Q&A: Blockchain and Digital Assets Pro Bono Work
FTI Consulting supports an active and expansive pro bono program to make the firm’s expertise and services available to in need organizations, individuals and communities. Last year, FTI Consulting professionals contributed pro bono services internally valued at nearly $10.5 million, a 72% increase compared to the prior year. This work included projects led by FTI Technology’s Blockchain & Digital Assets experts. In this Q&A, Emma Spencer, Jimmy Johnson and Jason Trager discuss recent pro bono projects and the team’s approach to finding additional opportunities to make a difference.
Monitoring the Evolution of Cross-Border Merger Control
Competition and merger clearance scrutiny continues to intensify across the U.K. and European Union. Challenges related to documents and data review, while no longer novel, are adding to the cost and burden of responding to inquiries from the Competition & Markets Authority, the European Commission and other national competition authorities. I recently sat on a panel discussing these issues at the Advanced EU Competition Law Conference in Brussels.
Q&A: How FTI Technology’s Universal Messaging Platform Helps Clients Overcome WeChat E-Discovery Challenges
Real-time mobile messaging tools are increasingly used for a mix of personal and business purposes. This is an especially relevant trend across the Asia Pacific region, where cloud and mobile chat applications and data sources are growing rapidly. In digital forensics and e-discovery matters dealing with data in and from that region, clients face the dual challenge of limited tools that can process unique characters and provide capability around large volumes of diverse and unconventional types of data from chat applications. FTI Technology’s technical experts have developed customized and defensible solutions for these issues, which are built into the firm’s Connect and Universal Messaging Platform offerings. In this Q&A, Chelsea Ye and Baron Zhao discuss the China team’s capabilities for handling data from WeChat and other popular applications.
Cold Case? Uncovering Truth in Digital Assets Crimes through Data and Insight
It remains a popular belief that cryptocurrency theft is an unstoppable, unsolvable crime. However, in recent years, law enforcement across the U.K. and Europe have recovered billons of euros in laundered or stolen digital assets. In cases involving sophisticated criminal networks and illicit transactions, cryptocurrency recoveries have outweighed the value of recovered fiat currency. This is possible through the work of investigators who understand the complexities and nuances of digital assets and how to leverage data, digital forensics and analytics to piece together details and identities related to fraudulent transactions or theft.
Q&A: Putting Talent First in Managed Review Recruiting, Training and Team Management
Mary Vegher, Senior Director, oversees project staffing for managed review, data incident response and research projects in the U.S. and Canada. She collaborates with review managers, recruiters and review attorneys to align the needs of each project with the most skilled and dedicated team. In this Q&A, Mary discusses her approach to finding and nurturing talent, and how FTI Technology maintains the highest possible standards for managed review clients.
Data Privacy Challenges for Compliance in European Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are a billion-euro industry for the European Union. However, that landscape is in flux, as life sciences organisations grapple with data handling and documentation requirements under privacy regulations and newer acts like the EU Clinical Trials Regulation. As a recent IQVIA report described, enrollment periods for European clinical trials have extended in duration by nearly 26% and western Europe’s proportion of global clinical trials declined by 21% overall. In the EU, concerns have been raised by the increasing shift of clinical trials to the U.S. and China, where the regulatory and operational requirements are seen as either clearer or less stringent.
Even Industries That Aren’t Digital-First Face Privacy Challenges. Here’s What Legacy Companies Need to Know About Data Protection
Privacy laws continue to emerge and evolve in the U.S. Still, less than half of organizations have implemented the foundational steps needed to establish and uphold compliance. Certain industries, especially those that are not typically data centric, are struggling more than others to operationalize data protection requirements and ensure adequate privacy controls for employees, partners and/or customers.
Measure Twice, Cut Once: Generative AI for E-Discovery in Public Sector Disputes
Like nearly every industry, the public sector is considering whether and how they may be able to use artificial intelligence in their day-to-day work. In e-discovery, practical use cases are already in play. Public sector legal teams can build upon these to achieve new efficiencies and to lay a foundation for future adoption of new forms of AI and generative AI as they become more reliable and sophisticated.
Bringing Blockchain Due Diligence into Focus Alongside Uptick in Strategic Dealmaking
Renewed momentum surrounding blockchain and digital assets indicates that the space is returning to a more stable trajectory. Following a slowdown in industry deal volume in the second half of 2022 and 2023, signals now point toward growth in joint ventures and M&A activity for the year ahead.
Understanding Data Nuances at the Intersection of E-Discovery and Compliance
Adoption and demand for governance, risk and compliance software has been growing steadily in recent years, with reported success in helping organizations manage and mitigate a variety of risks. Alongside this increase in reliance on GRC tools, and their improved ability to store information in a defensible manner, has been the need to extract information from them for the purposes of data discovery in disputes and investigations.
Q&A: Modernizing and Prioritizing a Governance, Risk and Compliance Strategy
This Q&A with Senior Managing Directors Mike Carter and Michael Spadea, co-leads of FTI Technology’s Risk & Compliance practice, covers common challenges in today’s environment, and what clients need to watch for when implementing new tools and procedures for governance, risk and compliance.
How Work-Life Balance Drives Business Success and Revenue Growth
Employee burnout is the leading barrier to workplace productivity. Nearly two-thirds of employees have reported experiencing burnout in the last year. At the same time, a separate study confirmed that work-life balance perks were one of the most effective tools at employers’ disposal to reduce burnout and boost employee satisfaction. Unfortunately, either due to workplace culture or an individual’s feelings (ranging from obligation to motivation), it’s typically not easy for this balance to be achieved.
Discussing Compliance and Anticorruption in Germany
In early October, DKN Networks hosted an annual summit for legal and compliance professionals in Germany. Managing Director Gokce Akkahve presented at the event, discussing the impact of generative artificial intelligence on the compliance function. She shared use cases and recommendations for how compliance teams can effectively leverage AI to help address growing challenges and demand. In addition to examining the latest developments in generative AI, Gokce and other FTI Technology colleagues spoke with attendees and engaged in sessions throughout the event. Key takeaways from the conference are covered in this post.
Hart-Scott-Rodino Amendments Will Soon Upend Merger Clearance Processes
U.S. antitrust officials announced in October 2024 that the Federal Trade Commission’s changes to Hart-Scott-Rodino filing processes have been finalized and will become effective in January 2025. The amendments, which significantly increase the document production burden on filing parties, were confirmed in an effort to help the FTC and Department of Justice better manage the increased volume and complexity of today’s mergers and acquisitions environment.
Q&A: Dr. Jens Koenig Discusses White Collar Crime, Antitrust and Investigation Trends in Germany
Dr. Jens Koenig, Senior Managing Director, joined FTI Technology’s team in Germany last year, bringing two decades of experience practicing law. His focus includes supporting multinational regulatory investigations and investigative efforts in response to enforcement actions by German prosecutors, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other domestic and international regulatory agencies. In this Q&A, he provides a look at investigatory trends and the top challenges facing clients in Germany.
Roundtable: FTI Technology Review Managers Discuss Career Growth and Being Part of a Global Team
FTI Technology’s managed document review team helps clients tackle some of their most intense, high-stakes and complex disputes and investigations. Often these matters span across numerous countries, requiring support and collaboration from cross-border teams. In this Q&A, FTI Technology review managers from the U.S. and Europe share their perspectives on this unique profession and how they ensure consistency across dispersed review teams.
Sneak Preview: FTI Technology at Relativity Fest
FTI Technology and Relativity have maintained a longstanding partnership to help bring e-discovery innovations, quality and efficiency to clients. Over the past several years, FTI Technology has expanded Relativity offerings and RelativityOne availability for clients around the world, including Germany, Ireland, Australia, Singapore, Canada and more. As part of ongoing collaboration, FTI Technology’s experts have a notable presence at the annual Relativity Fest events around the world. The flagship event in Chicago on September 25-27 will be no exception. Here's a sneak preview of FTI Technology’s news and thought leadership surrounding Relativity Fest this fall.
How Research and Experimentation with Generative Artificial Intelligence is Advancing Efficiencies in Legal Use Cases
FTI Technology’s data innovation lab leads research, development and testing for disruptive solutions. Working with advanced machine learning and analytic technologies, the team is charting the strategic direction for generative artificial intelligence in legal services. FTI Technology experts involved in this testing and development work recently hosted legal industry experts in Dubai to discuss the benefits of AI experimentation and participate in live, hands on lab testing. This post shares key insights from the event.
Q&A: Erika Namnath Delivers Insights on Microsoft 365 Change Management
Joining FTI Technology as a Managing Director in 2024, Erika Namnath has nearly 20 years of wide-ranging experience in e-discovery and information governance. Erika has supported multinational clients in scaling projects and establishing consistent practices that can adapt to changing environments and client challenges. In this Q&A, Erika discusses her approach to collaboration and aligning teams across cross-functional goals and initiatives. She also shares best practices for successfully driving change management for Microsoft 365 implementations and enhancements.
Q&A: Michelle Todescato-Chan Champions Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in E-Discovery
Senior Director Michelle Todescato-Chan is an e-discovery expert and mentor within FTI Technology. In addition to supporting many of the firm’s high-stakes, high-pressure disputes and investigations engagements, Michelle serves as an active leader in diversity, inclusion and belonging initiatives. In this Q&A, Michelle discusses her journey as a mentor and advocate and shares personal experiences as a woman and immigrant working in the industry in the U.S. and Latin America.
Q&A: The Importance of Due Diligence in Digital Assets Investing
Jessica de Brignac is a Managing Director in the Blockchain and Digital Assets practice, with more than 20 years of experience in emerging technology, digital risk management, data governance and e-discovery. Having led teams supporting high-profile crypto industry bankruptcies, due diligence assessments for acquisitions involving crypto companies, landmark NFT IP litigation and investigations of digital assets, Jessica has deep expertise at the intersection of blockchain innovation and legal and regulatory risk. In this Q&A, she shares her perspectives on due diligence in blockchain and digital assets, including lessons learned from previous industry problems and areas organizations need to focus on in the diligence process.
Q&A: Renato Fazzone Discusses Technology Challenges in High-Stakes Investigations Across the DACH Region
In this Q&A, Senior Managing Director Renato Fazzone, who will play a lead role in this engagement, discusses how data and technology changes are making e-discovery and digital forensic investigations more challenging for clients.
Q&A: Karli Parker Discusses the Changing E-Discovery Landscape
Karli Parker, Senior Director, is an e-discovery expert based in Ireland with significant expertise in domestic and global disputes and investigations. She was recently promoted to Senior Director. In this Q&A, she shares her experience in e-discovery and FTI Technology’s strengths in Ireland.
Q&A: Jack Fletcher Discusses Looming Data Privacy Deadlines in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is expected to start full enforcement of the country’s Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) in September 2024. In this Q&A, Jack Fletcher, an FTI Technology privacy expert in the Middle East region, shares his perspectives on the current state of readiness among most organisations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Navigating Large-Scale Document Productions in Global Merger Reviews
FTI Technology’s Andrew Johnston and Laura Kippin, have teamed up with experts at Weil Gotshal to highlight the top five issues to consider when navigating the complexities of document production in parallel merger processes.
