Alextronic Discovery
Alextronic Discovery
An Electronic Discovery Blog covering News, Articles
and Thoughts for the Legal and Corporate Community Author: Alexander H. Lubarsky, LL.M., Esq. - alubarsky@enterusa.com - Tel. (415) 533-4166 OR 800-375-4222 THIS BLAWG IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE WEB SITES WWW.DISCOVERYRESOURCES.ORG OR WWW.DISCOVERYRESOURCES.COM


Monday, January 12, 2004

Preservation Putz  

Preservation Putz

To my classmates at Hebrew School, I was known as the Putz because I used to show up without my homework.

No the dog didn't eat it and I wasn't hiding a failure to perform, I just would fail to bring it for one reason or another. Sometimes the car pool would pick me up right after elementary school, when all of my friends played kick ball and Mrs. Steinberg and her annoying son, Ricky, would pull up in an oak paneled station wagon and furiously honk their horn outside of the playground. Of course, I had neglected to bring my Hebrew school homework to elementary school and Mrs. Steinberg would chide me for being an absent minded schmuck all the while ignoring my pleas that she drive me home to let me run up to the TV Pong set where my homework was surely sitting.

At school, I would fearfully tell Mr. Shapiro that I again had forgotten my homework. He would slam his closed fist on the table and yell, "Again, Alexander... why you really are a putz."

And so it went. My Grandmother was born in Jaffa, Israel and was, of course, fluent in Hebrew. More often then not she would catch wind that I would forget my assignments and she became furious as well. She had a right, as she actually was the one that did most of my assignments once she conceded that her grandson would never know the difference between a gimel and a chai.

I learned a lesson as the Hebrew School Putz that thankfully carried into my adult life. Do whatever you can to keep and deliver your documentation.

I am not certain if today I fear the Federal and State Judges as much as I feared Mr. Sharpiro and Mrs. Steinberg, but I can assure you that the former have not labeled me the forgetful Putz.

I pride myself on making sure my clients retain their documentation and produce it as required.

How do I insure that this is done? Here are ten tips and tricks that I adhere to religiously ...

1. I always instruct my clients to make daily backups of active matters and weekly backups of all data.

2. Make sure the client goes to a reputable and experienced consultant for assistance retaining or retrieving electronic records. Asking a friend who happens to be a WordPerfect power user is usually not enough.

3. Careful transporting data. Do not allow an unknown person to transport your backup tapes or CD's. If you carry critical data with you, do not let it out of your sight. Keep in your carry on luggage if your travel and do not check it on and risk it ending up in Bangalore when your litigation support strategy meeting is taking place in Baltimore.

4. Never examine files using Windows as your can change or corrupt metadata leading to a spoliation claim by the other side.

5. Tell your clients to make sure they have installed firewalls and virus protection software. Avoid running a web browser when the user is away from the computer. This only invites hackers and thieves.

6. If your client is a large business/corporation, ask the IT staff to look into a robotic back up silo which automatically creates multiple backup tapes on an incremental basis.

7. Make sure you and your client periodically review its record/data retention policy or policies and confirm that such are up to prevailing standards for the client's particular industry or type of business.

8. Confirm that your client's communications with their clients reveals the specifics about the above enumerated retention policy.

9. If you or your client chooses to "go paperless" by scanning paper documents and merging them with electronic data, be sure to use an experienced and reputable imaging vendor and don't bother trying to take on such a gargantuan task yourself.

10. If you are struggling in Hebrew school and your Grandmother was born in Israel, paint her a nice picture and be sure to let her pinch your cheeks... then hit her up for help on your homework.

posted by Alexander | 12:40 AM

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Alex Lubarsky is a practicing litigator and legal technology enthusiast. He was elected to the California State Bar Law Technology Executive Committee in 2003. Alex is a certified trainer and regularly teaches litigation support. Alex is frequent guest speaker at numerous legal technology conferences and State Bar events across the U.S. and has authored articles for legal technology publications such as Law Office Computing and The Bottom Line.

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