Yahoo Limits Telecommuting-Is It Legal? Is It Smart?

© 2013 By Cary J. Calderone, Esquire

It doesn't look scary. Or, does it?

It seems Marissa Mayer has created a firestorm.  Everybody is weighing in on Yahoo's new policy eliminating telecommuting.  Some are for it.  Many are against it.  But, no commentator has addressed the most important and fundamental issues for considering a major organizational change.  "What are they doing now and why?"  Whether it has been legal advising or Information Management consulting, I have worked with groups and before I would ever consider making a recommendation for a change, I find out what they are currently doing, and why.   In the case of Yahoo, I'd like to know how many people currently telecommute?  Do they video conference? How often do they make it to the office for face-to-face meetings?  Without knowing the answers to these important questions,  it would be ridiculous to criticize the move.  Moreover, just as any experienced attorney or consultant could, I recognize many reasons why this may be a very smart move.

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: 

Forecast 2013-Is It E-Discovery Or Business Intelligence

© 2012 Cary J. Calderone, Esq

One thing I find baffling about data management is how applications are categorized.  I am not referring to classifications like private versus public cloud, or CRM versus Social.  But rather, the distinction between Business Intelligence and E-Discovery, and Record and Information Management.  BI has been popular and is viewed as a vitamin that can help boost sales and profits.  On the other end of the technology spectrum, we have RIM and E-Discovery.  When it comes to these unloved step-children of the corporate world, companies usually have to be dragged towards making the investment.  These are all pro-active and reactive tools for gleaning knowledge from your data.  But while RIM and E-Discovery are avoided, BI is relatively popular.  And, here is my argument:  Both types of applications are not really that different.  Let me explain.

Shocking General Petraeus Emails

© 2012 Cary J. Calderone, Esq

Let me be clear.  The content is not what makes the emails shocking.  We do not know the specific content yet.  It is the mere fact that the emails exist that is shocking!   Here is a simple rule for all those who still do not get it.  Use your work email for work and use your personal email for personal matters.  If you are going to engage in "inappropriate behavior," it is probably best not to use work computers, or smart phones, or email, at all.   

Faster Than A Speeding "Click"-The Loss of Your Privacy

© 2012 Cary J. Calderone, Esq.

Click!

Halloween just passed.  Every day there seems to be a new scary news story about online tracking capabilities and the loss of your privacy.  Medical records get hacked.  Credit card and social security  information gets hacked.  Advertisers know what you want to buy, before you do!  The regulators are investigating where to draw a line.  Digital advertisers are simultaneously voicing their concerns and calling for self-policing all while they are positioning their products to respond to potential legislation and limitations.  But this post is not about these "new privacy" concerns.  It is about "old privacy" and the many areas of personal information that are governed by old laws that did not contemplate the internet we have today.  Here is an example.

Can Three Words Make A Difference? Yes They Can

by Cary J. Calderone, Esq.

Is this short email important?

The three words I am really thinking about are "Received, thanks [name]." This is another post about why I like the book "Zubulake's e-Discovery-The Untold Story Of My Quest For Justice."  In my speaking engagements and consulting, I have fielded many questions from AIIM and ARMA members who challenge (this is putting it lightly) the expanded legal description of a record.  They claim lawyers make it overly broad and unworkable.  I disagree and here is why.

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."

Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat

by Cary J. Calderone, Esq.

Last year's inaugural event, held at the Carmel Valley Ranch, was great.  This year's was expanded (link to website), and in a new location at the Monterrey Plaza Hotel, so I had to check it out, even if, due to scheduling conflicts, it was only for the first day of the Retreat.  Bottom line-I was happy I attended.

Did I learn a lot of new eDiscovery information?  No.  Was I wowed by new presentation formats or materials?  No.  However, I did get plenty of insights and takeaways from the attendees and presenters, who are representative of that small cross-section of lawyers and judges who, in addition to knowing the law, also really understand the related technology.  Or, as we started to refer to ourselves, "the one-percenters."

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.

SharePoint Tech Con 2012-First Day Thoughts

by Cary J. Calderone, Esq.

My mission for this conference (link) was to find experts with hands-on experience implementing RIM and governance (i.e., records and file management, legal hold and DRED) via SharePoint 2010.  Could it really work?  Or, would this be Mission Impossible?  Cue the music.  Records Center and legal hold  management were highly touted feature upgrades to SP 2010 but my research found very little documentation for admins to learn how to effectively implement these features.  Further research found that those who did RIM in SP used third party applications to accomplish it.  Fortunately, I found a couple of great experts:  Amanda Perran and Scott Jamison.

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-Quick Overview and A Few Lessons On The Side

by Cary J. Calderone, Esq.

This was a terrific show with excellent presentations.  Here are a few notable comments:

From Steve Wylie

• The past was about defining the Cloud.  Now it is about the Cloud in action.

From Jesse Robbins of Opscode

• Everything breaks at scale.
• Train for disaster. Start small, then add large scale fault injection across critical systems. 
• Failure is multiplicative 99.9 x 99.9 x 99.9 = 99.7% reliability.
• Cloud failure has stages like death:  Denial, Anger, More Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally, Acceptance.

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.