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Under scrutiny

06 November 2008
Issue: 7344 / Categories: Opinion , In-House , E-disclosure
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Tracey Stretton explains why the UK needs to sharpen its approach to ESI

The risk of litigation and the corresponding cost of electronic disclosure do not diminish in a downward economy and no company, large or small, is exempt from litigation or from the increasingly complex conundrum known as electronically stored information (ESI) disclosure.

Research commissioned by Kroll Ontrack finds that there has been a vast growth in ESI awareness and policy enactment over the past 12 months. This demonstrates that high profile sanctions cases and education regarding ESI have been a wake up call to corporations and their legal teams. However, many companies are failing to appreciate the legal and logistical issues involved in responding to requests for often sensitive information from regulatory bodies and ensuring that they can provide details of anything that qualifies as electronic information.

Our study found that while 70% of US companies have policies in place to deal with ESI in a litigation process (compared with 40% in 2007), only 53% (compared with 43% in 2007) of those in the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
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