Review of Data Crush-Sometimes You Can Judge A Book By Its Title

By Cary J. Calderone, Esq.

My quick summary of the book:  Either crush, or be crushed.  The amount of data is growing faster than ever.  Data Crush by Chris Surdak explains why this is happening and provides a roadmap for keeping your business on the right side of the tidal wave of data.   A key observation Surdak shares is that:

The Internet used to be a tool for telling your customers about your business. Now its real value lies in what it tells you about them.

 In other words, you either take advantage of new technology and new data, or, your competitors will, and you may be out of business.  

eDiscovery Retreat-Half Moon Bay=Excellent

by Cary J. Calderone, © 2013

I had the pleasure of attending this conference at the Ritz Carlton, Half Moon Bay. The eDiscovery Retreats (formerly Carmel Valley E-Discovery Retreat-www.cvedr.com), were expanded to more locations and re-organized.  This two-day event was excellent.  There were two tracks running simultaneously that covered the "hows" and the "whys" of e-discovery.  There were session topics for the entire range of the EDRM model and there was an excellent Judges' panel that discussed a hypothetical e-discovery case.  Readers of this blog know I believe there is no better way to learn about e-discovery than hearing directly from the judges.  This panel was no exception and all e-discovery players, whether it is a company that works with an outside e-discovery vendor, or one that may perform their e-discovery in house, learned important checks and procedures so that their efforts will withstand judicial scrutiny.

The Future Of E-Discovery-Graduating Soon

by Cary J. Calderone, © 2013

Many have noted that e-discovery education has been lagging in the legal profession.  Still, many forecast that one day, hopefully soon, e-discovery will become second nature to practicing attorneys, in the same manner that wired telephones, paper books, and Dictaphones gave way to smart phones, electronic research, and computers.  E-discovery will be the rule, not the exception for litigation and legal investigations.  And, I am willing to make this prediction for two reasons:  1)  There are a growing number of law schools that are teaching E-Discovery and, 2)  Law students are recognizing e-discovery experience is crucial.     I recently had the opportunity to ask a few questions to some students about their E-Discovery class that had included Laura Zubulake's book Zubulake's e-Discovery as part of the reading material (I reviewed the book here on DredLaw).  The students' answers were very encouraging.

What Happens At "The Exchange" Gets Even Better

by Cary Calderone © 2013

Last year I wrote a very favorable review of the General Counsel Institute's program, "The Exchange."  (link here)  In brief, I thought the round-table format provided a fun way to hear about E-Discovery law updates and learn great real-world lessons shared by the participants.  And yet, I have to be honest, the morning of the 2013 event, I was not enthusiastic about attending.  Over the past year, there were no significant developments in E-Discovery law or technology, and I tend to spend too much time at conferences listening to rather boring material.  Whatever my initial hesitations were, within the first hour of listening to Browning Marean III (bio) and the group discussion, I was very happy I attended.  Here's why.

Geek vs. Geek-Attorneys vs. Information Management Consultants

by Cary J. Calderone, © 2013

What laws control this data?

This is the second Geek vs. Geek post.  Here we pit lawyers (L-Geeks) against information management consultants (I-geeks).  On the one hand, your attorney is legally obligated to protect your communications (attorney-client privilege) and provide you with advice and documentation applicable to your facts and the specific laws as they apply to your legal matter (attorney work product) in accordance with accepted professional standards.  On the other hand, I-Geeks, unless they are your employees, are typically not bound by professional conduct standards, conflict of interest rules, or even protecting your privileged information.  Outside consultant I-Geeks (it is very rare for an inside I-Geek to bypass internal legal review and protocols) may sign a confidentiality agreement for you, but I have never seen a consulting group operate with safeguards and procedures that were even remotely similar to those employed by L-Geeks.  Why is this?  Does it matter?

Geek vs. Geek-What Do You Mean Backup?

