We finished our three days at LegalTech and have safely returned to Toronto. Our general impression was that there have not been any monumental changes in the e-Discovery technology industry since last year. While there was some consolidation of products and vendors, the software systems available to litigators to deal with electronic records are pretty much the same as last year. We did see some refinements and improvements in previous year’s new innovations, but nothing stood out to us as the next e-discovery solution.
While products were not much changed, we did note a change in the way the products were promoted. Many vendors began their sales pitch by telling us why their competitors’ products did not work, and only their own products could meet our requirements. Perhaps this was due to it being a primaries year in the U.S., or it was a result of the lack of progress in software design since last year. Whatever the reason, it did somewhat dampen our overall experience. We most appreciated the vendors who proudly demonstrated their own wares without slamming the product next door.
The lack of real innovation may be due to a maturing e-Discovery industry. But, we are still optimistic as both products and processes continue to improve. The goal remains to develop solutions to reduce the cost and effort to identify, collect, review and produce electronic information.
Tags: Document Review, e-discovery, e-discovery Canada, e-discovery conference, e-Discovery Costs, e-discovery processes, e-discovery software, e-discovery solutions, ediscovery Canada, LegalTech, review platforms, Technology
Blog | admin February 2, 2012 | 
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Speak to most IT people, and they will tell you the way people use their Smartphones make these devices the weakest link in the data security fence. A recent survey conducted by Anti-Virus company AVG and research and consulting firm The Ponemon Institute reinforce this perception.
According to the report, 84% of the respondents use their mobile device for both work and personal uses, and a majority (66%) admit that they keep a lot of personal information on their phone, such as email address, name, contact lists, photos, videos, anniversary and personal dates and music. However, only about half use a keypad lock or password to protect access to the information. We find this shocking given how easy it is to password protect a Smartphone.
Further, although two-thirds of the respondents have paid at least once for an item using their Smartphone, only 6% say they check their mobile bill regularly. This isn’t that surprising, considering 57% said that security on a Smartphone is not an important feature when deciding which model to use.
What does this mean? Well, unless you’re planning a life of crime, you should probably consider some of the following simple things to help make your Smartphone live up to its name:
- Set a password or keypad lock on your phone
- Always keep an eye on your phone while traveling – treat it like your wallet
- Install and enable remote services, such as remote lock, remote wipe, and/or GPS location (for finding where your phone went when you forget number 2).
- Keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off when you aren’t using them
- Back up your data
- Apply software/firmware updates from your carrier or phone vendor
- Only download applications from reputable sources
- Use encryption where available
- Don’t respond (or even open) text messages if don’t recognize the number it’s sent from
If you want more information on data security, speak to your IT person – they would be more than willing to help you ensure your device is protected.
Tags: Blackberry, electronic evidence, forensic vendors, ipad, iPhone, IT Security, LegalTech, mobile devices, playbook, Smartphones, Social Media, tablet, Technology
Blog | admin April 13, 2011 | Comments (0)
Another year at LegalTech New York.
We are told that during the three days that the doors are open, more than 10,000 people will view the wares of the over 400 exhibitors, attend more than 50 seminars, and network with the other attendees. For Wortzman Nickle, this year is about new technology and networking.
Many vendors are exhibiting new user interfaces to their software to make it appear that reviewing millions of documents will be easier. While limited efficiencies will be realised through these updates, these vendors appear to be missing the boat – the holy grail of e-discovery is not making it easier to review a million documents, its reducing those million documents through automated means so that only a small fraction actually need manual review.
The vendors who are really catching our attention are showing us tools that offer Predictive Coding. Where last year the marketing buzz-word was Early Case Assessment, this year, the cutting edge products in 2011 incorporate Predictive Coding – the ability of a lawyer to teach the computer what a relevant document is by sampling a small set, and then using the computer to apply that knowledge to an entire population of documents automatically. While this technology promises to revolutionize the way electronic discovery is handled, it’s still too early to see its widespread acceptance. In fact, right now, the most common use of this technology is to organize the documents for manual review into bundles of documents with the same topic so that they can be reviewed more efficiently – the million documents are still being reviewed, just slightly faster.
Nickle from New York with Andre, Wortzman Nickle’s Senior E-discovery Analyst and Project Manager at North America’s largest legal technology conference and trade show.
This overwhelming spectacle (this year, complete with demonstrators protesting GB fees in front of the venue!) offers lawyers, forensic vendors, records managers and other e-discovery providers the opportunity to network, attend education sessions, and scope out “the next big thing” in the technology exhibit areas. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners with our colleagues and friends is our favorite way to keep abreast of new technology.
While we are trying to look at everything, our focus this year rests at both ends of the e-discovery spectrum – Early Case Assessment and Review tools. We are always searching for faster, cheaper and more efficient solutions. There is amazing software available – stay tuned for our conclusions!