Establishing a Successful Compliance Triumvirate Through Technology, Data Management and Human Behavior
Data risks and the ongoing growth of cloud-based communications within enterprises continue to present challenges for compliance teams in the financial services sector. Whereas communications data was once stored and managed in centralized servers within the walls of enterprise data centers, now much of the data that financial services institutions are required to preserve, monitor and report against is stored across a myriad of platforms outside the perimeter of the enterprise and without robust compliance controls. Meanwhile, regulatory authorities worldwide are increasingly focused on gaps in institutions’ ability to uphold robust compliance programs and fulfill their records management requirements.
Canadian Privacy Update: Changes to Privacy and Cybersecurity Laws May Tighten Data Protection Compliance in Canada
Our team recently shared insights on the impending changes to Canadian privacy law. While the changes remain in committee within Canadian Parliament, they continue to be important developments for organizations to watch and prepare for the implications of their passage.
Q&A: Lily Wen Offers Insights on the Fundamentals of Effective Case Management
As a Managing Director within FTI Technology, Lily Wen has more than 16 years of experience advising and supporting clients on the use of technology in e-discovery, legal hold management and data management. She knows the ins and outs of the technology industry — what works best, how to make improvements and ways to ensure everyone on the team has a voice. We caught up with Lily recently about her practice and leadership style. In this Q&A, she shares her thoughts on how to be most successful as a project management leader.
Q&A: Scott Margolis Advocates for Value-Driven Information Governance and Privacy Programs
Scott Margolis recently joined FTI Technology as a Managing Director within the Information Governance, Privacy & Security practice, bringing more than two decades of experience developing innovative strategies and solutions for organizations to address complex information governance issues. His expertise spans a wide range of IG, privacy and data governance issues in financial services, transportation, logistics, energy and other industries. In this Q&A, Scott discusses the importance of proactive governance programs that are designed to derive value and insights from corporate data.
New Developments in Case Law Underscore Complexities of Linked Content
What responsibility do parties have to produce files linked in communications? A court ruling in April 2024 has advanced the ongoing debate around whether hyperlinked content and dynamic documents should be treated the same as static attachments in discovery. While a clear, court-approved answer to this question has remained elusive, this ruling outlines obligations for parties to identify and produce linked content in context with the communications where the link was shared.
Q&A: Thuy Nguyen Shares Top Trends and Language Requirements in Managed Review
Thuy Nguyen, FTI Technology Senior Director based in London, is a managed document review leader and experienced attorney of more than 10 years. Thuy has worked on dozens of large and complicated investigations, many of which involve unique data challenges and language complexities that require specialised oversight. In this Q&A, she discusses the latest trends, challenges and solutions for managed document review.
How Find Facts Fast Reduces Risk in Time-Pressed Merger Reviews
Notorious for their tight deadlines and high stakes, merger clearance reviews (including second requests) require organizations to process, review and produce large quantities of documents in a matter of only weeks or months. Recent activity and guidance across regulatory agencies in many jurisdictions worldwide have established a pattern of more aggressive, time intensive and costly clearance processes. This is occurring in tandem with an uptick in data volumes, stringent antitrust enforcement and an increase in the frequency of post-merger actions.
Generative AI: Near Term Opportunities to Enhance Human Insight and Efficiency in Legal Use Cases
FTI Technology’s data innovation lab leads research, development and testing for disruptive technologies. With a long track record of working with advanced machine learning and analytic technologies, the team is increasingly evaluating generative artificial intelligence and the role of large language models such as ChatGPT in disputes and investigations, compliance and other use cases. Several FTI Technology experts who are involved in this testing and development work recently hosted legal industry colleagues in London to discuss practical generative AI applications and participate in live, hands on lab testing. This article captures key takeaways from the event.
Understanding the Intersection of Compliance and Generative AI
When Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco spoke at the American Bar Association’s National Institute on White Collar Crime in March, she clarified the department’s views on the role of artificial intelligence in committing, monitoring for and prosecuting against corporate crime. A key point was that legal and compliance teams should be proactive about the use of AI within their organizations as a potential source of risk, and that the DOJ may take action against organizations for failing to properly monitor and govern AI use.
Q&A: Joanne Dickson Discusses How FTI Technology Recruits and Retains Top Talent for Managed Review Projects
Joanne Dickson is a Recruiting Manager at FTI Consulting, with 14 years of recruitment expertise. She leads a growing team focused on talent sourcing for document review projects throughout EMEIA. With experience working with top, international law firms on high profile investigations, Jo can staff teams of experienced, qualified lawyers to manage projects of any size or complexity, including foreign language experts. In this Q&A, Jo shares insights for recruiting the right managed review professionals to deliver the best results consistently and quickly.
The Disarray of U.S. Data Privacy and Protection Laws: History Repeats
The broad variation in state privacy and data regulations is leading to more challenges for privacy and data protection professionals; obligations are growing and it is going to become more costly for businesses that are engaged in interstate or global commerce to maintain compliance.
Celebrating International Women’s Day: Women Across FTI Technology Champion Impact and Change
Today, women and allies around the world will join together to celebrate International Women’s Day. It’s an opportunity for us to reflect on our collective success and honor the hard work so many have dedicated to the pursuit of progress. This holiday is also an opportunity to reflect on where change is still needed, what steps can be taken to further accelerate opportunity for women across countless disciplines, industries and geographies.
Digital Transformation in the Age of NFTs: Exploration of Innovation in Customer Engagement
The digital epoch has ushered businesses into an innovative realm where technology isn't merely a tool, but an ecosystem. This is especially true in customer service, as tech-savvy consumers have come to expect high standards for the experience and engagement they receive when purchasing products and services. As the algorithmic capabilities of artificial intelligence continue to advance, innovation continues around the use of NFTs and other technological innovations emerge, the path to customer engagement is being rewritten.
How Lessons Learned from Digital Assets Investigations Can Inform and Improve Fraud Prevention Strategies
Tens of billions of dollars in digital assets have been subjected to theft, fraud and other misappropriation over the last several years. Such incidents often trigger lengthy disputes, litigation, regulatory inquiry and/or asset recovery efforts, all of which require complex digital forensics investigations to uncover facts and evidence.
Q&A: Pixel Tracking Sparks Litigation Under Unexpected Laws
Several high profile cases this year have shone a spotlight on the increasing scrutiny over the use of advertising tracking technology. These cases are likely just the beginning of what experts believe will be a significant surge in U.S. enforcement against the exploitation of personal information for marketing, advertising and targeting purposes. In this Q&A, Managing Director and data privacy expert Andrew Shaxted discusses the enforcement and litigation activity around pixel tracking, specifically how formerly obscure laws are being wielded to pursue civil litigation and class actions against companies in a wide range of industries.
Q&A: For Risk Management Veteran Jonathan Prewitt, Excellence in Governance, Risk and Compliance is No Panacea
Jonathan Prewitt recently joined FTI Technology’s Risk & Compliance practice to support clients with governance, risk and compliance projects and technology selection. He brings more than 20 years of experience in risk management, which began with intelligence collection, analysis and reporting as a cryptologist in the U.S. Navy. In this Q&A, he shares his background, perspectives on the importance of GRC and why programs must be customized for each organization, dependent upon their size, risk profile, industry and other factors.
What 2024 Holds for Blockchain and Digital Assets
Since the dawn of blockchain, each year has brought a flurry of excitement, unfulfilled hype, disruption, setback and innovation. The coming year will be no exception. Organizations have an opportunity to engage in emerging opportunities by watching developments closely and implementing risk-conscious strategies for pilot projects and investments in blockchain and digital assets.
Global Investigations Review Feature: Massimo Chiasera of Bär & Karrer and FTI Technology’s Jerry Lay Discuss Deepfakes in Litigation and Investigations
The global hype around generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT is larger, fiercer, and more speculative than many of the previous waves of technological disruption. However, the current fascination with ChatGPT's text-based language capabilities often overlooks the equally impactful and potentially riskier content AI can generate in the form of audio, text, video and images.
Bitcoin ETF Approval Stokes Reinvigorated Institutional Excitement for Cryptocurrency
Today, in a landmark moment for the digital assets ecosystem, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first ever Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund). This highly anticipated decision opens a door for traditional finance (TradFi) institutions to pursue additional revenue streams by offering SEC-approved crypto investments to clients. Many industry watchers and financial analysts expected the approval to come through, in part due to the potential for it to drive billions of dollars into the market.
Rising to the Challenge: Mastering Data Breach Response Amid Ransomware
Corporate ransomware threats have increased in frequency and severity in recent years. Accordingly, ransomware attacks are changing too. To place these developments in context, and to offer recommendations to organisations facing operational and technical challenges in responding to data breaches, FTI Consulting’s Sonia Cheng and David Dunn participated in a panel discussion as part of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) Data Protection Congress 2023.
Q&A: Vished Kumar Explains How Developers Are Transforming Legal Operations
Vished Kumar was recently brought on board as a Senior Director within FTI Technology to support the growing corporate legal operations suite of solutions and services. After nearly a decade of prior collaborations between Vished and FTI Technology’s experts, there was a mutual opportunity for him to become part of the internal team. In this Q&A, Vished discusses his background, his practice, and the synergy between his previous consulting platform and FTI Technology’s practice.
Q&A: Helping Clients Drive Technology and Business Value Through Blockchain Solutions
The experts within FTI Technology’s Blockchain & Digital Assets Practice know the industry is so much more than cryptocurrency and tokens. The technology can be used to solve countless problems, increase transparency across legacy processes and enable meaningful automation. Managing Director Sam Davies is an engineer, software designer and innovator committed to building blockchain-based solutions that solve client challenges in creative and unexpected ways. He holds multiple patents in user interfaces for multimedia archives, audio analysis and emotion extraction from text. In this Q&A, Sam discusses his practice and his views of the future of blockchain.
ISO 31700: A New Standard for Operationalising Privacy by Design
When the International Standards Organisation (ISO) published the new standard ISO 31700 earlier this year, it established a clearer set of practical guidelines for effective Privacy by Design (PbD) programmes. PbD, a hallmark of data privacy best practice, is an approach built upon seven guiding principles that aim to employ a privacy-first attitude, whereby privacy is seamlessly integrated into products, services and system designs by default. While the previous PbD principles provided a foundation, they lacked clear rules, methodologies and use-case examples for how to apply PbD in practice, leaving many organisations uncertain about how to employ an effective approach. ISO 31700 is intended to remedy that.
Q&A: Albert Soler Discusses the Digital Forensics Field in Spain
Albert Soler is a Director within the FTI Technology team in Spain, and an experienced digital forensics and e-discovery professional who helps clients uncover insights from digital evidence. In this Q&A, he discusses how emerging data sources are impacting the practice of digital forensics and e-discovery.
Q&A: Amanda Bailey Discusses U.K. Black History Month
October is Black History Month in the U.K. In honour of this important month and as part of FTI Technology’s commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion and belonging, we’re elevating the voices of Black colleagues across the organisation. By engaging in candid conversations about racial bias, social injustice and workplace inequality, our professionals look to collectively contribute to meaningful worldwide change.
This Q&A with Amanda Bailey, a Senior Executive Assistant based in Dubai covers Amanda’s heritage and career path, as well as what Black History Month means to her.
Q&A: How Synergy Across the Investigation Lifecycle Alleviates Common Challenges
Florian Johanny, a Director within FTI Technology in Germany, has nearly a decade of experience handling legal and document review challenges in complex matters in Germany, Spain and across Europe. He supports clients with all phases of e-discovery and document review for high-stakes investigations, litigation, merger clearance reviews and data subject access requests. In this Q&A, he discusses the connection points between each phase of an investigation, and how the nature of these matters today has made technology an imperative.
