CLE Course Descriptions

What Our Clients Say

“The courses put on by IE Discovery are terrific. There was exposure to new concepts, at least for me. It was very practical, informative and gave concrete ideas and tactics for practicing attorneys.”

IE Discovery CLE Seminars are offered at no cost to participants.

 

  

Electronic Data Discovery: Back to Basics

What's all of this talk about Electronic Data Discovery (EDD)? Do you keep hearing terms and jargon in your litigation practice that are unfamiliar? Terms like native file, metadata, and de-duplication are the new legal jargon. If you aren't already in-the-know on EDD topics then this course will get you up to speed on the EDD process.


Dealing with electronic data discovery has become a requirement of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and is an unavoidable component of the discovery phase of litigation. There is no avoiding it! The volume of electronic documents is exploding and the rapid growth in electronic documents and the high percentage of data that exists only in electronic form makes knowledge of electronic discovery crucial for lawyers as they aggregate, cull, review and produce enormous amounts of electronic data. This EDD basics course will teach you everything you need to know, including:

  • Basic jargon;
  • Overview of the entire process;
  • How to identify electronic data;
  • How to collect electronic data;
  • Considerations when processing electronic data;
  • Tips and tricks for reviewing electronic data; and
  • Production alternatives  

 

Mapping Your Network Architecture: How to Build an Architectural Masterpiece and Not the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as case law from around the country, are forcing lawyers to thoroughly understand their client’s data much earlier in the case.  Judges expect that we will walk into their courtrooms and speak knowledgeably ~ and with authority ~ about our company or agency’s data.  Further, the Federal Rule amendments provide a “safe harbor” for corporations when data is lost due to the “routine good-faith operation of an electronic information system.”  If you cannot document the routine-good-faith-operation of your electronic information system, then you cannot take advantage of the safe harbor provisions carved out by FRCP 37(f).  Therefore, one of the most important things in-house counsel and government agencies can do is to map their network architecture.  You need to find out what types of data you have, where it lives, how it flows throughout your systems, and when it is destroyed, altered or overwritten.  It comes in handy for the meet and confer conference, safe harbor considerations, as well as, for the implementation of the litigation hold.  You will learn:

  • How to map your company or agency’s network architecture

  • What questions to ask the IT staff so that you get an accurate mapping

  • Security considerations when sharing the mapping with counsel

  • What does a typical IT department look like

  • How to understand back up rotations

  • Tips on how to work with IT

  • What to look for in your opponents network architecture mapping.

Multiplicity: How to Reduce Review and Production Costs by Dealing with Duplicates

The cost of attorney review time is skyrocketing in electronic discovery cases.  Learn how to identify and handle duplicates and near-duplicates to greatly reduce your review and production costs during discovery.  Understanding duplicate and near-duplicate technology gives any litigator an advantage in controlling volume and therefore costs – whether hard or soft.  Join us to learn about duplicates and near-duplicates and what your options are to ensure you have a workable data collection.  In this one hour CLE you will learn:

  • Terms and Concepts: What exactly are duplicates and near-duplicates 
  • Methodology: what is the current state of de-duplication methods 
  • Results of de-duplication engines: what the machines can give you
  • Outcomes of de-duplication processes: what you can choose to do with the results
  • De-duplication choices: what are your options and what are the ramifications of choosing a particular option

Electronic Discovery Amendments to the Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure: 
A 2007 Year End Update

It's now been a year since the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were enacted.  The new rules have also factored into judge's decisions in a more than a fifty cases.  This CLE will analyze the major 2007 cases where the new FRCP has come into play and discuss what this means for government agencies, law firms, and corporate law departments going forward.  Specifically, case law regarding the following rules will be discussed:

  • FRCP 26(a)(1)(B) – Initial Disclosures
  • FRCP 26(f)(3)&(4) – Meet & Confer
  • FRCP 26(b)(2)(B) – Two Tier Rule
  • FRCP 26(b)(5)(B) – Assertions of Privilege
  • FRCP 34(a) & (b) - Production
  • FRCP 37f) – Safe Harbor Provisions
  • FRCP 45(d) – Third Party Subpoenas
Digital CSI: Discovering and Producing Metadata