© 2013 By Cary J. Calderone, Esquire

Geek vs. Geek

This is the first in a new series of blog posts that will illuminate the communication gap between Legal Geeks and Technology Geeks.  For these "Geek vs. Geek" posts, the basic assumptions will always be the same:  1) Both types of geeks, T-Geeks and L-Geeks, are pretty darn smart. 2)  Both know quite a bit about their own unique tasks, tools, and responsibilities.  3)  Both can be a bit defensive, if not downright surly, when they sense a challenge to their authority coming from a competing "Geekdom."  Now that we have the ground rules, the sample hypothetical for this post is about the company Backup or Disaster Recovery Policy.  Do you have one?  Do you think it is being followed?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

Data Privacy Rules And The Nazis

© By Cary J. Calderone, Esquire

This is from the DREDLaw.com archive.  Originally published on 12/25/2011

Still available on Amazon!

It is the Christmas season.  Those of us involved in DRED Law wish you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons.  Along with many of the more important traditions that occur, this time of year brings television repeats of classic movies like The Sound of Music.  For the past few years, I could not help but think of e-discovery and data privacy while watching parts of this movie.  Now, I am not obsessed with e-discovery and data law. I promise you.  However, a few scenes from the movie explain in most vivid detail just why the EU has a very different attitude and set of rules towards email and other information that may reveal a user's personal identification.  So, this post is for all of you who are not aware, or, are uncertain as to why the EU Data Protection Act is far more strict and penal in attempting to protect personal privacy at work.  Their default is, if it identifies a person by name, it is personal and protected by law.  In the U.S., if it is about business or on the company servers, it's not protected.  Let's see if these bits of dialogue from the movie validate my point and perhaps give you an idea of who, is to blame.  Take, for example: 

Review of Zubulake's e-Discovery

by Cary J. Calderone, Esq.

For the second time now, Laura A. Zubulake has really exceeded my expectations.  I wrote a piece about her keynote at the 2011 Carmel Valley e-Discovery Retreat (link) where she surprised me by sharing some of the details of her famous sexual discrimination lawsuit against UBS.  Her lawsuit lead to five powerful written opinions about email evidence and electronic discovery.  In her well-written book, Zubulake's e-Discovery-The Untold Story Of My Quest For Justice, she covers this material and more about her ups and downs during litigation from her unique perspective as the plaintiff.  What I enjoyed the most is that this is not a litigation story as typically portrayed in the movies or on television.  This is not litigation as it is taught in law school, covering just the black letter law and exceptions to the legal rules.  This is, as the commercial used to say, "as real as it gets."

ARMA Tri-Chapter Conference-RIM On A Shoestring

I had the pleasure of stopping by the ARMA Tri-Chapter Conference-RIM On A Shoestring, to see if there might be something blog-worthy.  Last year, I spoke on a panel.  In fair turnabout, I was in the audience for the talk given by R. Scott Murchison of Kaizen InfoSource LLC.  Scott has called on me to speak numerous times in the past, and after watching him present, I understand exactly why.  We both are hands-on experienced professionals who like to share practical tips we have learned from doing work for clients.  This is a direct contradiction to those on the other end of the spectrum, who call themselves, "thought leaders."  If you were looking for high lofty thoughts (think SNL Deep Thoughts), that may not apply at all to your real world Data Rules and Electronic Discovery challenges, then this talk was not for you.  If however, you appreciate real examples of issues and solutions, then you would have been paying attention and taking notes.  I thought it was definitely worthy of a blog post.

What Happens At The Exchange, Stays At The Exchange

by Cary J. Calderone, Esq.

Not really.  But after spending a full day at the Executive Counsel Institute's E-Discovery Exchange I find myself not wanting to reveal much about what I learned.   In its second year in San Francisco, The Exchange had approximately 4 times more participants (120ish) and that is good because it is the audience participation that makes this format shine.   We have all experienced the usual conference.  A panel of experts, curated by a vendor, discuss some of the people, processes, and technology, used to deal with the session topic, in the way the vendor believes is best or, at least, best for its product.  By the end of the day, or even the hour, it can be both dull and disappointing.  This is especially true if you happen to be someone who keeps up with the industry on a regular basis and was in search of more unbiased information.  The Exchange is different.

Judge John Facciola Says Discovery Practice Becomes Crucial

by Cary J. Calderone, Esq.

Judge Facciola

For those of you legal professionals and information managers who are avoiding learning more about the technology aspects of electronic information and how it applies to litigation and compliance, you need to listen to the interview Judge John Facciola gave to law.com (link here) on e-discovery training.  In his words, "discovery practice becomes crucial."  Or, you can read an older post recapping our enjoyable visit with Judge Facciola in 2009, at the RSA Conference (link).