Placing Emerging Data at the Centre of Investigations Strategy
On November 1, FTI Technology’s emerging data and digital forensics experts will join a panel alongside Emily Agnoli, Partner, Simmons & Simmons, and Chris Pell, Director, eDiscovery & Data Advisory, Standard Chartered Bank, to discuss the risks and impacts of emerging data sources in disputes and investigations. This blog previews some of the topics the panel will cover during the session.
UAE Financial Crime and Investigations Pulse Check
A recent announcement from the United Arab Emirates attorney general confirmed the government is moving forward with plans to establish special prosecution entities for financial crimes. This step is a continuation and escalation of the UAE’s efforts to increase investigations and prosecutions into abuse of the financial sector and other ancillary channels of illicit flows. It also aligns to the government’s “Forward Economy” and “Forward Ecosystem” strategies to advance as a global leader in economic and judicial strength.
What the PCPD’s Data Breach Guidance Means for Impacted Organizations
Due to the frequency, sophistication, and severity of cyber attacks, coupled with data privacy concerns, proper cybersecurity protections and programs, including a data breach response plan, are critical to mitigate cyber and privacy risks and maintain business operations.
Key Issues to Watch in Private Equity M&A
Given that the private equity sector has tripled in size during the last decade, and PE-backed deal volume continues to rise, the intersection between M&A and PE investment is notably shifting. New variables in dealmaking processes, regulatory oversight and financial valuation are creating a number of risks and additional steps PE investors need to be aware of.
The Missing Links in Modern E-Discovery
Productivity suites like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace have transformed the ways in which people collaborate across and share projects at work. They are also upending traditional expectations, case law and processes in e-discovery. The dynamic, cloud-based nature of today’s workplace platforms has spurred an array of complex data challenges around how electronic information is collected, processed, analyzed, reviewed and produced for litigation and investigations.
Anticipated Changes to Canadian Privacy and Cybersecurity Laws Raise the Bar for Data Protection Compliance
Canadian Parliament is expected to be nearing the passage of the Digital Charter Implementation Act (Bill C-27) and the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act (Bill C-26), laws that would simultaneously strengthen data privacy and data protection requirements in Canada and replace or amend other existing regulations, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Data Privacy for Financial Services Organisations in Saudi Arabia: The Countdown to Compliance
In July 2023, Implementing Regulations to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Regulation (PDPL) were released and subject to a one-month consultation period. The Implementing Regulations supplement recent amendments to the PDPL, which were approved in March 2023, and together these signal close alignment with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Key principles to that end include similar adequacy and data transfer mechanisms, breach notification timelines and the introduction of a legitimate interest basis for processing personal data.
Q&A: Eoghan O’Mahony on How Evolving Market Trends Are Shaping the Document Review Landscape
Eoghan O’Mahony, a Senior Director and disputes and investigations expert in Ireland, explains how building a cohesive team around each client engagement is critical to handle complex document review effectively, especially as the size and scope of matters continues to increase.
Event Preview: How the General Counsel of the Future Will Balance Digital Risk and Other Complex Issues
Technology and innovation make the world a smaller, more connected and more efficient place. But for the modern general counsel , the rapid advancement of technologies has also created a new spectrum of risks and demands for which many legal departments lack the internal resources or expertise to navigate. For example, in the 2023 General Counsel Report from FTI Technology and Relativity, 56% of legal department leaders listed data-related risk as their top concern, and more than half expressed concerns over the impact of unsanctioned uses of emerging data sources, such as cloud-based platforms and third-party communications channels that are hosted outside the perimeter of the enterprise.
Looking Back and Ahead at The General Counsel Report for EMEIA
The role of the general counsel has changed significantly in the last three years, and more change is underway. As chief legal officers have become more squarely established as strategic business leaders, they have also taken on more responsibility and a wider field of issues for which they act as key decision makers. While this change is beneficial to reducing corporate risk and improving organisational efficiencies, it has also caused legal departments to feel more strains on resources than ever before.
How Workplaces Can Help Address the Mental Health Crisis
Mental health challenges have been on the rise in recent years and research is beginning to reveal the extent to which the pandemic exacerbated the problem. The prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by more than 10% in many European countries compared to pre-covid, with some countries reporting increases of 20% or more. Several European countries reported that the population of people suffering from anxiety doubled since 2019. As people around the world grapple with these issues, workplaces have a unique responsibility and opportunity to take proactive steps to listen to people’s needs and make a difference.
Breaking Down Washington State’s My Health, My Data Act
The panorama of data privacy regulation in the U.S. has changed yet again, adding further complexity to the development and maintenance of compliant data policies and practices. Just this spring, Washington state enacted a rigorous, consent-driven law protecting personal health information. The My Health My Data Act (MHMDA) aims to prevent regulated entities from sharing protected health information without proper consumer permission or an established necessity.
Navigating the Impact of the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework
The long-awaited EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, a replacement for the former Privacy Shield agreement, has arrived. With it, organizations expect a more accessible and straightforward legal basis for conducting trans-Atlantic data flows. While this is a step in the direction toward streamlining sharing of data across borders, the reality of the framework’s requirements will continue to hold a high standard for data protections among organizations in Europe and the U.S (note, extensions for U.K. and Switzerland are pending).
A New Era of Risk Part 3: Risk and Impact of Emerging Data Sources Underestimated in Most Organizations
This blog series discusses research and trends across the spectrum of Digital Insights & Risk Management. Part 1 in the series, by Sophie Ross, defined the concept of digital risk and shared a state of the industry across the big picture of this problem space, and Part 2 focused on data privacy issues. This post discusses the disparity between belief and reality regarding emerging data sources in today’s corporate environments. It features insights from business leaders including information governance professionals and legal department leaders.
Roundtable: SEC Continues to Sweep Financial Institutions for Gaps in Data Preservation
In this Q&A, experts from across FTI Consulting discuss escalating scrutiny over “off-channel communications,” or “emerging data sources,” such as modern communications tools, collaboration platforms, personal devices and chat applications, and what financial institutions can do to either respond in the wake of charges or reduce their risk in the next crackdown.
Digital Innovations from FTI Technology: Testing the Intersection of E-Discovery and ChatGPT (Part 2)
FTI Technology’s data innovation lab leads cutting-edge research, development and testing across the most disruptive technologies. Our experts have a strong track record of creating novel solutions, workflows and practice areas in e-discovery, digital forensics, analytics, machine learning, emerging data sources, blockchain and more. This article series provides a peek behind the curtain of our ongoing work relating to the implications of ChatGPT and other large language models (LLM) in e-discovery.
Q&A: Calendaring App Clouds Data Discovery in Japanese Criminal Investigation
One of the largest law firms in Japan engaged FTI Technology to extract and preserve private cloud and personal device data from a calendaring application relating to a high profile criminal investigation. FTI Technology’s emerging data sources experts developed custom solutions to ensure a complete and defensible extraction of information from the application, despite not being compatible with existing e-discovery and digital forensics tools. In this Q&A, FTI Technology Senior Directors Suguru Yoshida and Maddy Ramasamy discuss the details of the matter and the unique digital forensics challenges involved in accessing data from the cloud calendaring application.
Q&A: Thuy Nguyen Discusses Data and Language Complexities in Managed Review
As a managed document review leader and attorney for more than 10 years, Senior Director Thuy Nguyen has worked on dozens of large and complicated investigations, many of which involve unique data challenges and language complexities that require specialised oversight. In this Q&A, Thuy discusses several recent matters that highlight the importance of quality document review and access to experienced reviewers.
Global Regulators Squeeze Merger Control as FTC Proposes Strict Revisions to Guidelines
The Federal Trade Commission, with the concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, recently entered a 60-day comment period for proposed amendments to the pre-merger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
Building a Data-Driven Compliance Program
Data is becoming central to the Department of Justice’s view of compliance programs. As recent enforcement actions show, compliance programs are expected to be inclusive of all data relevant to employee communications about work. Further, corporations are encouraged to hold employees accountable to compliance metrics and benchmarks — thus necessitating tools and data that can generate and report on those metrics.
Examining ESG Risk Part 3: Taking Action Through Data and Technology
In this series on the role of data in Environmental Social and Governance and its intersection with compliance, Al Park, Senior Managing Director and Risk & Compliance practice leader for FTI Technology, has engaged in discussion with domain experts across FTI Consulting. The series has covered some of the risks that arise when organizations overlook data in their ESG strategies and the fundamentals of measuring, managing, monitoring, improving and reporting ESG activities. In this final installment, Al joins colleagues Jake Frazier, Drew Sheehan and Steve McNew to take a closer look at some of the specific ways they are helping clients leverage data to reach their ESG objectives and requirements.
Digital Innovations from FTI Technology: Exploring the Intersection of E-Discovery and ChatGPT (Part 1)
FTI Technology’s data innovation lab is committed to leading research, development and testing at the front end of the most disruptive technologies. Our experts have a strong track record of pioneering solutions, workflows and practice areas in e-discovery, digital forensics, analytics, machine learning, emerging data sources, blockchain and more. This article is the first in a series of posts that will share findings from our labs relating to the implications of ChatGPT and other large language models (LLM) in e-discovery.
Celebrating Pride: Inclusion, Support and Advocacy Across FTI Technology
Throughout Pride month, FTI Technology employees are celebrating their ability to be wholly authentic at work. This roundtable Q&A explores diversity, inclusion and belonging for the LGBTQIA+ community at FTI Technology. Advocates including Senior Managing Director Scott Foster (Australia), Director Jason Schroen (U.K.), along with Senior Consultants Lydia House (U.S) and Emma Spencer (U.S.) discuss how they are helping to promote understanding, connection and engagement across global teams.
Seven Antitrust Trends to Watch
The world of antitrust enforcement is continuing to intensify in the U.S., and globally. In this post, experts from across our Forensic & Litigation Consulting, Technology and Strategic Communications segments discuss the key trends they are watching in the current environment and how they compare to activity over the past last year.
Redefining Data Protection in the UK
Less than three months following the European Commission’s Adequacy Decision concerning the protection of personal data by the UK under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the UK launched a proposal for significant reform of the national data protection regime. Following a period of regulatory uncertainty, businesses are seeing important steps towards clarity in the form of the draft Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. The bill aims to “boost British business, protect consumers and seize the benefits of Brexit” through several changes to the current regime.
High Stakes, Intense Pressure: Balancing Cost and Value in Large Document Reviews
Competence in e-discovery and document review has become a persistent and resounding theme throughout global litigation and regulatory investigations. Failures to preserve and produce relevant evidence in a timely manner have made headlines across the U.K., Europe and the U.S. in the past year, often with severe consequences.
Q&A: Iliana Jaeger Brings Legal and Digital Forensics Expertise to Growing Switzerland Practice
FTI Technology announced its official entry into Switzerland in late 2022. Shortly after establishing the new presence, Iliana Jaeger joined as a Managing Director, focusing on disputes and investigations. In this Q&A, Iliana discusses the outlook for her practice and what issues she’s watching that may impact clients in the DACH region.
A New Era of Risk Part 2: Data Privacy Across the Enterprise
This blog series discusses research and trends across the spectrum of Digital Insights & Risk Management. Part 1 in the series, by Sophie Ross, defined the concept of digital risk and shared a state of the industry across the big picture of this problem space. This post discusses the findings relating to data privacy, and how data privacy has become a central risk focus across nearly every organization.
