E-discovery, the latest buzz word in the legal industry, is the new tool of trial lawyers seeking to find “smoking gun” electronic evidence pertinent to a case.
This month some 300 attorneys attended a conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center that explored how technology is changing legal practice. Pittsburgh attorney David Cohen, a partner in the Pittsburgh office of K&L Gates, co-chaired that conference, and is on the forefront of e-discovery, the gathering of electronically stored information like e-mail, databases and other computer files for civil and criminal cases.
As a co-chair of the firms’ e-Discovery Analysis & Technology Group, Cohen travels the country helping to bring organizations up to speed on e-discovery tactics.
“E-discovery is one of the hottest areas in law,” says Cohen, who counsels companies and presents training seminars on records management, e-mail sensitivity and e-discovery readiness. “This isn’t something that is yet taught in law schools. Many firms are just now starting separate departments for e-discovery.”
K&L Gates, one of the largest firms in the country, was among the first to delve into e-discovery more than 10 years ago, Cohen explains. The firm uses advanced software, including a record-mapping technology developed by Attenex Corp. Attenex was started in Seattle by a predecessor firm that included the father of Bill Gates of Microsoft fame. The Pittsburgh firm employs 235 attorneys.
“Any business that is subject to litigation should be doing an assessment to determine if they’re ready for e-discovery and managing electronic records in the best way,” advises Cohen. “By doing the work up front, they can reduce risk and costs. Managing the tremendous volume of electronically stored information is often the most challenging part of the process.”
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Writer:
Deb SmitSource: David Cohen, K&L Gates