This CLE session will teach you everything you needed to know about metadata and more.  In today's world of electronic discovery, metadata can be a key component in your case and this CLE will teach you what you need to know to collect, process, review and produce metadata.  Topics include:

  • Metadata:  What is it and why do we care?
  • Types of Metadata
  • Pre-Case Considerations - Best Practices for Managing Metadata
  • Prepare for Discovery - Litigation Hold
  • Discovery Begins - Meet and Confer Considerations
  • Cases and Rules for Production (and Use) of Metadata - (Pro-Metadata Rulings)
  • Cases and Rules Not Requiring Production (and Use) of Metadata - (Anti-Metadata Rulings)
  
Proven Techniques to Slash E-discovery Costs

Are you facing the exploding costs of e-discovery? This one hour session addresses the issue head-on. Our legal experts will present 5 practical steps guaranteed to reduce your e-discovery costs and answer the following questions:

  • How much should an e-discovery project cost?
  • Where are the hidden e-discovery costs?
  • What metrics should I monitor to ensure costs are controlled?

This session is meant for in-house practitioners managing litigation under increased pressure to reduce costs. The presentation will include several strategies to assist counsel on:

  • How to take control of the costs from the start (before it’s too late)
  • How to negotiate acceptable discovery protocol with opponents
  • How to eliminate or reduce the most expensive components of an e-discovery  project


Top Technical Questions for Litigators to Consider

Litigators are faced with increasingly complex technical questions. The new Federal Rules for Civil Procedure regarding electronically stored information puts the attorney squarely in the hot seat. This CLE provides guidance about the implications of technical issues for your case, what questions you should ask, what questions you will be asked and what you need to know to provide intelligent answers. The questions that will be addressed are:

  • How should we perform collection?
  • Do you want an automated review to supplement the manual review(s)?
  • What data should the reviewers see during the review(s)?
  • What format will you review and produce in?
  • What technical issues are involved in chain of custody?
  • How can I measure the relative costs vs the legal benefits of technical choices?


Circling the Wagons: How to Implement an Effective Litigation Hold

In a post-Zubulake world, the standard for placing a litigation hold has risen exponentially. Additionally, the upcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure regarding electronic discovery, as well as the commentary from the Advisory Committee rely heavily on the Zubulake decisions. In today’s litigation-hold environment, counsel must be able to immediately and effectively execute a nearly flawless litigation hold. It is time to circle the wagons and take a good look at what needs to be done in-house to avoid sanctions. In the upcoming CLE seminar, you will learn how to avoid sanctions for spoliation and malpractice claims by learning how to implement an effective litigation hold. Stacy Jackson, Corporate Counsel at IE Discovery will cover:

  • The importance of a document retention plan
  • Best practices for implementing a litigation hold
  • Case studies

Meet and Confer: What You Need to Know to Have Meaningful Discussions with Opposing Counsel

When the Federal Rules become amended in December 2006, the “drive by” meet and confer -- where you shake hands and get to know each other -- will become a thing of the past. The amendments to Rule 26, as well as current case law from around the country, are forcing attorneys to become more knowledgeable about their case. Judges are expecting attorneys to come to the meet and confer conference knowing how much discovery they have, whether it is reasonably or unreasonably accessible, and how much time and money it will take them to collect, restore, review and produce. The meet and confer stage of litigation will become a more important part of the litigation process. In our newest CLE session you will learn how to use the meet and confer process to your greatest advantage by understanding:

  • Early attention to electronic discovery issues & proposed FRCP 26(f)
  • Preserving discoverable information
  • Inadvertent disclosure procedures
  • Forms of production
  • Developing a discovery plan

Litigation Planning: How to Define an Applicant in the Electronic Age

Electronic data continues to permeate our litigation world. Compared to the days when paper applications and resumes were clearly tied to one individual, electronic applications have complicated the true definition of a job applicant. For instance, recent Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regulations conflicts with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on the definition of an Internet applicant.