Alleviating Review and Analysis Challenges Across Mobile and Chat Data
The use of mobile devices, chat applications and collaboration and productivity tools have delivered significant efficiencies and opportunities for businesses. Often referred to in the e-discovery and investigations fields as emerging data sources, these systems and others, such as social media and cloud-based file sharing platforms, have been adopted by millions of users around the globe. Along with that growth, they are becoming more common as sources of evidence in disputes and investigations.
Q&A: Conor Gavin On How Chat and Apps Are Making E-Discovery More Complex
Conor Gavin, Senior Director, FTI Consulting, explains how an evolution in both remote working and the apps that people use in their professional lives is creating a whole new set of e-discovery challenges.
A Guide to Productive Data Spring Cleaning
Like it or not, spring cleaning season has arrived. Whether you’re the type to declutter your closets like Marie Kondo or are more likely to tidy a few shelves and call it a day, it’s important to remember that your organisation’s data is also likely due for a thorough clearing out.
Q&A: The Latest in Investigations and E-Discovery Trends in Spain
Irene Blasco recently joined the Technology team in Spain. With more than 14 years of experience in digital forensics, Irene is an expert in e-discovery and investigations, and has supported clients with a wide range of disputes, fraud matters and compliance issues. In this Q&A, Irene discusses her role at FTI Technology and the top challenges on the horizon that clients need to prepare for.
Digital Innovations from FTI Technology: Financial Crimes Investigations
A volatile, global business landscape continues to contribute to shifting sanctions lists and broadening definitions of what constitutes a financial crime or regulatory violation. Concerns or infractions related to various sanctions requirements can trigger complex and sensitive internal investigations and government enforcement actions that are extremely difficult for corporations to navigate and respond to.
Replacing Lawyers with Robots? A Discussion on the Ethics of AI and Machine Learning in Legal Document Review.
When Google engineer Blake Lemoine announced last year that the AI chat bot tool he had helped develop had achieved sentience, and that it possessed a soul, many people reacted with fear and concern. That wave continued with the seemingly overnight emergence of ChatGPT into the mainstream. To many, these developments seemed like science fiction come to life — that technology advancement had unwittingly crossed into an age where artificially created intelligence was on track to supersede that of its creators. The resounding question was: will this lead to mass job losses, or worse?
Set the Story Straight: How Analytics-Driven Storytelling Reduces Compliance Risk
Organizations are struggling to manage risk and compliance. A Ropes & Gray survey found that 57% of senior-level executives rank this as one of the top two risk categories they feel least prepared to address. Since that survey, regulators around the world have ratcheted up their enforcement efforts — the SEC announced a more aggressive approach (and reported a 7% increase in enforcement actions from 2020 to 2021), the DOJ issued statements about its revitalized intentions to “be bold” against white-collar crime, the FTC is placing greater scrutiny on the relationship between market dominance and consumer data privacy harm and countless authorities around the globe have issued new regulations relating to digital assets, security, privacy, AI and more.
Regulatory Update: New Privacy and Security Requirements Loom Under FTC Safeguards Rule
On June 9, the Federal Trade Commission’s updates to the Safeguards Rule within the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s (GLBA) will take effect. This leaves organizations regulated by GLBA with only roughly two months remaining to ensure they’ve taken the steps necessary to meet new data privacy and security requirements for customer information.
How to Implement a Sustainable Information Governance Framework
We live in a world with rapidly accelerating data volumes, and in which data sources are becoming more complex all the time. With the rise of unstructured data sources such as videos, audio files and instant messages, business teams have an unprecedented data landscape to contend with. In parallel, many businesses are holding onto an ever-increasing universe of data, often without a holistic strategy to manage information and reduce digital risk. The result is an environment in which risks abound, costs soar and business agility is hampered.
How GDPR Programs May Serve as a Springboard for KSA PDPL Compliance
The Personal Data Protection Law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA PDPL) was amended in December 2022 to closely align to the requirements within the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and these amendments were accepted in March of this year with the new enforcement date being September 2023. With these latest developments, many multi-national organisations will need to develop new policies and procedures, conduct data protection impact assessments and implement updated governance models, among other compliance activities.
Critical Data Breach Preparedness to Implement Now
A data breach can happen to any company. Statistically, it will most likely happen at some point. Businesses are increasingly digitised, and more and more devices are recording, processing and storing data. Knowing the different attack windows and vectors is important, so that proper protections can be implemented. Equally important is that organisations know what to do when a data breach occurs.
A New Era of Risk: Defining Digital Insights & Risk Management
Everything in business today involves data or creates implications for it. And as data has become the foundation for modern commerce and communication, digital risk has quite rapidly surpassed all other areas of corporate risk as not just a major concern, but as the major concern.
Q&A: Measuring the Effectiveness of Compliance Programs Through Data
In FTI Technology’s recent report on Digital Insights & Risk Management, 76% of business leaders who are involved in information governance decision making said that they had experienced a significant or moderate increase in regulatory activity over the past 12 months. In the same report, more than one-third of chief legal, compliance and risk respondents said they expect new regulations, new enforcement priorities and employment issues to be the leading drivers of increased disputes and investigations in the coming year. These issues, alongside other global digital risk factors, are prompting risk and compliance officers to take a closer look at their approaches to compliance monitoring, enforcement and response. Often though, there isn’t a straightforward way to evaluate the effectiveness of compliance programs.
Understanding How Emerging Data Sources Impact Governance, Risk, Compliance and Discovery
Organisations are using an ever-increasing array of productivity and collaboration tools. Worldwide, and particularly in India, remote and hybrid work settings have led to accelerating data volumes and a rapid change in the modes and platforms used for business. While increasing use and divergence of “emerging” data sources — i.e., cloud-based systems, productivity suites, collaboration applications, etc. — are boosting productivity and flexible work, there are also significant data risk implications.
Deriving Data-Driven Value and Managing Risk Takes Commitment: FTI Technology’s Data Innovation
Digital information has become the nucleus of the modern enterprise. Organizations today must concurrently build value (leverage data-driven opportunities) and manage risk (build governance, compliance and control into every business function). The risk-mitigating, cost saving and revenue generating activities that can be derived from corporate digital information are material. This is precisely why FTI Technology invests in a global team of experts who are dedicated to digital engineering across the spectrum of corporate risk.
Q&A: FTI Technology’s Blockchain and Digital Assets Team Expands in the Middle East
Jorge Carrasco, a blockchain and digital assets expert with hands-on experience in emerging technologies, Web3 and advanced technical deployments, recently joined FTI Technology’s growing Blockchain and Digital Assets practice, as a Managing Director in Dubai. In this Q&A, Jorge discusses the opportunities and risks organisations in the Middle East should be thinking about as they explore metaverse, Web3 and other blockchain-based applications.
Examining ESG Risk Part 2: Technology as the Link Between ESG and Business Strategy
In this Q&A, Al Park, Senior Managing Director and Risk & Compliance practice leader for FTI Technology, and Miriam Wrobel, Senior Managing Director and FTI Consulting’s Global Leader of Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) and Sustainability, discuss how ESG requirements intersect with compliance. They also cover the fundamentals of measuring, managing, monitoring, improving and reporting ESG activities. In Part 1 of this series, Al explained that data plays an integral role in the ESG ecosystem, and discussed some of the risks that arise when organizations overlook data in their ESG strategies. This installment covers this concept in more detail and explains how technology helps align data to ESG objectives.
Q&A: Clara Kaplan Bolsters Fraud and Investigations Expertise for Technology Team in Brazil
Clara Kaplan recently joined the growing Technology team in Latin America, as a Director in Brazil. With roughly two decades of experience in consulting and investigations, Clara’s addition to the team expands upon FTI Technology’s existing digital forensics and e-discovery capabilities in the region. In this Q&A, Clara discusses her background and her outlook for investigations trends on the horizon.
Digital Forensics Fundamentals: Successful Preservation of Evidence
Digital forensics uncovers, analyses and can be used to reconstruct criminal activity. An essential part of this, is the digital preservation of evidence. Data from relevant areas must be collected, documented and processed in an effective and defensible way. This article explores the evolution of digital forensics in an era when the volumes and variety of data have grown beyond expectation and how organizations can prepare for a potential investigation.
2023 Predictions Part Two: Navigating the Complexities of Data in EMEIA
In Part One of this predictions series, Jake Frazier discussed the current and impending state of the data landscape and shared predictions from FTI Technology experts across North America on some of the key areas that demonstrate how digital risk is intersecting with technology advancement. This post continues the discussion, with input from technology experts across Europe, the Middle East, India and North Africa.
A Discussion of Mastering Risk and Compliance for Legal Departments
FTI Technology Senior Managing Directors David Meadows and Al Park recently joined the Canadian Legal Innovation Forum (CANLIF) for its “Fall Webinar Series” to discuss mastering risk for legal operations in an evolving risk landscape. Chaired by ADB Insights Founder Andrew Bowyer, the panel also included Loblaw Companies Limited Senior Director Jennifer Jobanputra and Eckler Ltd. General Counsel Rustam (Rusty) Juma. This blog focuses on FTI Technology’s insights, and a look at best practices for anticipating and responding to risk.
Q&A: FTI Technology Expands Across DACH, Builds Momentum in Switzerland
In late 2022, FTI Technology announced its expansion into Switzerland, launching a full presence in the region and the addition of Jerry Lay as Senior Managing Director and country lead for the segment. With Switzerland serving as a gateway for international and EU business, and persisting as a highly regulated country with a competitive economy, multinational corporations doing business in Switzerland require strong support and programmes across information governance, privacy, compliance, disputes and investigations and other critical risk areas. In this Q&A, Jerry discusses these issues and his plan for serving clients in the region.
2023 Predictions Part One: The Year of Data, AI, Blockchain…or Everything?
Data has moved to center stage. Ongoing evolution in the way people work and communicate, increasing global regulatory enforcement across areas including data privacy requirements, antitrust compliance, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures, has underscored the importance of managing data origin, lineage, transparency, management, transmission and more. The need to derive insights from data to remain competitive has spurred an urgent focus on improving visibility and understanding of enterprise, employee and consumer information.
Q&A: Stu Craft Discusses Legal Tech Innovation
Innovation means many things to different people. At FTI Technology, innovation is about collaboration, foreseeing problems before they arise and creating solutions that can be leveraged proactively to help clients reduce risk. In this Q&A, Managing Director and e-discovery expert Stu Craft discusses how he sees innovation progressing in the legal technology space.
Insider Risk Management in Microsoft 365
Insider threats are on the rise. Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum named malicious insider activity as one of the top three risks to governance, compliance and security. Moreover, an average of 4 million Americans quit their jobs each month this year. This high rate of turnover, combined with an already rife insider risk landscape, is exposing corporations to an increased rate of IP theft, contract violations, non-compliance, litigation, data breach and more. In turn, efficient and data-driven processes for proactive compliance monitoring and internal investigation are becoming ever more important.
Principles for Negotiating with Regulators in Second Request Discovery
Very few things can incite more stress and urgency for legal and compliance teams than an HSR Second Request. Notorious for their tight deadlines and high stakes, second requests require organizations to process, review and produce large quantities of documents in a matter of only weeks or months. Failure to properly comply can result in significant delays to M&A proceedings.
Proliferating Data Sources and Collaboration Tools have Moved the Goalposts for Investigations
Advances in digital technology bring new risks, and the need for new solutions to manage them. Deciphering events and gaining insights means that the discovery process must be as fluid as the digital natives who move intuitively across those platforms. Connecting cross-platform data to build a complete picture has never been more challenging, nor more urgent.
