eDiscovery

Federal and state judiciaries have amended their respective court rules to impose significant obligations on attorneys, corporate and individual clients, and parties to a lawsuit regarding electronically stored information (commonly referred to as “ESI” or “eDiscovery”). The impact of these rules and obligations goes far beyond the lawyers and parties who are involved in a lawsuit, and requires input and compliance from various departments, including HR, IT, Risk Management, and Legal, of any business. Recent court decisions have imposed heavy sanctions on businesses that were unable to respond effectively to discovery requests. Although these amendments place new obligations on companies, a recent survey found that only 7% of corporate attorneys consider their companies prepared for the court rules that govern eDiscovery.

Our Response to Electronic Discovery & Information (REDI) Group assists clients in understanding and complying with laws, court rules, and common law obligations that govern information management in the context of a lawsuit in a manner that not only addresses the legal obligation, but also the practical business considerations that allow for a business to continue to operate unimpeded by what can be seemingly daunting obligations. The identification, preservation, collection, review, and production of massive amounts of ESI have introduced litigation risks and costs previously unknown. REDI is dedicated to providing counsel to address the proliferation of information technology that has made it difficult for a company to know what information is within its control, and how to manage that information to reduce litigation risk and comply with various laws.

The REDI Group Provides Counseling & Litigation Services:

• Advise on records and information management, including the development of policies and plans to effectively manage multiple data sources across multiple offices
• Regularly update corporate document retention policies and procedures
• Audit retention procedures
• Identify industry-specific data storage requirements such as those required by HIPAA, OSHA, EEOC, and SEC
• Manage risk and control costs
• Promote education and outreach
• Advise on litigation readiness
• Assist in litigation hold issuance and compliance
• Serve as eDiscovery neutrals (e.g., eDiscovery special master) by judicial appointment
• Prosecute and defend lawsuits with significant e-discovery aspects

We understand the importance of minimizing a lawsuit’s impact on the day-to-day business activities of our clients’ operations. In order to assist our clients in addressing their legal obligations in connection with eDiscovery rules, we gathered an interdisciplinary team comprised of trial lawyers, corporate and securities lawyers, intellectual property lawyers, labor and employment lawyers, and technology specialists to form the REDI Group. REDI builds off of Scarinci Hollenbeck’s strong litigation foundation of handling complex litigation involving massive amounts of documents including ESI, offers clients comprehensive programs through on-going counseling, and assists companies in a broad range of needs from prevention to defense.