Something that has puzzled me for many years with discovery exercises is parties that make their document numbering so unnecessarily long. This was highlighted to me again recently when I was involved in a small matter where the parties used 9 and 10 characters respectively for their document numbering. To illustrate how superfluous this was, [...]
Read more...The NZ E-Discovery BlogFacilitating proportionate and efficient e-discovery
Blog Archives
Raising awareness of electronic discovery
April 18th, 2013
As published in LawTalk, issue 816, 12 April 2013 NEW ZEALAND’S INAUGURAL eDiscovery Conference attracted over 100 participants from across New Zealand’s legal fraternity, including senior lawyers, barristers, in-house legal counsel as well as electronic discovery service providers. The event, held in Auckland on 13 February, was organised by Ernst & Young and E-Discovery Consulting. [...]
Read more...Managing information electronically
April 3rd, 2013
It has now been over 12 months since the new discovery rules commenced in New Zealand, but it is apparent that many may not be realising the full potential of the rules. One observation I have found is there are a number of people that are not managing their information electronically. Many are still carrying [...]
Read more...New Zealand eDiscovery Conference – an overview
March 1st, 2013
On Wednesday 13th of February, New Zealand’s inaugural eDiscovery Conference took place at the Stamford Plaza in Auckland. The event was organised by Ernst & Young and my company E-Discovery Consulting, as we joined forces to assist in raising the awareness of eDiscovery in New Zealand. The conference was a one day event specifically designed [...]
Read more...New Zealand eDiscovery Conference – see who is coming
February 11th, 2013
Registrations are still coming in just a couple of days out from New Zealand’s inaugural eDiscovery Conference. The event is being held in Auckland at the Stamford Plaza this coming Wednesday (13th of February). At last count we had over 90 attendees for the event. Firms attending include – Anderson Creagh Lai, Anderson Lloyd, Anthony [...]
Read more...New Zealand eDiscovery Conference – one week to go
February 7th, 2013
We are now less than a week away from New Zealand’s inaugural eDiscovery Conference. The Managing eDiscovery in New Zealand Conference is presented by Ernst & Young and E-Discovery Consulting. The event is being held in Auckland at the Stamford Plaza on Wednesday the 13th of February. The conference is specifically designed to look at [...]
Read more...New Zealand eDiscovery Conference – Symantec confirmed as a sponsor
February 1st, 2013
Symantec has been confirmed as a sponsor for the Managing eDiscovery in New Zealand Conference. The Conference is being held at the Stamford Plaza in Auckland on the Wednesday the 13th of February 2013. Symantec Enterprise Vault in conjunction with the Clearwell eDiscovery platform are the leading and most comprehensive archiving and eDiscovery solutions on [...]
Read more...Understanding the practical impact of the High Court Discovery Rules 12 months on
January 30th, 2013
Electronic discovery in New Zealand has grown significantly over the last year and there is a clear need for an event which allows NZ practitioners to develop their knowledge of this evolving area. Ernst & Young and E-Discovery Consulting have joined forces to present the Managing eDiscovery in New Zealand Conference. The conference is taking [...]
Read more...Managing eDiscovery in New Zealand Conference – 13 February 2013
December 14th, 2012
Ernst & Young and E-Discovery Consulting have joined forces to present the Managing eDiscovery in New Zealand Conference. The Conference is taking place at the Stamford Plaza in Auckland on Wednesday the 13th of February 2013. Understanding the practical impact of the High Court Discovery Rules 12 months on Electronic discovery in New Zealand has [...]
Read more...E-Discovery presents challenges and requires new skills
November 28th, 2012
Electronic discovery has often been a process that is unfamiliar to many involved in litigation. E-discovery requires new skills and a greater appreciation of technology than was previously required in a traditional paper dominated discovery world. In today’s digital world the increasing sources and volumes of electronic information is making the discovery process more challenging. There [...]
Read more...Finding the right e-discovery software
October 29th, 2012
As published in LawTalk, issue 807, 26 October 2012 E-discovery software is becoming an essential part of any litigator’s toolkit. Deploying suitable software will be an advantage for anyone tackling discovery under the new court rules. E-discovery software has matured from the days when it was primarily designed to handle scanned documents, but this brings many [...]
Read more...Keyword searching – is there a better option?
October 4th, 2012
Over the last few years there has been a lot written about the (in)effectiveness of keyword sarching as an approach to targeting important information. Many have focussed on the problems of keywords to justify the need to move toward more sophisticated approaches like Predictive Coding. Last week, the NZ Lawyer magazine published an article of [...]
Read more...E-Discovery seminar promotes the importance of cooperation and proportionality
September 7th, 2012
The importance of proportionality and cooperation were key messages to come from the Auckland District Law Society’s seminar on E-Discovery which I spoke at last week. Joining me as speakers at the seminar were Judge David Harvey and Kiri Harkess from McElroys. The seminar was designed to look at the basics of E-Discovery, but also [...]