MiCAR: An Overview of Everything Important About the Crypto Regulatory Framework
Agreed upon text for MiCAR, Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, was published by the European Council in October 2022, with expectations that the regulation will be ratified in early 2023. Once approved, the law will come into force within 20 days and regulatated entities will have between 12-18 months to establish compliance. This raises significant questions for how organisations can deal with cryptocurrencies, how NFTs will be regulated and when the new regulatory framework will apply. This article discusses the key points.
Money Laundering Prevention: Obligations for Financial Institutions
Money laundering risks are among the most significant risks in the financial markets. In a recent study, Transparency International estimated the volume of money laundering in Germany at up to €100 billion annually. In 2021, the police in Germany recorded 14,785 cases of money laundering, according to Statista. This was an increase of more than 5,000 from the previous year. The number of reports received by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the central office for financial transaction investigations, regarding suspected money laundering also doubled last year compared to 2020. Financial institutions are particularly affected by these trends. Effective money laundering prevention is the only way for them to protect against the risks of these criminal enterprises.
Q&A: Inés Rubio on Addressing Perpetually Shifting Data Challenges
Inés Rubio, Senior Director within FTI Technology in Ireland, was recently named as winner of the Security award in the Relativity Innovation Awards. In this Q&A, she explains how a constantly evolving data landscape creates risk and opportunity for businesses, and what should be top of mind in the year ahead.
Q&A: Erica Albertson Leverages Deep Understanding of Legal Processes to Overcome E-Discovery Challenges
Erica Albertson brings more than 15 years of law firm e-discovery management experience across the U.S., EU, and U.K. to FTI Technology. As part of FTI Technology’s E-Discovery Consulting and Services practice in EMEA, her hands-on technological expertise provides clients with technology-led approaches to discovery exercises that solve complex problems in legal disputes and investigations. In this Q&A, Erica discusses challenges in modern e-discovery and her views on the most impactful technology solutions to achieve efficient, defensible, cost-effective discovery.
Trends to Watch in Canadian Competition Law
The Canadian government has recently implemented numerous amendments to the Competition Act. Some changes went into force earlier this year, while others are impending in June 2023. Several of the recently enacted amendments are rife with implications for how organizations monitor and access electronically stored information. Organizations that are working to take a proactive approach to compliance must now consider the impact ever-expanding volumes of ESI will have on their ability to monitor behaviour that may indicate violations as per the provisions recently added to the Competition Act.
A Discussion of Recent Changes to Electronic Discovery Best Practices in Canada
FTI Technology Senior Director Michael Lalande joined the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS) for a virtual discussion of key changes in “The Sedona Canada Principles Addressing Electronic Discovery, Third Edition.” This fall, Sedona Canada, “Working Group 7” of The Sedona Conference, published its latest edition, with previous iterations recognized by federal and provincial courts as an authoritative source of guidance for Canadian legal practitioners. A member of Sedona Canada, Michael is helping evolve electronic discovery best practices in an evolving world. This post provides an overview of the latest changes to the Sedona guidelines in Canada, and the key points covered in the recent ACEDS event.
Data Subject Requests and the GDPR: Steps to Prepare
Citizens in the E.U. have the right to request information about the storage of their personal data (GDPR Article 15). Many make good use of it. Similarly, in the U.K., citizens can pursue a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) under the U.K. Data Protection Act. These requests for information by data subjects, whether individuals, customers, suppliers or authorities, can cause companies great distress — unless they are prepared to respond to them fully, on time and in a manner that builds trust with customers, employees and partners.
How Cryptocurrency Intersects with Fraud Investigations
The post-pandemic workplace has dramatically changed both information governance and the employee/employer relationship. With new remote models and changing philosophies towards work, organizational data is more vulnerable than ever before. Control, understanding and action are the keys to managing data, whether that includes PII or trade secrets. and a combination of technology and policy tools are required to ensure the organization is prepared and protected, and that data can be recovered and secured.
Examining ESG Risk Part 1: Adding 'D' for Data, Into ESG
In the latest General Counsel Report from FTI Technology and Relativity, 65% of general counsel surveyed listed environmental, social and governance (ESG) within their top five risk areas for the coming year. Indeed, ESG standards, practices and enforcement are gaining significant traction within the hearts and minds of corporate leaders and governments around the globe. Yet so much in this space — including governing frameworks, ratings, metrics, priorities, etc. — remains undefined. There is a wide range of interpretations around even what is included within ESG or what organizations are required to fulfill as part of their ESG obligations. In this Q&A series, Al Park, Senior Managing Director and Risk & Compliance practice leader for FTI Technology, discusses how ESG intersects with compliance and the integral role data plays in measuring, managing, monitoring, improving and reporting ESG activities.
Enterprise Blockchain and the Future of Energy: Q&A with Mark Cole, USD Group
Steve McNew, Senior Managing Director and Global Leader for FTI Technology’s Blockchain & Digital Assets practice, is one of the industry’s foremost experts in enterprise blockchain, cryptocurrency and the future of the digital assets space. He recently spoke with Mark Cole, Co-General Counsel and Secretary at USD Group LLC, an energy infrastructure solutions provider, about a range of topics, including blockchain opportunities in the energy industry, the importance of innovation during disruptive periods and ESG considerations.
Q&A: Baron Zhao Discusses Client Risks and Opportunities in the Asia Pacific Region
Baron Zhao recently joined as a Managing Director in Hong Kong to build upon FTI Technology’s existing capabilities and ensure clients can solve difficult problems across disputes, investigations, information governance and other areas of digital risks. Baron has extensive experience advising clients across a wide range of large-scale and complex matters, including cross-border litigations and disputes, digital investigations, risk assessment and regulatory inquiries across multiple jurisdictions including the U.S., mainland China and Hong Kong. In this Q&A, Baron offers his view on the digital risk challenges and trends clients are facing in the Asia Pacific region.
Q&A: Heber Hernandez and Gustavo Lopez Discuss Mentorship, Opportunities for Young Professionals and Diversity
Recently, Senior Consultant Heber Hernandez and Consultant Gustavo Lopez participated as speakers during FTI Consulting’s “Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Leaders Share Interviewing Tips” event. More than 140 young professionals and college students who identify as diverse — many from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions — gathered online to learn about enhancing professional development and interview skills from FTI Consulting’s team. Heber and Gustavo shared their experiences and provided mentoring sessions as part of the event. In this Q&A, they share insights from the event, as well as their perspectives on diversity, inclusion and belonging at FTI Technology.
Event Preview: Discussing Merger Control Uncertainties at the Advanced EU Competition Law Conference
Merger control guidelines in Europe and around the world are continuing to shift. Organisations are facing a range of uncertainties in terms of how government authorities are handling current business, regulatory and economic turbulence, and what the implications will be for merger clearance decisions.
Is Blockchain Technology the Answer to the Supply Chain Act?
The past decade has seen an increase, globally, in the scrutinization of corporate supply chains, specifically those involving material sourcing and labour practices. The passing of the German Supply Chain Act in June 2021 is one milestone step in response to public outcry for companies to better monitor and remediate human rights and environmental risks in their supply chains. At a practical level, however, providing such transparency, maintaining efficiency and operationalising new regulatory requirements will be challenging for many organisations. As new supply chain reporting practices and obligations scale up, blockchain technology offers a promising solution to facilitate and automate transparency, security and enhanced communication with regulatory bodies and partners.
Legal Transformation Playbook: Reducing Risk Through Operational Change
With government oversight and enforcement ramping worldwide, multi-national organisations are under extreme pressure to manage regulatory and legal exposure. In FTI Consulting’s Resilience Barometer, only 16% of business leaders at large organisations across the G20 said they do not expect their organisations to experience an investigation. At the same time, the visibility and use of non-traditional, or emerging, data sources is continuing to skyrocket, driving tremendous growth in the volume and variety of data — and subsequent risk — within organisations.
Q&A: Ana Jankov Joins FTI Technology to Help Clients Implement Data Protection Programmes
Ana Jankov recently joined FTI Technology’s Information Governance, Privacy & Security (IGP&S) practice in Brussels as a Senior Director. As a data protection lawyer and with 15 years of experience in data privacy, she advises clients on a wide range of information security and privacy issues. In this Q&A, Ana explains her view of the current challenges in the data protection space and how businesses can proactively address the related risks.
Australia is Getting Serious About Penalties for Privacy Enforcement – Boardrooms, Take Notice
In the wake of a flurry of high profile data breaches in the local telecoms and healthcare sectors, the Australian Government announced on 22 October 2022 that it was moving quickly to increase financial penalties under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Attorney General, the Hon. Mark Dreyfus MP, tabled the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022 (the Bill) on 26 October 2022
Nine Tips to Achieve Secure IT Infrastructure
Despite a steadily increasing risk landscape, many organisations continue to struggle to fully address information security vulnerabilities within their IT infrastructure. Many companies have outdated IT environments that have evolved through the addition of more and more systems, leading to an architecture that can become very difficult to navigate and protect. When security incidents, government enquiries and compliance violations arise, a poorly managed data environment can become a significant problem.
Q&A: Stu Craft Finds Balance in Consulting, Life and Parenting
Stu Craft joined the team in EMEA earlier this year as a Managing Director, bringing more than a decade of software development and e-discovery experience. We sat down with him previously to discuss the ways he’s helping clients solve data issues. Outside of work, Stu is a father of two, and a dedicated advocate for the importance of finding balance between life and work. In this Q&A, he reflects on his first six months at FTI Technology, specifically how they have affected his life as a working parent, and offers his perspective on the resources FTI Technology offers to help employees maintain balance.
ILTACON Debrief: E-Discovery and Data Whiplash
ILTACON 2022 wrapped up just weeks ago, and if there’s one resounding theme that’s stuck with most attendees, it’s that the future is now. With the first two days keynoted by business futurist Patrick Schwerdtfeger, the conference firmly set a focus on disruption, transformation and technology advancement.
Q&A: Todd Ruback On the Future of Digital Marketing in a Privacy-Centric World
Todd Ruback, Managing Director, is an experienced data privacy leader within FTI Technology’s Information Governance, Privacy and Security (IGP&S) practice. He advises clients on privacy and data protection issues, with a specific focus on consent and preference management and governance related to Advertising Technology (AdTech), privacy and digital advertising. He has 17 years of experience in privacy and 11 years working directly at the intersection of AdTech, privacy and digital advertising. In this Q&A, Todd discusses his specialized area of data privacy and offers a view of the changing landscape.
Recent Developments in the U.K. Courts Underscore the Perils of DIY E-Discovery
Two recent developments in the U.K. courts have brought the issue of self-serve e-discovery back into the spotlight. In late July, the England and Wales High Court issued a more than £500,000 penalty to a defendant for failing to fully produce relevant documents and fulfil e-discovery obligations in a patent litigation. Also in July, the Business and Property Courts approved the Disclosure Working Pilot, which as part of the permanent disclosure regime will strengthen requirements for “parties [to] engage at a much earlier stage in discussion and agreement as to how best to tackle the problem of ‘big data’.” Both decisions illustrate the importance of establishing and following defensible e-discovery best practices, particularly in today’s era when emerging data sources are complicating discovery workflows and an increasing number of platforms are being touted as providing easy, DIY e-discovery features.
