JMBM's unique Discovery Technology Group™ handles all aspects of litigation related to information management. We also advise clients on effective document and information retention strategies, including auditing existing policies and practices, creating data maps, implementing compliance programs and structuring appropriate legal hold guidelines.
Our e-discovery team has years of experience conducting and complying with electronic discovery, producing and reviewing electronic evidence, teaming with e-discovery vendors, controlling e-discovery costs, and managing and using electronic evidence during litigation. Members of the Discovery Technology Group™ authored the Bloomberg BNA Portfolio "Records Retention for Enterprise Knowledge Management. The guide addresses why and how businesses should create, implement and manage their records retention policies to protect their information and comply with legal requirements.
The challenge of managing electronically stored informationOne of the most significant challenges facing businesses today is the management (and mismanagement) of electronically stored information (ESI) which includes vast volumes of e-mail, application-generated documents, and personal files. Business executives are learning that the business reasons for keeping, accessing and discarding electronic information often collide with financial and regulatory requirements for maintaining ESI and those in turn collide with the separate obligations and needs of litigation and e-discovery.
But an opportunity lies within this challenge, an opportunity to make compliance with these frequently competing and contradictory obligations a value-adding process for the business enterprise.
The challenge of electronic discoveryThe lawyers of the Discovery Technology Group™ counsel clients on how to meet three goals that are crucial both to business success and to compliance with the law under new and evolving federal and state e-discovery rules:
Federal law and the laws of many states now directly address e-discovery and make meeting the first of these three goals -- e-discovery compliance -- an immediate need. Companies that have not yet done so need to take steps now to harmonize their information technology systems with the requirements of e-discovery laws.
We help our clients achieve that goal, with strategic planning that focuses on aggressive and cost-effective management of ESI to protect your business while adding value and preparing for litigation.
Implementing an effective program to control and manage information requires a systematic approach. The Discovery Technology Group™ has developed such a program, one which not only addresses the urgent need to respond to the immediate demands of legislation and regulation, but one that will also result in tangible, financial benefits to our clients.
To create an ESI management plan, we identify and interview all the key players – from C-level executives to line personnel – who can help us identify core business functions and values and evaluate the status of records and policies. We assess our clients' electronic communications and records systems and identify their vulnerabilities, which enables us to develop client-specific best practices and procedures for storing, accessing and disposing of ESI. We also help our clients with training materials and publication of ESI management plans to employees to ensure enterprise-wide understanding of the importance and responsibility of proper ESI retention.
We work with our clients to anticipate issues and build detailed e-discovery protocols that control costs and look ahead to trial. We begin early in the case by identifying the key e-discovery issues and knowledgeable witnesses, and mapping client data -- learning what ESI exists, which ESI must be produced, how it is generated and used, where it is stored, and how the storage systems are structured. This preparation positions our clients to meet their e-discovery early disclosure obligations now mandated by federal law and the laws of many states, and to meet their opponents' demands for e-discovery.
Our e-discovery management process identifies and collects the ESI needed to support our clients' positions during litigation and at trial. Because huge amounts of data can be involved, we work effectively with e-discovery vendors and client IT departments throughout the identification and collection process. By structuring the process to find the right information, we eliminate the communication issues at the root of most costly e-discovery problems.
Structuring e-discovery to support trial strategy can give clients a substantial advantage. By identifying and coding the documents that support key points in a client’s case during discovery, we can use trial document management software to organize, search and display such documents at the right moment during trial.