Covington uses electronic discovery (“e-discovery”) in two ways in litigation and investigations – as a sword and as a shield.
As a sword, we use our expertise in e-discovery to ensure that we secure relevant information that is helpful to our client’s case and to advance our client’s interests in accordance with governing discovery rules. We obtain key information from our adversaries wherever it is stored – using negotiations, well-timed depositions, and motion practice to achieve this goal. We also recognize that the outcome of a case often can hinge on information found in e-documents; therefore, we monitor e-discovery issues throughout a case (not just at the outset), resetting e-discovery boundaries as necessary to ensure that we obtain critical substantive information.
As a shield, Covington focuses on defensive e-discovery with the goal of cost containment – the number one legal issue facing many clients in this challenging economic environment. Many corporations report spending as much as 50% of their annual litigation budgets simply collecting, reviewing, and producing electronically-stored information. And we recognize that for every dollar spent on the collection of e-documents, clients may spend many more on review and production. Using cutting-edge technology and sampling techniques, we seek to minimize these costs.
This approach to e-discovery – customized to meet the needs of each client – reflects our long history at the forefront of new legal trends. Our attorneys receive extensive and continuing training in e-discovery issues, and the ability to effectively manage e-discovery is a core competency of every firm litigator. In short, Covington attorneys and our in-house IT professionals are prepared to handle every facet of e-discovery.
The E-Discovery Practice Group also offers stand-alone e-discovery advice and technical services. It no longer makes sense for many entities to deal with e-discovery issues on an ad hoc or case-by-case basis; for many, a proactive and integrated approach to e-discovery has become an economic necessity. The group draws on years of legal and technical expertise to assist clients with such issues as electronic information management, instant messaging, retention policies, backup tapes, and related subjects.
The E-Discovery Practice Group is co-chaired by litigation partners Edward H. Rippey (in Washington, DC) and Andrew A. Ruffino (in New York). Mr. Rippey holds a seat on the national e-discovery advisory board for LexisNexis (and formerly did so for Applied Discovery), regularly speaks nationwide on e-discovery issues, is an approved e-discovery mediator and arbitrator, and has extensive e-discovery experience. Mr. Ruffino, who also is a vice chair of the firm’s Litigation Umbrella Group, leads e-discovery efforts in the firm’s New York office, has been a speaker at panels on various e-discovery topics, and has handled complicated e-discovery issues on many complex litigations and investigations.
Representative Matters
- Our client, the world’s largest provider of vehicle remarketing services, was involved in a patent infringement lawsuit relating to software that permits internet users to participate in live vehicle auctions. Covington used expert testimony to establish that a third party, in responding to a subpoena, had employed search methodologies that were insufficient under the e-discovery provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This led to the client’s obtaining access to the third party’s live software systems, e-mails, and other ESI – critical evidence going to the substantive merits of the case.
- Our client, a pharmaceutical company, was engaged in a patent infringement action against a generic drug manufacturer. Covington led the document collection efforts, identifying document custodians and repositories. Due diligence revealed that potentially responsive information was scattered throughout various internal databases, network drives, and internal intranet web space. Covington worked with the e-discovery vendor, the client’s IT department, and the individual custodians to collect the information efficiently while minimizing the disturbance to business operations. Then, working closely with the e-discovery vendor, Covington developed search terms and sampling techniques to eliminate “false positives” from the collection, saving the client millions of dollars in review and production costs.
|
|