An Initial Analysis of the American Data Privacy Protection Act and Its Intersection with European Law
The U.S. legislature made a landmark move in July when the American Data Privacy Protection Act (ADPPA) advanced to the House floor, marking a significant step toward establishing the U.S.’s first federal data privacy law. This is the furthest a comprehensive federal data privacy act has progressed in the legislative pipeline, and if passed, it will join and overlap with a labyrinth of sector-specific and regional privacy laws already in place in the U.S.
Q&A: Debbie Evans Offers a Close-Up View of the Role of Data Protection Officer
Debbie Evans, Managing Director within FTI Technology’s EMEA Information Governance, Privacy & Security practice, is passionate about data protection. She cared about it long before it was a hot topic, having served as a leader in regulatory compliance, security and corporate governance programmes within large, global organisations for more than 20 years. In her role at FTI Technology Debbie is continuing her work as a champion for strong data privacy and protection in the U.K., Europe and globally. In this Q&A, Debbie discusses her approach to data privacy and offers a unique view of the responsibilities of corporate data privacy professionals.
Emerging Data Sources Insights Part 2: Is That Search Complete?
In-house e-discovery has been a topic of discussion and interest in the legal field for many years, and roughly half of law departments have established some in-house capabilities. With most enterprise email and productivity suites now providing built-in preservation, search, and export features, legal and IT teams have been able to perform certain upstream e-discovery functions without the involvement of outside providers. However, the growing prevalence of emerging data sources, which introduce many new complexities and nuances into the e-discovery paradigm, is beginning to erode the accuracy and effectiveness of in-house processes.
The Ongoing Challenges in Cross-Border Data Transfers: Q&A with Dior Data Protection Officer Pierre Faller
Wajdi Kharrat, a Managing Director within FTI Technology’s Information Governance, Privacy & Security practice in France is an expert in global data privacy challenges and the ever-changing landscape of regulatory requirements. One of the key trends he’s continuing to watch is the arena of cross-border data transfers, including which laws are changing the legality of transferring data between jurisdictions, legal bases for conducting transfers and best practices for protecting data in transit. Wajdi recently sat down with Pierre Faller, Data Protection Officer at Dior, to discuss these issues in depth.
How to Prevent Wrongdoing and Insider Threats in Technological Matters
When we talk about threats or risks in technological matters, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is cyberattacks, given the impact in terms of media resonance that affairs of this sort have. It can hardly be doubted that this is an important aspect that companies must take into consideration. However, less is said about another matter that is not to be neglected or overlooked. I am referring to the potential malpractices or irregularities committed by employees, which are also known as insider threats.
Myth Busting: 5 Common Misconceptions in Blockchain and Digital Assets
In a recent survey of decision makers at fintechs and financial services organizations, 95% said blockchain and/or cryptocurrencies will be a high or significant priority for their business in the coming year. This finding is just one of many signals that indicate massive and ongoing growth in adoption and investment among blockchain, cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. As interest in the space continues to expand from early adopters to the mainstream, there will be an increased need for education across these markets. For organizations to make strategic decisions about how their business will invest in or engage with blockchain and digital assets, they’ll need to clarify common misconceptions.
The Perfect Storm: AdTech, Privacy and Digital Advertising
There’s a perfect storm brewing on the digital horizon, and organizations that want to successfully navigate through it need to get ready.
ABA Event Highlights Growing Impact of ESG on Antitrust Risk and Compliance
The ABA hosted its 14th International Cartel Workshop in Lisbon, with roundtables and panels featuring cartel and antitrust practitioners and government enforcers from more than 20 countries. The speakers led participants through a hypothetical global cartel investigation exercise throughout the conference and provided their views of emerging developments and trends in global cartel enforcement.
A Guide to Data Breach Reporting Obligations
All too often, data breaches are a result of preventable, internal errors. These mistakes and the reputational damage that follow them are increasingly keeping business leaders up at night. What is often most concerning is that it’s not only the financial damage that can cause catastrophe. When the personal data of thousands of customers and partners are affected by a data breach, organisations can also face significant legal ramifications in the form of litigation and GDPR violations. This article will discuss the key considerations and steps that should be taken to reduce fallout and ensure reporting obligations are met in the event of a data breach.
Incorporating Data Analytics into a Company’s Antitrust Compliance Review, Monitoring, and Audit Program
We have a robust team of experts here at FTI Consulting across the spectrum of antitrust compliance and investigations issues. During the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Spring Meeting, we shared a paper on the importance of data analytics in antitrust compliance programs, which touched on the importance of proactive compliance programs per DOJ guidance. The paper also shared specific, practical guidance for how to establish financial and operational data monitoring and communications monitoring functions.
Understanding the Differences and Benefits between Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) may be among the most over-hyped buzzwords of the last decade. Still, behind the hype, these technologies have tangible and meaningful applications that can help companies gain insights into large volumes of unstructured data, support predictive decision-making, improve customer experience and detect vulnerabilities, among other things. Given the accelerating pace of change within organizations and across technology advancements, it can be difficult for business leaders to stay abreast of the benefits and risks associated with AI and ML as well as the key differences between these evolving technologies.
Change Agents: Adapting the Legal Profession to Address Emerging, Growing Risks Whilst Controlling Cost
The legal profession is changing at a rapid pace. In-house counsel face a raft of new and intensifying risks, pressure to expand capacity whilst budgets remain flat and demands to innovate with new technology.
Understanding the Functionality and Benefits of Smart Contracts for Corporations
Until recently, the term “smart contracts” was little more than a buzzword. As part of the rising hype within the blockchain and digital assets arena, smart contracts have been of interest to many but understood by few. That’s beginning to change as a wide range of real-world, practical smart contracts use cases are gaining momentum and proving results for business operations within a growing number of enterprises. Many organizations have started to digitally map workflows, improve processes and achieve faster, more transparent and reliable transactions with the help of smart contracts. This article discusses the key features of smart contracts, leading use cases, functionality and benefits.
Key Takes from Smarsh’s Future of Work Discussion
Only one in four organizations say they are very prepared for hybrid working (Cisco). The workplace shifts that occurred over the last two-plus years have introduced a flurry of operational hurdles, HR issues and unexpected business risks. And while these new challenges may be unwieldy — especially in industries like financial services that had not previously allowed remote work as a standard practice — they must be faced. Some form of remote working is the way of the future and organizations must adapt their risk and compliance programs to be as robust for a hybrid workforce as they have been across in-office environments.
A Coast-to-Coast Tour of U.S. State Privacy Legislation
Five U.S. states have enacted stringent data privacy and protection laws, with many more bills, including a possible federal law, pending in legislature.
The AI and Investigations Paradigm: Faster, More Precise, Defensible
The average e-discovery matter today involves more than 6.5 million pages of documents. In complex, multi-national matters and high-stakes internal investigations, data volumes are often much higher. Outdated manual processes and reluctance to leverage advanced tools to find key information from within large, diverse data sets are resulting in excessive time, cost and complexity in bringing matters to a swift and defensible conclusion.
Q&A: Stuart Craft Joins FTI Technology to Drive Innovation and Solution Development
Stu Craft recently joined the team in EMEA as a Managing Director. He brings more than a decade of software development and e-discovery experience to the team and will focus on helping clients solve challenges across emerging data sources and other new data issues. In this Q&A, he discusses how e-discovery is changing and the trends he will follow closely this year.
Emerging Issues in AI: Fairness and Transparency
Regulators and lawmakers around the world are working to stay ahead of technology advancements, including placing increasing scrutiny on how businesses are using (and governing their use of) artificial intelligence (AI). Under proposed and emerging legislation, authorities are poised to begin asking corporations to ensure and evidence that AI systems are fair, transparent and explainable. These developments are in many ways extensions of existing data protection laws, however, regulators are striving to protect individual rights without stifling innovation.
Roundtable Discussion: Beating the Odds in a Massive Cross-Border Pharma Investigation
Experts from FTI Technology were recently engaged to conduct a complex investigation across numerous locations and more than 80 custodians for a large pharmaceutical recall and resulting lawsuits. Over the course of more than 18 months, the team overcame complex challenges relating to cross-border data transfer issues, Chinese state secrets restrictions and global data privacy regulations. We recently discussed the matter with Senior Managing Director Veeral Gosalia and Director Jonathan Roberts to reveal lessons learned from the case’s unique challenges and FTI Technology’s approach to solving them.
Innovation Isn’t a Race, It’s a Mindset. A Glimpse at FTI Technology’s Approach to New Solutions.
Meaningful innovation never happens in one seismic moment. There’s no finish line. Rather, it’s an evolution of ideas, expertise and solutions over time, always fluid and open to change. This is how FTI Technology views advancement and the foundation for the New Solutions Program we have been building.
Q&A Part 2: Karl Payeur on Leading Through Collaboration
Karl Payeur recently joined FTI Technology as a Senior Managing Director leading the Technology and Forensic and Litigation Consulting (FLC) segments in France. We had a lengthy discussion with Karl about technology, key issues facing clients in France and his view on leadership during difficult times. In Part 1 of this Q&A, he discussed technology transformation challenges and opportunities. In Part 2, he offers insights on the firm’s growth in France and his approach to leadership.
Privacy and Innovation: Reflections on Recent Data Privacy Events
Members of FTI Technology’s EMEA data privacy team have recently participated in several recent industry events, including IAPP Data Protection Intensive: UK 2022 in London. This article reflects on key trends our teams are following.
Q&A: Preston Fischer Discusses the Frontier of Blockchain Opportunity
Preston Fischer is a digital risk management and innovation expert with a focus on blockchain and digital asset advisory. He recently joined FTI Technology’s Blockchain & Digital Assets practice as a Managing Director, bringing more than 20 years of experience in e-discovery, investigations and digital risk management across consultancies, technology companies and public affairs. In this Q&A, he discusses his view of the key trends and opportunities shaping the field of blockchain and digital assets.
Into the Metaverse: Jerry Bui Discusses Digital Forensics Present and Future
FTI Technology’s Digital Forensics & Investigations practice is expanding significantly in 2022. The team is bringing in new solutions and senior leaders to support a rapidly changing digital landscape and an overall uptick in demand. As part of the practice’s growth, Jerry Bui recently joined the firm as a Managing Director. In this Q&A, he discusses some of the current and upcoming disruptors impacting the field.
Q&A Part 1: Karl Payeur on Accelerating Technology Transformation in France
Karl Payeur recently joined FTI Technology as a Senior Managing Director leading the Technology and Forensic and Litigation Consulting segments in France. With more than 28 years of international experience, Karl brings extensive expertise in digital forensic, investigation, regulatory compliance, corporate governance, financial crime advisory and technology services to FTI Consulting. We had a lengthy discussion with Karl about technology, key issues facing clients in France and his view on leadership during difficult times. In Part 1 of this Q&A, he discusses the important role AI and advanced technology will play in addressing persistent legal, regulatory and operational challenges.
Five Surprising Findings from Legal Insiders in Ireland
Last month, FTI Consulting’s cybersecurity team, data privacy and communications experts hosted a roundtable dinner of lawyers and senior leaders from across numerous industries in Ireland. The event served as a forum to discuss the most pressing challenges relating to data breaches and cyber attacks with the stakeholders who grapple with these risks every day.
