News
LOWNDES LAUNCHES eDISCOVERY PRACTICE
02.04.2010The recession might not seem like a logical time to launch a new practice area, but Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A. has done just that. The eDiscovery team, comprised of attorneys and IT professionals, has already seen an increase in electronic discovery during litigation, forcing clients to identify, preserve, and collect vast amounts of electronically stored information ("ESI"), and the firm expects this to continue. Although the firm's attorneys have been individually advising clients on legal issues related to ESI for more than a decade, Lowndes formalized the new practice area as a convenience to clients.
ESI includes "emails, voice-mails, instant messages, text messages, documents, spreadsheets, and even tweets," said Drew Sorrell, the Lowndes partner who leads the new practice area. "The vast majority of all business records are created and stored electronically with most never being printed; therefore eDiscovery is a critical component of litigation and records management."
In addition to responding to pending or threatened litigation, the team also advises clients on how to prepare for litigation before it arises. "Helping companies develop document retention and destruction policies as well as technical systems that foresee electronic discovery issues before audits, investigations and litigation arise could save those companies a lot of time and money," said Sorrell. "This proactive approach also aligns business objectives and workflow to better track, identify, and manage the lifecycle of ESI through legally defensible policies and business practices."