Cloud Connect 2013-Look Out, Here We Grow

by Cary J. Calderone, © 2013

Cloud Connect Keynote

It is hard for me to believe that it was only two short years ago that the "Cloud" was new.   For those of us who follow technology it was not really new but rather, "newly marketed."   What was new was Big Data technologies, Open Stack, and mobile, all of which combined to make Cloud Computing a very robust business model.   And now, what is hot about the Cloud is not so much new and innovative technologies but rather, massive growth and consolidation.  This industry is maturing.  Here are some interesting observations made by speakers at the 2013 Cloud Connect Show in Santa Clara: 

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.

From The Archives: What Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus Can Teach Us About eDiscovery At The Masters

by Cary J. Calderone

This post originally appeared in April, 2011, but it is still true today.

It's Masters week. As every golf fan knows, it is the first major tournament of the year and for even the casual golfer, a reason to watch some golf on television and daydream about hitting the links soon. As I watched Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus hit the ceremonial "first tee shots" to start the tournament I recognized a golden opportunity to push for you and your organization to improve your company, and specifically, your eDiscovery response capabilities. The inspiration came to me when I realized that the pre-shot routines of these two golf legends were the same as when I watched them as a young child about forty years ago. Can thinking about this really help you promote better DRED in your organization? Absolutely! And here is why. 

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?

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.