Read more...Launch of new E-Discovery CLE Seminars
August 9th, 2012
E-Discovery Consulting has launched a programme of CLE seminars on electronic discovery and legal technology. The aim of the CLE seminars is to provide all those involved in litigation the opportunity to be better prepared and informed to tackle electronic discovery. Further information about the CLE seminars can be found on here. E-Discovery requires new [...]
Read more...A day in the life of an E-Discovery Consultant
July 11th, 2012
As published in LawTalk, issue 799, 6 July 2012 Over recent years there has been an exponential growth in both the volume and sources of electronic information. Nearly all information now originates in electronic form. This has complicated the discovery process as it has created many new challenges for lawyers. Managing electronic information in the [...]
Read more...New resource for the new discovery rules
June 27th, 2012
‘Due to public demand’ I have created a dedicated page on our website consolidating all of the new New Zealand discovery rules. The page contains links to all the rules relating to discovery as well as direct reference to the practical requirements of the Discovery Checklist and the Listing and Exchange Protocol. The page can [...]
Read more...A busy few weeks in e-discovery
May 23rd, 2012
It has been a busy time of late in the e-discovery space in New Zealand. An unfortunate result of which is that I have somewhat neglected my blog over the last couple of weeks, which I only realised when a couple of my readers contacted me directly about when I am posting my next blog [...]
Read more...AccessData visit NZ to promote the new Summation
May 2nd, 2012
AccessData are continuing their worldwide ReDiscover Summation roadshow this week with sessions in both Auckland and Wellington. The seminars will provide an opportunity for AccessData to showcase the redesign of Summation to existing clients and potential new clients. The session will be led by Kate Paslin who is Assistant General Counsel for AccessData. I have [...]
Read more...Chilli IQ’s E-Discovery Summit – Raising the awareness of electronic discovery
May 1st, 2012
Providing education to raise the awareness of electronic discovery is essential to assist navigate the challenges of electronic information both efficiently and cost effectively. Chilli IQ’s 6th Information Management & E-Discovery Summit is one of very few events in Australasia that is designed to help those in the industry expand their knowledge about dealing with [...]
Read more...A Judicial Commentary on New Zealand’s New Discovery Rules
April 19th, 2012
This week His Honour Judge David Harvey has written an article which summarises New Zealand’s New Discovery Rules and also provides a practical insight of how technology can be used through the discovery process. The article called New Zealand’s New Discovery Rules and Electronic Discovery was published by the Society for Computers and Law (from the [...]
Read more...Embracing an Electronic Documents Questionnaire
April 12th, 2012
Recently I have pointed clients in the direction of the UK Electronic Documents Questionnaire to assist them undertake discovery under the new NZ court rules. Tools from other jurisdictions (like the Electronic Documents Questionnaire), can provide good practical guidance for parties to tackle discovery more proportionately and cost effectively under the new e-discovery rules. With [...]
Read more...Raising the awareness of electronic discovery
March 30th, 2012
Raising the awareness of electronic discovery has become something of a mission of mine of late. Electronic discovery is an area that continues to evolve with new challenges arising, as well as new solutions developing – it is just a matter of sharing this knowledge. Historically in New Zealand there were not any court rules [...]
Read more...LegalTech New York 2012 – a NZ perspective
February 24th, 2012
The 2012 edition of LegalTech in New York yet again proved to be an opportunity that could not be missed for anyone in the ediscovery industry. Since it has been a couple of weeks since LegalTech (and having time to catch up on my ‘day job’), I thought I would put together a short post [...]
Read more...Growing litigation support options in NZ
February 9th, 2012
A common concern that I have heard of late is that there are not enough litigation support options available in New Zealand. Fortunately this is not the case, as it has never been a more important time to have litigation support options available since the new electronic discovery rules commenced on 1 February. Over the [...]
Read more...New discovery rules – being more informed at an earlier stage
January 20th, 2012
We are now only a couple of weeks away from the new discovery rules commencing in New Zealand on the 1st of February. Currently I am busy assisting firms prepare to comply with the new requirements. One point I have been highlighting is those parties that are more informed about their information at an earlier [...]
Read more...Lord Justice Jackson: “New Zealand is ahead of us”
December 1st, 2011
“New Zealand is ahead of us” maybe a commendable headline, but it is important to put Lord Justice Jackson’s comment into context. Lord Justice Jackson made this comment last week in a speech about ‘Controlling the Costs of Disclosure’. A full copy of the speech is available on the Judiciary of England and Wales website. [...]
Read more...Continuing to promote the new discovery rules
November 22nd, 2011
I continue my ‘mission’ to try and raise the awareness of the new discovery rules, with the commencement just around the corner on 1 February 2012. The Law Society helpfully published an article of mine in their Law Talk magazine last week entitled “Promoting the new discovery rules”. A link to the full article can [...]
Read more...Providing technology options for small matters
November 15th, 2011
A common misconception by many in the legal profession is that technology is always expensive and only suitable for large matters. This does not have to be the case, as there are technology solutions available for smaller matters that do not need to cost the earth. ‘We do not have large volume matters…’ Since the [...]