How you define an applicant for your job postings may affect the breadth of your liability for future litigation and the scope of your record-keeping obligations. In addition, recent events emphasize the importance of securing personnel data. This CLE will focus on regulations, case law developments, and best practices recommendations in the following areas:

  • Defining "Internet Applicant"
  • Defining how "applicants" affect the scope of liability and how you plan for litigation
  • Meeting compliance and record-keeping obligations for discovery planning
  • Managing your expert witnesses concerning the proliferation of electronic data from Internet applicants
  • Meeting obligations to secure the personnel data generated by electronic selection processes

Preserving Chain of Custody Throughout the Electronic Discovery Process

Organizations face a myriad of challenges to ensure compliance with requests for electronic information. How does counsel ensure that IT resources assisting in the collection, processing, review, and production of electronic data are complying with legal requirements? This one hour session is led jointly by legal and technology professionals experienced in conducting e-discovery projects. It greatly assists corporate and government attorneys and technology support staff to ensure e-discovery project are executed error-free. A few of the topics in this session include:

  • Talking tech - how to communicate with IT professionals
  • Ensuring collection efforts are comprehensive and well-documented
  • Evidentiary requirements for authenticating electronic information
  • How to avoid spoliation when collecting & processing
  • Questions to ask outside counsel and service providers to ensure all data is processed

Best Practices for Electronic Document Production

Do you find the technical details of electronic discovery productions unsettling? Thankfully, attorneys will not need a computer science degree to respond appropriately to electronic discovery requirements. Proper planning for electronic discovery in the initial stages of your case will enable you to better manage and budget your discovery costs. This seminar outlines the best practices for managing responses to electronic discovery requirements. Learn about the proper measures to take before and during litigation to ensure an effective and cost-efficient response to electronic discovery requirements after your client is sued. This course includes the following topics:

  • Importance of Organizing before Litigation
  • Pre-Litigation Steps to Organizing and Understanding the Client’s Electronic Information Management System
  • Actions Reactive to Anticipated Litigation
  • Discovery Phase Actions Related to Electronic Discovery Production

The Natives are Restless! Managing Review of Native Files Effectively

Everybody’s talking about reviews of native files – Why? Learn how you can shorten the review and production cycles, view hidden information, and reduce conversion costs. The session covers production issues and associated case law so you understand the requirements for production before beginning the review. The session also discusses various methods for conducting the review, such as do you need to use multiple applications; and it presents how to address issues that arise with native file review, including Bates numbering and redacting/annotating. You will leave with a broad understanding of the issues associated with native file review and how to approach the issue, including these topics:

  • Why Do It?
  • Production Requirements
  • Methods for Conducting Native File Review
  • Addressing Issues
  • Tools for the Process

Discovery Games: How to Play and How to Win

Cutting-edge technology and electronic data have significantly upped the discovery ante. Understanding the rules of the game and executing a winning strategy are more critical today than ever. This seminar discusses the games lawyers play at each stage in the Discovery Management process – from planning and collection through review and production. Specific topics address both paper and electronic discovery:

  • Roll the Dice: Pinpointing what and how to collect while maintaining chain of custody and gathering electronic information
  • Deal the Cards: How to draft and respond to document requests and interrogatories without busting
  • Hold ‘Em or Fold ‘Em: When and how to execute a defendable litigation hold
  • Keep Your Poker Face: Preparing and taking 30(b)(6) depositions, with emphasis on IT witnesses
  • At the Roulette Wheel: How to place your bets on production, including production formats and final reviews prior to production
  • Playing by the Rules: How to avoid sanctions and the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Morgan Stanley: Lessons Learned

The Morgan Stanley case is illustrative of how courts can severely penalize mismanagement of electronic discovery, especially failures to comply with federal law to produce relevant information. Seemingly egregious on the surface, Morgan Stanley’s missteps are committed commonly by large organizations required to preserve and produce electronic information.

