The use of a file-sharing site without password may waive attorney-client privilege and work product protection

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
On February 9, 2017, a Virginia District Court deemed that the posting of privileged information on the web without protection results in a waiver. In this case, Harleysville Insurance Company, ("Harleysville") sued the defendants, Holding Funeral Home, Inc. seeking a declaratory judgment that it did not owe them fire loss claim. (Incidentally, the District Court had to decide whether the facts and circumstances surrounding the defense counsel's access to Harleysville's entire claims file required Read more [...]

Sanction Granted for Spoliation when Defendant Relied on Third Party to Preserve ESI

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
On February 24, 2017, the US District Court for the Northern District of California imposed sanction on a party failing to preserve electronically stored information (ESI) transferred in the sale of business. In this action for breach of duties under ERISA, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions for spoliation of evidence. An insurance company owned three separate subsidiaries, two of which (Human Resources Solutions, Inc., HRS, and SHPS Health Management Solutions, Inc., HMS) were Read more [...]

Hyles v. New York City, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100390 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 1, 2016)

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
On August 1, 2016, a New York District Court issued an opinion stating that a party cannot be forced to use TAR (technology assisted review) when it prefers to use keyword searching. In this employment discrimination case, the parties faced a major discovery dispute over which search methodology was to be used: keywords or TAR. The compelling party argued that TAR would be “more cost-effective and efficient method of obtaining ESI from Defendants." Defendant, the compelled party declined, Read more [...]

La speciale discovery a sostegno di procedimenti legali pendenti all’estero può usarsi anche per documenti elettronici non conservati su suolo americano

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
Il 23 agosto 2016, la Corte di Appello dell’Undicesimo Circuito ha deciso che una cittadina russa ha il diritto di ottenere, sulla base dell’articolo 28 U.S.C. §1782, da una società di Atlanta, la produzione di documenti di una società collegata estera. Read more … La causa deriva da un divorzio di una coppia russa, con sentenza di divorzio ottenuta in Russia. Dopo il divorzio, gli ex coniugi avevano avviato un ulteriore procedimento giudiziale a Mosca per la divisione dei beni coniugali Read more [...]

D.C. Bar issues comprehensive guidelines on lawyers’ use of social media (Opinion 370 and 371)

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
In November 2016, the DC Bar Legal Ethics Committee issued Ethics Opinion 370 (Social Media I) and 371 (Social Media II), which address the use of social media by lawyers for marketing and personal use and for providing legal services. The two opinions aim at increasing awareness of the ethical issues generating from the increasing use of social media by attorneys. The two opinions highlight how lawyers have a duty to maintain competence and to understand how posting on social media works. D.C. Read more [...]