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Technology for Meaningful Legal Collaboration
Current discussions of electronic discovery and legal technology often focus on strategies for managing large volumes of data as it is funneled through different phases of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM). The goal: to produce responsive documents in the fastest and most cost-effective manner possible. Yet an important part of the discovery process ' case analysis and legal strategy ' has been a niche left unaddressed by traditional technologies. Existing “big data” technology is very good at performing thousands of discrete operations on data at a massive scale, but there are few tools in today's marketplace designed to facilitate the unique ways legal professionals think and interact as they try to understand the facts of a case and to develop an effective strategy.
My law firm, Bartlit Beck, discovered a tool that enhanced its existing workflow for case analysis by allowing attorneys to work and collaborate more efficiently. This workflow includes activities like highlighting, underlining and attaching notes to key passages, or engaging in dynamic group discussions about pieces of evidence or annotations with particular relevance to case strategy. It also includes bookmarking and grouping content that pertains to a particular legal issue (or witness or date) with color-coded tags and custom binders for quick and easy retrieval. Most legal professionals analyze cases and build arguments in this manner ' by finding connections and stringing together a series of documents, passages, research, testimony and other pieces of evidence that begin to tell a story. Such activities typically take place at the nexus of case management: e-discovery and litigation support.
At this crucial nexus point, ideas and insights about the most pertinent details of a case need to be cohered into strategy. Legal professionals must work closely together to interpret and analyze information and develop a case based on what they've learned. Analysis may involve a formal early case assessment (ECA) to identify key strengths and weaknesses that could inform important decisions down the road ' e.g., whether to settle, arbitrate, or go to trial.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?