This class examines the following e-discovery strategies necessary to avoid placing your organization in jeopardy:

  • Centralize control of discovery to one team
  • Develop a Discovery Management plan that implements standardized and well-documented procedures for identifying, collecting, processing, reviewing, and producing information
  • Open communication between legal counsel and IT staff to ensure that the technology can accurately and consistently support retention needs
  • Above all, do not delay. Litigants need time to properly plan and implement a comprehensive strategy for handling e-discovery. Significant time and savings are achievable if litigants start the process in the early stages.

Navigating the E-discovery Amendments of the Federal Rules

In December 2006, sweeping changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were implemented. These amendments include revisions of Rules 16, 26, 33, 34, 37, and 45—updating language to reflect advancements in technology, requiring explicit discussions regarding e-discovery between parties, and providing safe harbor provision from spoliation sanctions. What do these changes to the rules mean to you? Our focus is on the five areas addressed by the proposed amendments, which include:

  • Early attention to issues relating to electronic discovery
  • Discovery of electronic information that is not reasonably accessible
  • Assertion of privilege after production
  • Application of Rules 33 and 34 to electronically-stored information
  • Limit on sanctions under Rule 37 for the loss of electronic information as a result of routine operation of computer systems

E-discovery: Problems, Pitfalls, and Practice Pointers

With all the buzz surrounding electronic discovery, it's difficult to avoid becoming confused by evolving developments in case law, court-imposed document preservation requirements, emerging e-discovery practices, and "black box" technologies. What are the lessons learned from Zubulake and other high profile cases involving significant e-discovery, and what practical steps can you take? This seminar breaks the complex problem of managing e-discovery down into ten straightforward stages which, while not effortless, help you craft your approach:

  • Lesson 1: Know Your Data
  • Lesson 2: Who Handles Your Data
  • Lesson 3: When to Preserve Your Data
  • Lesson 4: How is Data Preserved?
  • Lesson 5: Your Compliance Obligations
  • Lesson 6: The Cost-Shifting Formula
  • Lesson 7: Costs of Reviewing/Producing Data
  • Lesson 8: Penalties for Failure to Preserve
  • Lesson 9: Know the Penalties for Failure to Preserve Data
  • Lesson 10: Meet and Confer with Opposing Counsel

Controlling Litigation Costs with Discovery Management

The unpredictability of litigation expenditures has been cited as the number one concern of in-house litigation counsel, and legal departments must strategize carefully to control the management of discovery, the lion's share of litigation costs in complex cases. Discovery Management has emerged as a comprehensive, technology-enabled approach to reducing or eliminating the information sharing inefficiencies inherent in the old 20th century ways of responding to discovery requests. Organizations that implement Discovery Management proactively centralize and standardize the collection, preservation, and review of potentially responsive information, which is especially effective for corporate law departments dealing with numerous cases in multiple states. Learn about the tools and techniques that in-house counsel and their outside counsel firms can collaboratively put in place to better predict and control litigation costs.


E-discovery—The Basics

This presentation discusses how the rules of e-discovery differ from traditional paper discovery and provides strategic approaches for managing electronic data through every step of the discovery process. The presentation is intended to provide a foundation in the legal, logistical, and technical issues associated with any civil document production involving computer data files. The material is intended for legal professionals involved in the development of work product and document productions.


Preparing for E-discovery: Questions to Consider Before You Start

Electronic discovery can be a complex process where good communication is the first requirement for success. This class will arm the reader with a list of questions that need to be asked when a request for production of electronic documents must be fulfilled. Awareness of these questions also enables the litigator to negotiate terms with opposing counsel to ensure that production needs are met in a cost-effective manner. Addressing these questions will promote a smooth, cost-effective, and ultimately successful discovery process.


Understanding and Controlling Metadata in Microsoft® Office Documents

This presentation provides a practical understanding of metadata and the importance of considering it when creating and sharing documents. You will learn how metadata is captured and how to locate the information in various Microsoft® Office products, such as Excel and Word. The session examines simple techniques and resources for the identification and removal of metadata prior to release or production. This presentation is a must for legal or contracting professionals involved in the development of work product, document productions, or contract negotiations. It includes the following topics:

  • Overview of Metadata
  • Location of Metadata
  • Removal Options