Inventus Blog

The coronavirus pandemic has become a global story with rapidly changing realities. With 28 countries and territories reporting more than 31,000 cases – more than three-quarters of which originated in the Hubei province in China – corporations are facing stark challenges with the wellness of their employees and the operations of their enterprises.

During a recent webcast presented by Inventus, eDiscovery experts discussed ways firms and organizations can overcome the obstacles of multilingual litigation – a growing trend in the legal field as litigation increasingly goes global.

In legal matters, practitioners have access to a lot of data. But deriving meaning from that data, and harnessing it into actionable tasks is another matter entirely. Watch this video with Inventus expert Alisa McLellan, who explains how dashboarding tools can work to the benefit of eDiscovery teams looking to make smarter decisions from start to finish.

During a recent CLE presented by Natalya Northrip, Global Chief Privacy Officer at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.; David Shonka, Partner at Redgrave LLP; Alex Pilmer, Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP; and Erin Plante, Director of Strategy & Consulting at Inventus, we learned a lot about the pending California Consumer Privacy Act – from what it covers (and what it doesn’t), who is subject to its regulations, what the consequences for noncompliance may entail, and some of the steps we should be taking to prepare. Read on below for some of our key takeaways.

Set to go into effect next month, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) will grant Californians the right to see what data a company holds on them. It has many similarities to the 2018 European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which lets Europeans access and delete their data in many circumstances.

Even though the law is a California one, it affects every significant business that may hold the personal data of California residents – essentially extending to any medium to large-size company that has, does, or ever will do business in or sell products or services to citizens of California.

Managing and analyzing large volumes of data in response to litigation, regulatory inquiries, or internal investigations is no easy task. Legal professionals must be able to find and collect data quickly, protect it once they have it, and handle it according to best practices - which vary by jurisdiction, country, state or region, and even between organizations.

As you might expect, eDiscovery tasks may become even more difficult when the discovery involves data sources across international borders, raising important questions about how to organize and conduct eDiscovery activities.

This week we attended the tenth annual Relativity Fest – the annual gathering of eDiscovery wonks of all stripes in Chicago – to talk technology, legal services, and all things discovery with clients and colleagues from all over the world.

It’s not often we eDiscovery wonks get to really let our geek flags fly – and as one of the biggest gatherings of eDiscovery experts in North America, Relativity Fest is one of our favorite events for doing exactly that. From the big-production fanfare of the keynote and the real talk of the judicial panel to the down-and-dirty details of the panels and presentations in between, it’s always a great time for learning and celebrating everything we as an eDiscovery community can do.

Wrongdoers know no international borders - so investigators of wrongdoing must be able to operate nimbly across borders, too. In particular, it behooves international organizations - and the law firms that service them - to pay particularly close attention to high-risk geographies and ensure they have the expertise and infrastructure needed to quickly respond to any incidents that arise.

When it comes to multinational investigations and eDiscovery response, there are a few best practices that legal and compliance practitioners should look for. Chris Dale, of the eDisclosure Information Project, sat down with Inventus expert Erin Plante recently for a video interview on the topic.

This year’s National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) Annual meeting took place last week in sunny Los Angeles, attracting some of the best legal minds from all over the U.S. It was a star-studded event, kicking off the same night as the 71^st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. In between celebrity sightings, attendees arriving on Sunday took part in the traditional Amazing Race scavenger hunt around the city – getting to know their fellow attendees and see some of the sights around the city. 

Keeping data safe used to be the sole job of dedicated departments within companies – typically not something lawyers were trained on. The largest companies would have specialized teams focused on the task of securing confidential information – while smaller organizations and even law firms might not have any certified security officers on staff at all.

Expert Perspectives:The Inventus Expert Perspectives series features insightful interviews with thought leaders, technologists, and leading legal innovators at the forefront of the global business and practice of law. In today's edition, we interview Geoffrey Geftman, Discovery Consultant in Michael Best’s Information Governance and Discovery Services team, on his recommendations for negotiating eDiscovery protocols. This is Part II of II - if you missed Part I, you can read it here!