July 21, 2010

Today, we introduce the EDRM White Paper Series and the first of the papers in that series, Once is Not Enough: The Case for Using an Iterative Approach to Choosing and Applying Selection Criteria in Discovery by Gene Eames, David J. Kessler and Andrea L. D’Ambra.

With the EDRM White Paper Series, EDRM offers:

• White papers about electronic discovery and information management
• Prepared by leaders in the field
• Evaluated by EDRM participants prior to publication
• Published on the EDRM site on a non-exclusive basis, in keeping with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License

All opinions expressed in the white papers are those of the authors, of course, and not of EDRM, EDRM participants, the author’s employers, or anyone else.

The EDRM White Paper Series is at edrm.net/7596

The first paper in the series, Once is Not Enough: The Case for Using an Iterative Approach to Choosing and Applying Selection Criteria in Discovery by Gene Eames, David J. Kessler and Andrea L. D’Ambra, is at edrm.net/7566

We have just put up our first EDRM survey.  About the EDRM XML Schema, the survey is at edrm.net/5838 – Please participate!

We are gathering information to improve the EDRM XML schema, to help facilitate a more unified and clear and concise standard.  Your answers and comments to the following questionnaire will provide us with invaluable information and will bring a stronger focus to what you would like to see improved.

The survey is at edrm.net/5838

Thank you,

- The EDRM XML Team

Please note that for the EDRM Enron Email Data Set v2 have replaced two files and corrected the file name on the third.

We replaced “edrm-enron-v2_reitmeyer-j_pst.zip” and “edrm-enron-v2_arnold-j_pst.zip”; neither was decompressing properly.

We changed the name of “edrm-enron-V2-rodrique-r_pst.zip” to “edrm-enron-V2-rodrigue-r_pst.zip”.

Thank you.

Updated draft EDRM Production Standards are available for review and comment, at http://edrm.net/resources/standards/edrm-production-standards

The current version of these standards has been reviewed and revised by EDRM members and other electronic discovery professionals. The document is intended to outline standards for production of electronically stored information in discovery. The standards are meant to be easily communicated by attorneys at a meet and confer by referring to the category of production.

We welcome comments on these draft standards. Comments can be posted at the draft EDRM Production Standards page, edrm.net/5920, or sent to mail@edrm.net.

It would be great to get as much input as possible so please provide your comments!

Have a great day!

Julie Brown (Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP) and George Socha

» Register here

When it comes to acceptable boundaries of ethical business practices within the eDiscovery service industry, are we still in the time of spurs, six guns and saddles?

Join us at high noon as industry experts discuss developing Model Code of Conduct guidelines and their relevance to both companies and legal technology providers.

Topics addressed will include:

• The current “lawless” state of today’s eDiscovery practice
• How the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) Model Code of Conduct Project is seeking to tame the wild, wild west
• Ideal best practices for the supervision of attorneys, non-attorneys and clients
• Considerations for establishing effective working agreements based on ethical business practices
• How to ethically manage information from records retention to metadata

Moderators:

• George Socha, President of Socha Consulting LLC and co-founder of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) project
• Tom Gelbmann, Managing Director of Gelbmann & Associates LLC and co-founder of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) project

Panelists:

• Julie Grantham, General Counsel of Scarab Consulting and Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Law
• Eric P. Mandel, Director of E-Discovery at Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP

» Register here

Press release: Webinar to Explore the Boundaries of Ethical Business Practices for eDiscovery

» Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/470133842

HOUSTON – June XX, 2010 – When it comes to acceptable boundaries of ethical business practices within the e-discovery service industry, are we still in the time of spurs, six guns and saddles?

Scarab Consulting, a premier provider of litigation support and electronic discovery services for law firms and corporations, announced today that it has united with the founders of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model for a July 9th webinar titled, “EDRM Model Code of Conduct: Moving E-Discovery Out of the Wild, Wild West.”

The complimentary webinar will combine some of the industry’s leading experts to discuss ethical decision-making struggles faced by both companies and their service providers during the eDiscovery process. Topics addressed will include the current “lawless” state of today’s e-discovery practice, how the EDRM Model Code of Conduct Project is seeking to establish baseline laws to tame the wild west and considerations for establishing effective working agreements based on ethical business practices. Register for the webinar at www.consultscarab.com.

Moderators for the webinar include:

• George Socha, Esq. – As litigator for 16 years and President of Socha Consulting LLC, George co-founded the Electronic Discovery Reference Model.
• Tom Gelbmann – A managing director of consulting practice Gelbmann & Associates LLC, Tom co-founded the Electronic Discovery Reference Model project in 2005.

Panelists include:

• Julie Grantham, Esq. – Julie is General Counsel for Scarab Consulting and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Her course on e-discovery is one of the first on the subject to be developed and taught at a university.
• Eric P. Mandel, Esq. – As Director of E-Discovery for Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP, Eric is a subject matter expert in electronic discovery and litigation readiness planning and serves as co-chair and principal author of the EDRM’s Model Code of Conduct project.

One hour CLE credit is pending in New York and Texas, including ethics.

For more information on the webinar and its takeaways or to view full bios for the presenters, visit www.consultscarab.com.

About Scarab Consulting
Scarab Consulting provides technology-driven solutions for litigation and electronic discovery. The company has offices nationwide to serve its robust client list which includes Am Law 200 law firms and Fortune 1000 companies. Scarab has established a strong reputation for its technical agility, client-centric approach and ability to reduce litigation and corporate compliance costs. For more information, visit www.consultscarab.com.

Contact:
Melanie Brenneman
Edge Legal Marketing
P: 713-294-7857
E-mail: mbrenneman@edgelegalmarketing.com

The Information Management Reference Model (IMRM) graphic is now available for download, either as a .jpg or an .eps file. The files can be downloaded from the main EDRM page (edrm.net), the EDRM downloads page (edrm.net/1617), or the main IMRM page (edrm.net/25).

We have started loading the EDRM Enron Email Data Set v2. The files are available at edrm.net/6354.

This set consists of Enron e-mail messages and attachments in zipped files. The files are organized by custodian. Each zipped file should contain some combination of the following (depending on availability, of course):

• XML
• EML with attachments
• Native attachments
• Text email bodies
• Text email attachments

We are in the process of loading files. Please check back for updates.

Draft EDRM Production Standards are available for review and comment, at edrm.net/5920.

Prepared by Julie Brown of Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease LLP and reviewed by additional EDRM members, the draft EDRM Production Standards document is intended to outline standards for production of electronically stored information in discovery. The standards are meant to be easily communicated by attorneys at a meet and confer by referring to the category of production.

We welcome comments on these draft standards. Comments can be posted at the draft EDRM Production Standards page, edrm.net/5920, or sent to mail@edrm.net.

An undated version of the EDRM File Formats Data Set is now available for downloading.  The set contains updated MD5 hashes generated using the Linux md5sum program.  For the data set and additional information, go to edrm.net/3757