May 2005

Litigation Support: Facing New Challenges

When we think “litigation,” we typically think big, cumbersome and complex.  Let’s add to the mix multiple districts with various co-counsel, foreign language documents, applications that may or may not integrate, e-discovery (including data that could be difficult to mine — if you are even aware it’s there), and changes in Federal rules.  Head spinning yet?

Because of instantaneous global communication, enormous data stores and the technology needed to support it, the face of litigation has been forced to change.  How do we find, maintain and transfer all this data to trial and still keep our wits about us?  Our authors’ topics range from a primer on data forensics that might catch the collective eye of those firms who have yet to embrace the concept, to the delicate intricacies of being National Coordinating Council across multiple jurisdictions.  And we’re pleased to include the results of a recent survey ILTA conducted on the topic of e-discovery.  Hats off to Mary Pat Poteet and the Litigation Support Peer Group for leading that effort.

We gratefully acknowledge our authors for offering insight into planning, executing and ultimately succeeding on these new frontiers.