Cloud Connect 2012-Why I Think The Cloud Will Rule Your Future

by Cary J. Calderone

The keynotes on Tuesday and Wednesday, the official full days of Cloud Connect 2012, were both interesting and entertaining.  My comment from last year still stands.  Short and to the point 15 minute speeches by many industry influencers beats the heck out of one long keynote.   This format means that speakers do not have to worry about filling time for an hour or more.   Instead, they make their most important points fast.    I'll list a few of my favorites later, but to me, the energy and focus of the show lead me to one conclusion.  The Cloud is important because it offers a rare combination of the aspirin and the vitamin in the same pill.   Silicon Valley lives and breaths by startups coming along with aspirin, to solve headaches, and vitamins to boost your revenue.   Cloud solutions offer you both.   At last year's Industry Summit, John Hagel quipped that with all the hype, we were still underestimating the impact of the Cloud.   After this year's show, I think I can fully appreciate his forecast.

Data Privacy Rules in the EU, Asia, and USA and How John Cleese Might Summarize

Copyright © 2012 Cary J. Calderone, Esquire

I had the pleasure of attending a terrific breakout session run by Amor Esteban (bio) and William Kellermann (bio).  My words would not do their presentation on Cross-Border Discovery and Data Privacy  justice.  So please forgive me for borrowing the words of John Cleese from The Meaning of Life to summarize:

Before we begin your lesson, would those of you playing in the match this afternoon move your clothes down onto the lower peg, immediately after lunch. before you write your letter home, if you're not getting your hair cut, unless you've got a younger brother going out this weekend as the guest of another boy, in which case collect his note before lunch put it in your letter after you get your haircut and make sure he moves your clothes down to the lower peg for you. (Age restricted Python video clip on Youtube)

Yes it's perfectly simple!

The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of E-Discovery???

By Cary J. Calderone, Esquire

Still available on Amazon!

It is the Christmas season.  Those of us involved in DRED Law wish you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons.  Along with many of the more important traditions that occur, this time of year brings television repeats of classic movies like The Sound of Music.  For the past few years, I could not help but think of e-discovery while watching parts of this movie.  Now, I am not obsessed with e-discovery and data law. I promise you.  However, a few scenes from the movie explain in most vivid detail just why the EU has a very different attitude and set of rules towards email and other information that may reveal a user's personal identification.  So, this post is for all of you who are not aware, or, are uncertain as to why the EU Data Protection Act is far more strict and penal in attempting to protect personal privacy at work.  Let's see if these bits of dialogue from the movie validate my point and perhaps give you an idea of who, is to blame.  Take, for example:

Rolf to Lissel when delivering a telegram for Captain Von Trapp- “We make it our business to know everything about everyone.”  

Or, dialogue from Heir Zeller-“You were sent a telegram which you did not answer.  A telegram from Admiral Von Schreiber of the navy of the 3rd Reich.”
Captain Von Trapp “I was under the impression Heir Zeller that the contents of telegrams in Austria are private!  At least the Austria I know.”

The reasons should now be clear.  Once we in America understand the origins of the EU Data Protection Act, it will be easier to put in the systems and policies  necessary to better comply with the rules.  We will follow-up this holiday post in the new year with a more detailed explanation of the EU Data Privacy rules courtesy of a terrific breakout session run by Amor Esteban and William Kellermann.    Until then, if you are frustrated and angry with the challenge of navigating US Data rules and EU Rules at the same time, take heart.  You are not alone.  We can all just blame the Nazis...

Happy Holidays

Big Data-Not Just Big Storage Or It May Be A Big Headache

Copyright © 2011 Cary J. Calderone Esq.

Time to give the busy professional's definition of the latest technology buzz phrase, "Big Data."  In brief, it is about being able to process and mine very large amounts of data (even petabytes) for business intelligence.  Big Data indexing and database technologies, like Hadoop and NoSQL allow for distributed processing that previously was impossible with standard table-based relationship databases.  However, too many short-term thinkers will try to implement a Big Data strategy by doing nothing more than keeping everything they can and figuring it out later.  This approach is fraught with Big danger.