Read more...NZ Law Society seminars: Judicial endorsement of new discovery rules
November 1st, 2011
I have spent the last week travelling the country presenting seminars on behalf of the New Zealand Law Society explaining the new discovery reforms. Laura O’Gorman of Buddle Findlay and David Friar of Bell Gully joined me in presenting these sessions, adding valuable legal insight into the new discovery rules. Judicial endorsement We were fortunate [...]
Read more...Get advice before you buy
October 20th, 2011
Choosing the right technology solution can be a daunting process for many firms.For most lawyers, software selection is foreign to them as their experience and expertise is with the law, not the technology. Experienced independent advice can assist you in your software selection, as the advice can help you decide what the best solution is [...]
Read more...Removing the uncertainty – new discovery rules
October 14th, 2011
I like many, were pleased to see the new discovery rules finally made public last week with the announcement that they will come into effect on 1 February 2012. There had been considerable uncertainty around when the new discovery rules would commence and also when the new rules would be made available. Personally it has [...]
Read more...New discovery rules – training sessions
October 7th, 2011
As I announced yesterday, the new NZ discovery rules are now publicly available. They commence on 1 February 2012. To assist the profession understand what the new discovery rules will mean for them, I have established dedicated training sessions on the new discovery rules. Details of the sessions are available here. The new rules contain [...]
Read more...New discovery rules commence 1 Feb 2012
October 6th, 2011
The new NZ discovery rules have been passed and will commence on 1 February 2012. The rules were passed this week and were today published on the New Zealand Legislation website. The new rules substantially change the way that discovery will have to be conducted. The reforms modernise discovery rules in an attempt to curb [...]
Read more...NZ E-Discovery reform – a global context: #5 – Exchange Protocols
September 13th, 2011
The NZ discovery reforms introduce a mandatory listing and exchange protocol (the protocol) to facilitate the production of information. A key feature of the new NZ rules is that there is flexibility to modify the protocol to suit the requirements of the matter. Continuing my series of looking into the NZ discovery reforms, I will [...]
Read more...Raising the Bar – a look at the NZBA Annual Conference
September 6th, 2011
Barristers can become more effecient in their practice by effectively using technology. This was a key theme that came out of the NZ Bar Association Annual Conference last Friday, which I was fortunate enough to be a speaker. We had a number of industry experts all delivering the messages of how there is technology available [...]
Read more...NZBA Annual Conference – promoting the use of technology
August 31st, 2011
I will be presenting at the New Zealand Bar Association Annual Conference this coming Friday, where the topic this year is “The Modern Barrister”. The conference has an impressive list of speakers, with many focussing on how technology can be used more effectively to assist the role of the barrister – a topic that is very [...]
Read more...Rules Committee approves new NZ discovery rules
August 30th, 2011
The New Zealand Rules Committee has approved the final draft of the new discovery rules. The Courts of New Zealand website now outlines the current status with the rules – At the meeting 22 August 2011, the Committee approved a draft set of rules on discovery, revised after a substantial period of consultation with the profession. [...]
Read more...NZ E-Discovery reform – a global context: #4 – The effective use of technology
August 24th, 2011
There is a significant difference between merely using technology and using technology efficiently and effectively. Continuing my series of looking into the NZ discovery reforms, I will look at how the effective use of technology has been fundamental in comparative global discovery reforms. In addition to the new obligations of cooperation and proportionality in the [...]
Read more...NZ E-Discovery reform – a global context: #3 – New reasonable search obligations
August 16th, 2011
There is a new defined requirement in the proposed New Zealand discovery reforms for parties to make a reasonable search. The obligation to undertake a reasonable search brings NZ into line with the developments in other jurisdictions. As I continue my series of looking at the NZ ediscovery reforms from a global perspective, I will [...]
Read more...NZ E-Discovery reform – a global context: #2 – A Proportionate approach to discovery
August 11th, 2011
Facilitating a proportionate approach to discovery is fundamental to the proposed New Zealand discovery reforms. In recognition of not every dispute being the same, the new rules allow for discovery orders to be tailored to suit the specific requirements of each matter. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, the volumes and sources of electronic [...]
Read more...NZ E-Discovery reform – a global context: #1 – Early cooperation at the heart of discovery reforms
August 9th, 2011
Continuing my series of looking further into the NZ e-discovery reforms, today I look further at the requirement for parties to cooperate, and compare to reforms in other jurisdictions. All jurisdictions are faced with similar issues of increasing burden and cost associated with discovery, but all still have the same obligations to identify, preserve, review [...]
Read more...NZ E-Discovery reform – a global context
August 2nd, 2011
As New Zealand is finalising its discovery reforms, I thought it an opportune time to look at the reforms from a global perspective, comparing the reforms to what has happened in other jurisdictions. Other jurisdictions have faced similar concerns as we are experiencing in New Zealand with the existing discovery rules becoming out-dated over recent [...]
Read more...Final draft of the new NZ discovery rules released
July 14th, 2011
The final draft rules of the New Zealand discovery reform have been published by the Rules Committee. The profession are being asked to raise any specific drafting issues by 10 August 2011, with the anticipation that the new rules will come into force in early 2012. The rules can be found on the Courts of [...]
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