e-Discovery Insights

#ABA Seeking Comments Re: Loosening Restrictions to Cross-Border Practice

The ABA has cited a deadline of November 30th, 2011 for comments on several proposals to make it easier for attorneys to practice across multi-jurisdictional lines.  The proposals may be viewed on the ABA's "Ethics 20/20" Commission web page, however, comments may only be submitted via email.

These proposals should be of particular interest to eDiscovery professionals, especially now that cross-border issues are more prevalent than ever with the explosion of cloud computing and other technological advances.

As a Consultant and Attorney, I'm constantly bending over backward to make sure potential clients understand that I'm licensed in California, while at the same time I'm free to consult anywhere.  The tension arises when an out-of-state project or case begins with a consulting agreement, then is in danger of meandering into law practice.  Clients can't always tell the difference; but I can, and it means having a further conversation to clarify my role.

Heck, the disclaimer on this blawg exists for the same reason!

Any modification to the Rules that would ease this burden would be highly beneficial to eDiscovery professionals.  Of course, in my case, I must still defer to the California Rules, but you gotta start somewhere...

Let your voice be heard.  Send your comments to the ABA by November 30th, 2011.

#Santorum May Need a San(i)tor(i)um

What's in a name?  If you're Rick Santorum, unfortunately, more than you would ever want.  Mr. Santorum is receiving a front-row education on what happens when you lose control of your own identity online.

Identity theft?  Kinda.  SEO optimization gone mad?  Definitely.  I'd call it identity transmogrification (no, it isn't a word that Calvin made up...).  But that's what happens when emotion, thought and feeling are removed and we're left with raw data.  It doesn't think.  It doesn't balance.  It just is.

I wonder how effective it might be to yell "Sticks & Stones!" at a computer?

Annual Meeting Wrap-Up - How Sausage is Made

Well, that didn't go quite as expected.  What I would have liked to do is give you my usual summary on the goings-on and highlight the CLEs I attended.  Unfortunately, because of a full slate of meetings, I attended only a single CLE; and that was the one I presented with Derick Roselli!  I did manage to pop-in to the final twenty minutes of one on privacy, but that was it.

I barely had time to tweet, but if you do follow me, you know that after a Thursday that stretched out to approximately 14 hours of back-to-back-to-back meetings, I endeavored to leave the Long Beach Convention Center at around 10pm, got in my car and...nothing.  Dead battery.  Crap!!!  In came the very generous folks from Hyatt, who got some booster cables, sent a guy over with me and we got it started.  This wasn't as easy as it looked.  The parking garage entrance was locked up tight (no security personnel anywhere to be found), so the guy actually helped me push my car to the entrance - and we boosted it with my car on one side of the security gate and his on the other.  All this while in a suit, no less!

Aside from not being in the mood to have a dead battery after a long day, if one could have picked a good day to deal with a dead battery, Friday was it because I had a light schedule.  I managed to get it done, but didn't get back in time to attend our own LPMT reception at 5:30pm.  I sauntered in - twenty minutes after the event had already ended.  Some of you attended with the intent of meeting with me and I apologize for missing you.

On the personal side, it was a very exciting event for me.  I attended the Council of Sections meeting and saw how the Bar interacts with all of the sections like ours and I also had a really productive meeting with the Bar's Internet Coordinator.  As the only section dedicated to technology, we strive to lead the way and this means maintaining close contact with our counterparts at the Bar so they know what we're up to next.

Our section held a five-hour meeting Saturday (a lunch break was in there somewhere) and it was back to the sausage grinder.  This is the "passing of the torch" event, where the outgoing officers have their final day and turn the gavel over to incoming officers (unofficially).  So, I assumed my Vice-Chair role (officially) the day after the meeting.  We summarized the prior year's accomplishments and mapped out the upcoming year.  It's an ambitious agenda but will be very beneficial to our members.

Our incoming Chair this year is Will Hoffman.  It's my job to do everything in my power to see to it that Will succeeds.  I wish him well.  It's a lot of work!

Sunday, Derick Roselli and I presented our CLE #144 on eDiscovery Facts & Fallacies.  Considering it began at 8:30am on a Sunday morning, we had a good turnout (my headcount was 38) and plenty of healthy Q&A.  We were also pleasantly surprised to discover that we'd been selected for videotaping.  This is great because, for those who didn't see our presentation, they can access it once it's posted on the Bar's website (hint: see program 7 from last year on Mars/Venus).

There you have it.  Four days of heavy activity.  Countless meetings.  One dead battery.  Now, I'm the one who feels like a sausage...

Annual Meeting Begins

Hi all.  Well, for me the state bar annual meeting begins with about twelve hours of activity today in Long Beach.  I'm pretty much on the go through my own CLE presentation Sunday morning.  That's the thing about assuming the Vice-Chair's role; they actually expect me to work!

Who knew?

Anyway, I'll be tweeting about the goings-on as usual and hope to get back to a more regular schedule next week.

