report reveals participant satisfaction with data processing speed, cost, ease of use, security and risk reduction. These attributes are correlated with business criteria, such as case types, matter sizes, data sources and future trends.

The resulting report illustrates what really impacts data processing decisions today and how to plan for the future.

It covers:

  • What most influences speed, cost, ease of use, security and risk reduction
  • When to use in-house versus external solutions
  • Why spending more in-house can make sense
  • Which data sources are the next big trend

Download the study findings.

 

 




Download: Bringing E-Discovery In House

ZapprovedZapproved has published a new white paper successfully transitioning from outsourced to in-house e-discovery. The paper is available for free downloading from the company’s website.

Corporate counsel face constant pressure to do more with less, Zapproved says on its site. As data stores have ballooned, and as the cost of litigation and compliance investigations has grown, more organizations are looking for ways to lower the cost of e-discovery.

Three in-house legal professionals provide insight for this new In-House Elevated white paper.

Panelists Jack Thompson of Sanofi, Becki Bottemiller of  Portland General Electric, and Wendy Riggs of Twitter, Inc. discussed with Jennifer Bantelman of Zapproved, Inc. their thoughts about the benefits of insourcing the discovery process, how to plan for the transition, where to start, how to choose the most helpful technology, what model will work best, and what pitfalls to avoid.

Download the white paper.

 

 




Invitation: General Counsel to Discuss Cost Control

Bloomberg Big Law Business and CatalystBloomberg Big Law Business, in partnership with Catalyst, will convene corporate counsel to discuss the need to control rising legal costs particularly related to litigation at the complimentary event, Controlling Litigation Costs – Managing Your Legal Department for Success.

The event will be Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, 3-5:30 p.m. Central time, at University Club of Chicago, Northwestern Room, 76 E Monroe St., Chicago, IL 60603.

Technology provides important solutions, but only if implemented effectively and as part of an overall strategy to manage litigation, Bloomberg says on its website. Top general counsel will talk about the ways they are managing litigation and the expectations they set with law firms and technology vendors.

Corporate counsel speakers include:

  • Susan Lees, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Allstate Insurance
  • Leslie McKnew, VP, Litigation, CISCO
  • Matt Miller, VP, Deputy General Counsel – EMEA, APAC and Global Litigation, Groupon
  • Sharyn Procaccio, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Hunt Companies

Register for the event.

 

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NACD Webinar: How Progressive GC Use Board Evaluation

board of directors - conference tableThe National Association of Corporate Directors will present a complimentary webinar discussing how progressive general counsel use the board evaluation process as a tool to effect positive change in the boardroom.

The webinar is part of NACD’s Strategic-Asset General Counsel Webinar Series.

The event will be March 23, 2017, 2-3 p.m. Eastern time.

Board evaluation will be the main topic for the NACD webinar.

Speakers will be announced closer to the event date.

Register for the webinar.

 




Federal Judges Survey: Featured E-Discovery Case Law Report

magnifyer-investigate-search-puzzleFor the third consecutive year, federal judges do not feel the typical attorney has the required knowledge to be effectively counseling clients on e-discovery matters, according to Exterro’s Third Annual Judges Survey.

Exterro has compiled a report on the survey, which can be downloaded.

The report covers:

  • E-Discovery advice from 22 federal judges on how to improve e-discovery practices
  • Expert commentary from retired judges and e-discovery thought leaders, interpreting the results and how they should effect practices
  • Judicial insight on the new FRCP rules and the role judges should play under them

Download the report.




Webinar: The 2016 Open Source Year in Review

Computer with binary zeroes and onesBlack Duck Software will present its annual review of open source legal issues in a webinar, discussing the most significant legal developments related to open source software in 2016.

The complimentary event will be Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. Anyone unable to participate in the live webinar may register anytime to receive the recording for viewing when convenient.

Presenters will be Karen Copenhaver, Partner at Choate Hall & Stewart and Counsel for the Linux Foundation, and Mark Radcliffe, Partner at DLA Piper and General Counsel for the Open Source Initiative.

Some of the topics on the agenda are:

  • Current litigation
  • An open source security update
  • Companies open sourcing their own code
  • FCC banning open source in routers

Register for the webinar.

 

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Reduce Risk in Finance, Contract & Employment Law: ACC Mid-Year Meeting

ACCThe Association of Corporate Counsel, the world’s largest community of in-house counsel, will stage the ACC Mid-Year Meeting in New York on April 2-4, 2017.

The event will be at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. General Counsel News readers may receive a $200 discount on the registration fee if they register by Feb. 20.

An ACC release says the meeting will help participants prepare for changes in the regulatory landscape with sessions on:

  • The impact of evolving regulations and enforcement trends on contracts
  • Current and most controversial changes in employment law
  • Reducing financial sector regulatory risk

Other activities will include:

  • Engage directly with expert faculty
  • Connect with your peers through multiple networking opportunities
  • Have the opportunity to earn 12-14 CLE/CPD (1 credit Ethics eligible), 14 CCB CEU credits, and 3-4 CPE credits

Register for the meeting.

 

 




E-Sign: Reducing Risk & Strengthening Enforceability Webinar

Esignature - contract -signingeSignLive by Vasco will present a complimentary one-hour webinar providing practical evidentiary considerations of electronic records and signatures and guidance on how to reduce your risk.

The event will be Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

Organizations undergoing digital transformation often have legal questions related to moving paper-based business processes online without introducing new risks. Beyond the minimum requirements for electronic and digital signatures set forth in the laws, addressing the risk of fraud, repudiation and compliance is of utmost importance as well. In the event of a regulatory audit or legal dispute, avoiding fines and ensuring admissibility is dependent on a company’s ability to produce convincing, reliable evidence.

Presenters will be Pat Hatfield, Partner at Locke Lord LLP, and Andrea Masterton, Corporate Marketing Director at eSignLive.

Highlights will include:

  • A brief overview of e-sign legislation
  • Insights gained from relevant case law
  • How e-signature laws overlay with existing commercial and industry regulations
  • The challenges of defending electronic transactions
  • A live demonstration of ‘best practice’ e-signature audit trails & process evidence

Register for the webinar.

 

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Painful Verdicts for Johnson & Johnson

The Lanier Law FirmIn 2016, two federal juries in Dallas delivered significant verdicts on behalf of the victims of serious medical complications caused by defective metal-on-metal hip implants made by Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., according to a post by the plaintiffs’ legal counsel, The Lanier Law Firm.

Although the court has reduced the amount of punitive damages awarded by the juries in each case, and those judgments are under appeal by The Lanier Law Firm, the two verdicts still total almost $700 million in actual and punitive damages assessed against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy.

In the post, the firm said these verdicts marked the second and third bellwether trials among thousands of similar lawsuits nationwide that have been consolidated in multidistrict litigation (MDL 3:11-md-0244) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. A bellwether trial is one that is typically representative of all the issues involved in the litigation of a mass tort case.

Read the article.