Resources

Client Alerts, News Articles, Blog Posts, & Multimedia

Everything you need to know about BMD and the industry.

Litigation Holds: First Aid for the Thorn in a Corporation’s Side

Blog Post
July 25, 2023

Corporations can retain needless, unstructured data that lack business value. These “redundant, obsolete, and trivial” data, or “ROT,” carry unnecessary cost. Retaining ROT also inhibits many facets of a corporation’s operations, including e-discovery, privacy, and cybersecurity, among others, especially in the event of a litigation hold.

What is a litigation hold?

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e), when an organization becomes involved in a dispute, it must issue a litigation hold to relevant and appropriate custodians to preserve information that may be needed or required to be disclosed during the discovery process of litigation.

What are the implications?

Under Fed. R. 37(e), sanctions are authorized for parties that do not preserve electronically stored information (“ESI”) with their custodians, resulting in lost or destroyed ESI. Sanctions can be avoided for recoverable or altered ESI. While sanctions can vary widely, they are serious in nature and create exposure for the corporation. Sanctions can range from fines to even dismissal or default judgment

What can a corporation do to address and avoid these issues?

Two solutions exist that can act as first aid to ease the nagging pain and discomfort of litigation holds. First, a corporation can utilize data remediation, which acts as a “healing ointment” to recognize, cleanse, organize, and migrate data. This permits an organization to eliminate or minimize risk through a consistent practice.

However, when a litigation hold occurs, this data remediation process must stop, due to the duty to preserve ESI. Data can be stored in many locations, including on cloud storage, servers, local computers, and even various types of mobile devices. In addition to location of the data, the issue can further compound when litigation holds are issued in various legal matters. Data remediation becomes complex. This could create significant financial exposure. 

The second solution addresses these above-mentioned concerns: through effective legal representation, custodian litigation holds can be adjusted throughout the life of a case, which can allow a data remediation process for a corporation to function even within a litigation hold. Strategic legal counsel can interview and assess custodians to develop a strategy both at the outset of a case and as the case proceeds.

Consultation and reliance upon knowledgeable, strategic-minded legal counsel to effectively manage litigation holds can make a multi-million-dollar, positive impact for an organization, even in a single case. BMD has effectively implemented these tactics and navigated litigation holds, resulting in significant cost-savings for its clients while still maintaining compliance with litigation holds and e-discovery protocols in a defensible plan.

If you have any questions regarding litigation holds or how your corporation can prepare for the event of a litigation hold, please contact Angelina Gingo at acgingo@bmdllc.com or Bob Hager at rahager@bmdllc.com.

LitigationLitigation Hold
Blog Post

Celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 1, 2022In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month), Brennan Manna and Diamond is proud to recognize the contributions and achievements of our AAPI members.Blog Post

Fluresh Cannabis’ Bank Loan: Moving Into the Mainstream

April 18, 2022The announcement by Fluresh, a vertically integrated Michigan based cannabis business, of the closing of loans from a federally insured commercial bank totaling almost $50 million represents an important landmark for both Fluresh and the cannabis industry writ large. For Fluresh, perhaps as important as the bottom-line benefits of lower cost financing, the fact that its operations and financials passed muster with a substantial commercial bank can be regarded as an important rite of passage. For the industry, it reflects its inexorable movement out of the shadows and into the mainstream. This substantiates the view that, whether or not any of pending the federal legislation is enacted, bank lending to the cannabis industry will continue to accelerate.Blog Post

Out of the Shadows | An Investor Summit Recap

February 9, 2022After a COVID hiatus of more than 2 years, I rejoined the institutional cannabis investment speaker circuit, offering the closing remarks at the Kahner Global Cannabis Private Investment Summit in Coral Gables, Florida. My remarks addressed how banking developments are increasingly impacting cannabis investment, operating and financial strategies and decisions, for both plant touching and the growing array of ancillary businesses serving the industry.Blog Post

BMD Announced in Best Law Firms 2022 List

November 4, 2021We are excited to announce that BMD is included in the 2022 Edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms,” recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. The full firm report is included.Blog Post

Key Takeaways from BMD’s Banking and Cannabis Webinar

October 14, 2021Estimates have shown that the cannabis industry is one of, if not the, fastest growing industries in the United States in recent years, with no sign of slowing. Growth requires capital. Banks need loans, and cannabis companies, which are rapidly becoming bankable need access to lower cost bank lending. While cannabis remains federally illegal, an impediment to access to financial institution credit, banks and credit unions are nevertheless entering the market in increasing numbers.
Older posts
Newer posts