Braking Bad: #Amazon Stops CA Taxman with Deft Maneuvers

Well...that was the week that was; a shortened holiday week in which I didn't get any opportunities to write (I guess that's what Twitter is for at times...).  I did Tweet about Amazon's fight with the State of California over collecting Sales (Use) taxes.  However, a deal has now been reached.  Why italics?  Because it's not much of a deal.  In my opinion, the winner - at least in the short term - is Amazon, and they accomplished that win through sophisticated use of the political system.

Elevator description: The state passed a law requiring Internet retailers to collect sales (use) taxes beginning July 1st.  Not surprisingly, Amazon wasn't fond of this idea.  They embarked on a course to get a Proposition repealing the law on the upcoming June 2012 ballot.  California wasn't fond of this idea.

What's the deal?  Kick the can.  Everybody stands down for a year.  Anyone else notice that very little is being resolved at the state and federal level?

Why do I feel that Amazon's the short-term winner?  Had they qualified to get the Proposition on the ballot - and with their resources, that wasn't likely to be a problem - the law would have automatically been suspended, pending the outcome of the ballot fight.  So, California agreed to do what would have inevitably occurred on its own.

Thing is, we're still mired in the Great Recession, budgets are upside-down and this gives lawmakers cover to capture more revenue - or at least make the attempt.  We'll see what Governor Brown does next.

As for the long term?  Ask me in a year.  These days, that's considered the long term.

#SCOTUS Grants Cert in #Cheney v. #Bush, #Powell, #Rice, #Rumsfeld, #Tenet, et al. (2011)

An old Jewish proverb:  Put two Jews in a room and you'll get three opinions...

Word came down this morning that the Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to review Cheney v. Bush, et al.  I can't say I'm surprised; but I wonder how they're ever going to discern the facts, based upon all of the conflicting testimony.

To briefly review (for those who may be unfamiliar with the details), in August 2011, Cheney testified to a series of events that took place In His Time.  He placed himself at the center of both terms of the Bush (hereinafter referred to as "W") administration. 

Colin Powell, the Secretary of State in W's first term, filed suit in response.  Deposition being held on Face the Nation, Powell contradicted Cheney's testimony and in fact, testified to an entirely different series of events, likening Cheney's account to that of a 'supermarket tabloid'.

This was just the beginning. 

Cheney, apparently unaware of - or unwilling to - abide by the Decision Points testified to by W himself in 2010, also contradicted the former President's account.

In tears, Condoleezza Rice came into my office and told me that I had been right; then made known her intention to join on the side of Powell.  Aside from stating that there was No Higher Honor than serving in W's administration, she's remained mum up to this point.

Her deposition is scheduled for November.

Sources also predict Tenet will enter the fray.  Reached this past weekend At the Center of the Storm [Irene], he said it was a Slam Dunk that a cross-complaint against Cheney was imminent. 

Rumsfeld was queried about his intentions.  He responded, "I know that I know what I'm going to do, but I don't yet know all that I could know, and on advice of counsel, I'll wait until all unknowns are known before you'll, ah, know."

The moral of this story?  These are some of the most powerful individuals in the world, yet even they can't agree on a critical series of events.  Of course, some of this is by design and clearly self-serving - and some is not - but that's the point, isn't it?

Welcome to the wonderful world of litigation...

#EDRM Seeks Public Comment on their MCoC

EDRM has posted their proposed Model Code of Conduct and they're asking us to weigh in.  The comment period is open through September 30th, 2011.

Never mind Predictive Coding; what is Predictive Policing?  The answer is coming up in my next post.  Have a great weekend, everybody!

"My Receipt? I Left it in my Other PDA."

Receipts are going digital.  Great.  Now I can lose them electronically instead of accidentally throwing them into a physical trash bin.  But seriously folks...

The upside?  No more wasting paper (which not only makes the 'green' folks happy, but also lowers costs), ease of organization, tracking, recall and portability.  The longer the item is warranted, the more useful this is, of course (unless you enjoy digging up that receipt nine-years after a device warranted for ten-years goes on the fritz).  And has anyone noticed that when they go back through those older heat-created receipts, some of them have faded to the point of being completely unreadable?

The downside?  Privacy.  In order to get the receipt, the sender needs your information such as an e-mail address (although there are ways around that, if you wish, but some of them are clunky).  One way to retain privacy would be for the retailer to project your receipt on a screen as a Bar or Q-code.  Then you could scan it onto your PDA with the appropriate app.

Just spit-ballin' here, but eventually, this will be the standard way of doing things.

Your 'Cub' Reporter is on Assignment

 
I'll be on the road for about ten days.  First, I'm stopping off in Chicago to take in a Cubs game, then it's on to San Francisco for some state bar business and a little R&R.  As always, I'll be on Twitter more often during this period.  See you when I return!

e-Discovery Insights Selected by U.S. Library of Congress for Historical Archive

Folks, I don't know what else to say about this, except to provide you with the following excerpt I received this morning:

"The United States Library of Congress has selected your website for inclusion in the historic collection of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs. The Library of Congress preserves the Nation's cultural artifacts and provides enduring access to them. The Library's traditional functions, acquiring, cataloging, preserving and serving collection materials of historical importance to the Congress and the American people to foster education and scholarship, extend to digital materials, including websites."

I think I just achieved immortality!!!