Q&A: Johnathan Bridbord Discusses the Pace of Innovation and Technology’s Impact on Investigations
FTI Technology’s Digital Forensics & Investigations practice has grown significantly over the last year and is seeing increasing demand for digital forensics expertise alongside an upswing in the scope and scale of regulatory and internal investigations. As part of the team’s recent expansion, Johnathan Bridbord joined as a Managing Director, bringing extensive experience in law enforcement, incident response investigations, expert witness work, computer forensics and regulatory matters. In this Q&A, Johnathan discusses his background and his views on the various implications of technology innovation on investigations and disputes.
How to Consolidate Retention Policies
One of the often-overlooked challenges of electronic records management is the control and maintenance of retention policies. This is particularly difficult if you are faced with many different record series categories in your organization, which is increasingly the case for modern enterprises.
Establishing Compliance Under South Africa’s Data Protection Regulation
The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) took effect in South Africa in July 2021, following a lengthy revision process and a one-year grace period for organisations to become compliant. POPIA brings South Africa’s data landscape into alignment with a growing number of jurisdictions that have adopted stringent data protection regulations resembling Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Discussing the Essential Ingredients for Privacy by Design
Applying the principles of privacy by design can yield sizable benefits to any organisation harnessing automation and analytics in the processing of personal data. With the increased use of AI systems and automated decisions, this is only becoming more relevant. These benefits apply to both customer (or market) facing products and initiatives and internal, employee and operational efficiency programmes.
Cards on the Table: Privacy and Information Governance Trends for Australia and Beyond
2021 was a particularly tumultuous year for privacy compliance and information governance, with a rapidly evolving global regulatory environment, governments and corporations continuing to grapple with the persistent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent acceleration of new technologies.
Q&A: Lane Spears Combines Expertise in Compliance and Technical Solution Development to Help Clients Reduce Risk
Lane Spears recently joined FTI Technology as a Managing Director within the Information Governance, Privacy & Security (IGP&S) practice. With more than 20 years in consulting, his expertise spans digital forensics, e-discovery, financial investigations and regulatory compliance. We spoke with him about the role he will play in growing the segment’s services and solutions in these and other key risk areas.
Q&A: Jon Asprey Discusses Data Privacy Challenges and Opportunities
Jon Asprey brings more than 20 years of experience in information governance, regulatory compliance, analytics and data science to his new role as a Managing Director at FTI Technology. As part of the EMEA Information Governance, Privacy & Security (IGP&S) practice, he advises clients in data strategy, privacy regulation, compliance and controls automation, regulatory reporting and submissions. In this Q&A, Jon offers a glance at what he sees as clients’ most significant challenges and regulatory considerations on the horizon.
Q&A: Avi Das Discusses How Clients Can Tackle Complex Data Challenges and Investigations in India
As FTI Technology’s newly appointed leader in India, Avi Das is ready to take the business forward. With over 17 years of experience in digital forensics and analytics, risk management, compliance and regulatory investigations, Avi plans to help clients solve data challenges through advanced data analytics and solution innovation.
Survey Finds Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Spending is on the Rise in Financial Sector
In the financial services sector, organizations are now spending an average of $176.4 million per year on their blockchain and cryptocurrency projects. According to a recent survey of industry decision makers that our team commissioned, investments are largely fueled by an overwhelming confidence in the success of blockchain and cryptocurrency projects and belief in the positive benefits they will bring to businesses, governments and consumers.
Q&A: Leading with Empathy and Inclusive Values, Lily Wen Hopes to Change Technology Industry Status Quo
With more than 15 years of experience advising and supporting tech and other industry clients on the use of technology in e-discovery, legal hold and data management, Lily Wen knows the ins and outs of the technology industry. She’s seen what works and what’s lacking in the space, and is passionate about making sure everyone has a voice. She recently joined FTI Technology as a Managing Director, and we spoke with her about her practice as well as her leadership style.
Q&A: Collin Miller Discusses Advances in Data Enrichment and Behavioral Analytics
An experienced solutions architect in the investigations and e-discovery arena, Collin Miller recently joined FTI Technology as a Managing Director. He supports internal teams and clients in finding and developing custom, cost effective, timely technology solutions for large-scale matters involving emerging data sources. We spoke about his new role and his vision for how analytics will impact the future of e-discovery, investigations, compliance and more.
Adding Business Value Ranks High Among Priorities in Law Department Operations Survey
The role of legal operations professionals is continuing to grow in influence and maturity. According to the recent Blickstein Group 14th Annual Law Department Operations Survey: Navigating in the Era of Doing More with Less, “value provided to the corporation,” was the second highest priority for respondents, just after balancing the law department budget. This is yet another of many proof points pointing to a widespread shift taking place within corporate legal departments.
A Roundup of Trends to Watch on International Data Privacy Day
Data privacy has been widely recognised as one of the biggest risks organisations will face in 2022. In FTI Consulting’s most recent Resilience Barometer survey, G20 organisations listed data privacy issues among the top four causes of lost revenue from the last year and 72% said their organisation has experienced an increase in data privacy breaches, violations or a sensitive data leak as a result of remote work environments
In 2022, General Counsel Focus In On People and Culture
In our recent joint survey of general counsel with Relativity and Ari Kaplan, a unanimous theme of endurance emerged. Overwhelmingly, the GC is now on the front lines of increasing risk, growing demands and corporate strategy development and implementation. Among the widening assortment of responsibilities falling on GC is their new role as official leaders of company culture and employee matters (regardless of whether HR sits within the department).
Roundtable: Competition Authorities Increase Data Scrutiny in Technology Industry Transactions
While a decade ago, competition authorities were primarily interested in market data and economic assessments for merger control and antitrust review, in the last three to five years that focus has extended to internal documents, and what people in the businesses are saying to each other about a transaction. Even more recently, alongside the rise of data privacy concerns, authorities have begun to show increasing interest in company-controlled user and customer data and the ways that it will be used post-merger, especially in situations involving technology companies and platforms.
2022 Forecast: FTI Technology’s E-Discovery Predictions from EMEA, Part 1
Use cases for e-discovery technology and analytics capabilities are increasingly spanning beyond their traditional applications in litigation and investigations. For example, in 2022, as organisations continue to evaluate their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) position, e-discovery technology will play a key role in helping to assess, audit and improve on that position. It will do this by bringing together relevant unstructured information, such as policies and supply chain insights, alongside structured information from HR and facilities systems, to quickly understand the whole picture and address disparities between ESG policy and practice.
Forecast 2022: FTI Technology’s Predictions for Emerging Data Sources
The transformation in where and how work happens has had a direct impact on the data that serves as evidence and/or creates risk in legal and regulatory matters. While the end user functionality of collaboration, productivity, cloud-based and remote work tools continues to evolve, the backend result for legal and compliance teams will become increasingly complex.
FTI Technology’s Global CEO Sophie Ross Discusses Five Leadership Essentials
Are positivity and flexibility the keys to successful leadership today? Sophie Ross, Global CEO of FTI Technology thinks so. In a recent interview with Brandt Handley for his Into the Corner Office podcast, Sophie talked about her commitment to improving diversity, inclusion and belonging within the legal, technology and consulting industries, her career journey and what she believes are the keys to leading during difficult times.
Level-Setting Audit and Investigations Strategies Amid Ongoing Disruption – Part 2
In the current environment of remote work and hybrid work environments, our digital forensics and investigations teams have seen significant disruption in the execution of remote global audits, regulatory inquiries and internal investigations. Through this work, we’ve seen that the more sophisticated an organization is in its journey toward digitalization, the more it is able to achieve savings in the time, costs and resources needed to conduct a remote investigation. I discussed this concept in detail in Part 1 of this series, which included an overview of how organizations can examine their digital sophistication.
2022 Forecast: A Roundup of Predictions Across Governance and Expanding Risk
In FTI Technology’s and Relativity’s The General Counsel Report 2022, 60% of general counsel indicated worry over mounting risks, and said that their risk landscape is expanding or becoming more difficult to navigate in areas spanning compliance, regulatory enforcement, data privacy, information security, emerging data sources and ongoing effects from the pandemic. Feelings of preparedness dropped from the previous year in every major category discussed.
Preparing for Increased Dawn Raid Activity in the U.K. and Europe
Authorities across the U.K. and Europe have indicated plans to step up oversight and enforcement across a range of regulations, particularly in the area of antitrust. This effort is already proving to include a surge in dawn raids—unannounced inspection by a regulator on suspicion of infringement—throughout 2022. In the months and year ahead, organisations will be under intensifying pressure to prepare for these inspections. This is prompting a renewed need for legal and compliance teams to review procedures and develop clearer understanding of their IT landscape so they can quickly respond to an inspector during an unannounced investigation.
Corporate Data Challenges in EMEA in 2021: Emerging Legal and Discovery Issues - Part 4 of 4
This post wraps up a four-part series in which I’ve explored the top data issues impacting corporations across EMEA now and in the year ahead. The previous blog posts have discussed a range of trends across investigations, data privacy, M&A and information governance. In this piece, I’ll share developments we’re seeing specifically in the legal arena, around the rise of class actions in EMEA, new needs in legal review and how advancements in technology are helping our clients meet new challenges.
Linked Content Presents Challenges in E-Discovery
Linked content—dynamic documents shared as links rather than attachments—are emerging among the latest areas of debate in how emerging data sources impact e-discovery. Not only are courts and discovery experts beginning to discuss whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as attachments in production, but practitioners are also increasingly encountering the legal and technical challenges of collecting, analyzing and reviewing linked content in real world cases.
From the Inside Out: Understanding and Responding to Insider Threats
As part of the Harrison Clark Rickerbys recent Cyber Conference, we presented a roundtable discussion, “The threat from within – insider threats and commercial espionage,” alongside HCR Partner Robert Capper. Drawing upon our collective experience across cybersecurity, digital forensics, information governance and data privacy, we covered a breadth of considerations relating to insider threats, including why employees steal data, what’s causing the increase in internal threats, how to prevent insider breaches, tips for investigating such matters and data privacy implications to address.
Emerging Data Sources Insights Part 1: Why Permissions are Becoming More Important than Custodians
The corporate data footprint continues to expand exponentially in size, variety of sources and complexity, largely as a result of ongoing business adoption of cloud-based collaboration and productivity tools and a widespread shift to remote work. On average, most organisations’ IT systems now include 400 data sources, with the top 20% juggling 1,000 or more according to a recent survey from IDG Research. In the same survey, IT professionals stated their data volumes are growing by 63% monthly, with one in 10 indicating their footprint is growing at 100% or more each month.
Six Tips for Navigating Legal and Regulatory Risks in the App Age
Many corporations in Brazil are grappling with the implications of increased mobile phone app use for business communications and collaboration. Tools like WhatsApp are growing rapidly in enterprise user adoption and providing significant advantages for employee productivity and collaboration. Yet IT, legal and compliance leaders continue to worry over the impact these tools have on regulatory compliance, IT security, data protection and investigations.
Level-Setting Audit and Investigations Strategies Amid Ongoing Disruption – Part 1
The world is changing quickly. Corporations have spent the last two years chasing technological advancement within their organizations as well as the global business ecosystem. Projects stalled when business travel shut down and teams lost the ability to shift resources where they were needed most. Workflows that were typically handled in person were recreated in virtual settings. And even before the pandemic, the rate of digitalization was picking up speed, ultimately hurtling toward a tipping point when core operations were largely shifted to remote environments.
Keeping the Conversation Alive Part 2: Actionable Diversity
Jon Chan shares additional takeaways from the virtual event International Women's Day 2021 - Three Months On - Keeping the Conversation Alive, and our speakers’ views on driving change for better diversity, inclusion and belonging.
Discussing Data Minimization with Meru Data
Jake Frazier recently had the pleasure of discussing information governance with Priya Keshav, CEO at Meru Data, on the company’s #SimplifyforSuccess podcast. Their conversation focused on the issue of data minimization, and many of the challenges our teams see clients face when working to dispose of legacy data and implement new retention and deletion programs.
Corporate Data Challenges in EMEA in 2021: Data Privacy and Information Governance Considerations (Part 3 of 4)
This blog series is covering the top data issues impacting risks for corporations across EMEA. Parts one and two examined the expanding data footprint—the digital information captured and consumed in the world—which is predicted to reach 175 zettabytes by 2025 (according to IDC), and the impact this is having on legal and compliance issues, as well as M&A activity. In this post, we’ll continue the discussion with a look at issues through the lens of data privacy and information governance (IG).
Evie Mackay Discusses the Importance of People and Strong Leadership in Document Review
As part of FTI Technology’s global expansion of our Managed Document Review practice , Evie Mackay was recently appointed as a Managing Director and practice lead in the U.K. With a keen eye on leadership excellence and growth, Evie will be working with segment leaders in key European markets to broaden the offering’s capabilities and worldwide footprint. In this Q&A, she discusses her background, views on using technology to streamline review and trends ahead.
Prepare, Connect, Activate: FTI Consulting and Blickstein Group Survey Uncovers Key Milestones in the Legal Operations Journey to Modernization
It’s been a year of milestones for the legal operations profession. More legal departments are prioritizing the legal operations role and function, adding head count in this area and supporting legal operations professionals with buy-in for their key initiatives. More, technology modernization within the legal department has sped up substantially over the last year, with legal operations often as a driving force behind the roll-out of new tools and processes.
U.K. Black History Month: Visionaries Paving the Way for Diversity in STEM
It’s Black History Month in the U.K., and in an effort to contribute to the conversation as it relates to our work in the legal, technology and consulting sectors, FTI Technology is taking time to recognise the Black visionaries and inventors who have impacted our field and society in general. This post features three individuals who have made a significant impact on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) in the U.K.
Stealing From the Cookie Jar? Beware Evolving Data Privacy Rules.
For many businesses, cookies are the backbone of marketing. These text-only strings of information stored on visitors’ computers, smartphones and tablets allow businesses to track, identify and study online behaviour for the purposes of targeted advertising. This practice is allowable within the confines of the EU Cookie Law, existing privacy legislation that allows websites to store or retrieve information only with visitors’ consent. While cookie-enabled targeted advertising is a boon for marketing campaigns, recent developments in data privacy laws and discourse are beginning to beg the question: is cookie tracking a good thing? More specifically, is the use of cookies compliant in accordance with the GDPR, California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other emerging data privacy regulations?
Q&A: As Data Complexities Multiply, Ken Oliver Looks to Reshape Investigations Strategies
E-discovery expert and investigator Ken Oliver recently joined FTI Technology’s Digital Forensics and Investigations practice as a Managing Director. With more than 20 years of experience in enterprise technology, data acquisition and computer forensics, Ken is focused on helping clients face investigations challenges arising from technology advancements. In this Q&A, he talks about his background, his perspectives on how the field of digital forensics is changing and why he believes a global view is essential to solving tough problems.
Q&A: With Compliance Concerns Reaching a Highpoint, Al Park Leads with Technology
Al Park recently rejoined FTI Consulting following an 11-year run working in senior, global roles at Navigant and Control Risks. He was formerly a Managing Director within the firm and is now a Senior Managing Director with a focus on data risk and compliance solutions. In this Q&A, he talks about the compliance challenges he’s seeing among clients, how technology is positioned to help and why he decided to return to the firm after more than a decade.
How Data Protection Has Become a Business-Critical Priority in the Middle East
Organisations that store personal and sensitive data possess millions of data artifacts—each representing unique risk and value—within their enterprise systems. With cybersecurity incidents on the rise, the stakes around data protection have become higher than ever before, yet many organisations still do not realise the extent of disruption that can result when systems are breached.
Keeping the Conversation Alive Part 1: Realising the Value of Female Leadership
Leadership across FTI Consulting and our Technology segment are committed to empowering female professionals and supporting them through every stage of their career growth. As part of this, we continually facilitate conversations that elevate essential topics in leadership and diversity, inclusion and belonging.
With New Second Request Reforms, FTC Lays Heavier Hand on Competition Control
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition issued a blog post detailing its new plans to make the Second Request process “more streamlined and more rigorous.” The changes—five specific and sweeping reforms to existing Second Request practices as well as plans to revise the current Model Second Request—come in response as the Commission aims to handle a record-number of merger requests and an increase in potentially anti-competitive deals.
Q&A: Wajdi Kharrat Discusses Growing Demand for Risk Management Support in France
As part of the continuing growth of FTI Technology’s Information Governance, Privacy & Security (IGP&S) practice, Wajdi Kharrat recently joined the team as a Managing Director in Paris. With more than 15 years of experience in consulting clients on risk management and compliance, Wajdi has a clear view of the current challenges and priorities impacting corporate governance, risk and compliance, and expertise in developing solutions to meet these challenges. We spent time with him recently to hear more about his role and perspective on IG trends in France and throughout Europe.
Global Insights: Bridging the Privacy Generation Gap in Australia
Studies and surveys show that most young people care very much about privacy and how data about them is collected and used. In our experience of advising clients on how to build privacy into their products and services, we’ve seen firsthand that when businesses don’t invest in understanding their users (including younger demographics), trust (and revenue, by extension) can quickly dissolve.
EU Whistleblowing Protection Directive Looms as New Compliance Referee
It’s game time for corporate compliance professionals in Europe. In less than three months, the EU Whistleblowing Protection Directive will take effect and add a new set of requirements to the long list of compliance controls businesses in Europe must implement and maintain. With little time left to prepare and establish the frameworks needed to comply with the law, it’s important that businesses gain an understanding of what the directive entails and the new policies and processes that must be put in place before the impending deadline.
Q&A: Van Mejia Discusses the Nuances of Foreign Language Review
With the rise of globalization has also come the rise in cross-border discovery and investigations, and the demand for multilingual capabilities in document review. FTI Technology’s award-winning managed document review solutions include on-demand access to a highly skilled team of multi-language review attorneys. In this Q&A, Van Mejia, a Senior Director within the Managed Document Review practice and lead in FTI Technology’s New York City document review center, discusses the unique skillsets of foreign language reviewers and why FTI Technology stands out among other providers.
Andrea Williams Discusses Canada’s Emerging Legal and Regulatory Challenges, Optimism for Technology Advancements
Andrea Williams recently joined FTI Technology as a Managing Director to lead the segment’s growth in Canada. An e-discovery expert by trade, Andrea has a robust plan for bringing new technology offerings to the region as well as expanding her team to include experts across numerous practice areas including managed review, investigations and Information Governance, Privacy & Security. We recently discussed her view of the emerging challenges, opportunities and technology outlook for Canadian law firms and corporate legal teams.
Cryptocurrency and the Rise of SPACs: A Match Made in Investor Heaven?
Investors are continuing to watch two of the market’s hottest trends today: special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and cryptocurrency. On the heels of Coinbase’s IPO in April, financial analysts have suggested a potential “watershed” for the crypto industry. At the same time, there have been more than 300 SPAC IPOs so far in 2021, far surpassing the 2020 record number of 248 for the entire year. Linking these two trends together makes for an interesting opportunity for investors to quickly buy into a hot, emerging market.
Roundtable Discussion Part 2: How a Large Telecommunications Corporation Addressed an Influx of Regulations Through Data Governance
Experts from across FTI Consulting are engaged on a massive, ongoing data governance project for a large global telecommunications client. We recently discussed the matter with key members of the team, Jake Frazier, Steve McNew and Adam Ingber, to understand the key challenges of the matter and the primary regulatory issues the client has sought to address through improved governance.
Is Time Travel Possible? Digital Forensic Investigators Do It Every Day.
For digital forensics investigators, time travel is no far-fetched sci-fi fantasy, it’s part of the job. Every day, forensic technology specialists use data to go back in time and piece together facts and clues that tell the story behind a regulatory violation, legal dispute, or other high-stakes incident. This work requires technical and analytical skills across a wide range of tools and data sources, many of which are currently emerging, and evolving all the time. As corporate data footprints grow increasingly large and diverse, so do the places where investigators must look for evidence.
Roundtable Discussion Part 1: How a Large Telecommunications Corporation Addressed an Influx of Regulations Through Data Governance
Experts from across FTI Consulting are engaged on a massive, ongoing data governance project for a large global telecommunications client. We recently discussed the matter with key members of the team, Jake Frazier, Steve McNew and Adam Ingber, to understand the key challenges of the matter and the primary regulatory issues the client has sought to address through improved governance.
How to Hit the Bullseye in Modern Data Governance
Often, the prospect of achieving data governance seems so far off, the challenges so immense, that organizations become stuck in assessments and planning, unable to move a program toward implementation.
Ransomware on the Rise: Preventing and Responding to a Cybersecurity Crisis
The threat of ransomware is becoming increasingly worrisome for Latin American corporations and governments. Organizations in Brazil are at an especially high risk, as the country represents the highest share (nearly 50%) of Latin American targets attacked using ransomware. While ransoms average around $170,000, they can reach into the tens of millions. The overall cost of such an attack—across regulatory fines, reputational damage, recovery efforts and legal proceedings—is usually far greater than the payment alone.
Corporate Data Challenges in EMEA in 2021: The Intersection of Data and M&A (Part 2 of 4)
This second post in the series is focused on an area that our team, and my work, is heavily involved in: the data and privacy issues associated with M&A, and the regulatory clearance processes that are increasingly associated with getting the deal through.
Q&A: Antonio Gesteira Aims to Support Proactive and Holistic GRC for Clients in Brazil
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of corporations across the G20 have experienced an uptick in investigations, according to the 2021 FTI Consulting Resilience Barometer®. More than 70% faced scrutiny on financial practices, 69% on regulatory compliance and 70% on their products or services. In Brazil, corporations have struggled with fraud and corruption and the damages that can result following a significant violation. In parallel, the data privacy authority in Brazil is already launching investigations under its General Data Protection Law, Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD), and in August, will assume its provisions to issue fines. Antonio Gesteira recently joined FTI Technology as a Senior Managing Director to expand the firm’s ability to respond to these developments and help clients in Brazil with their regulatory, e-discovery and data-related challenges. Antonio recently sat down for a Q&A to discuss the market and his new role.
Convincing Different Roles of TAR's Defensibility
More and more legal teams are using technology-assisted review (TAR) to expedite and lower the overall cost of their document review projects. Case law has illustrated the tool’s efficacy and its acceptance in the courts. Yet, some legal teams may still question its defensibility.
Corporate Data Challenges in EMEA in 2021 (Part 1 of 4)
A physicist at the University of Portsmouth recently published research claiming that digital information should be considered a fifth type of matter, alongside gas, liquid, solid and plasma. The study, spurred by scientists’ interest in the effects of the world’s growing digital infrastructure, predicts that bits of digital information will equal the atoms of matter on Earth within the next 150 years. In this four-part blog series, I’ll discuss the key data challenges and trends that our clients are facing with the growth of data, and the importance of investing in proactive programmes and data expertise to manage and reduce the subsequent risks.
Data-Driven Challenges in Merger Investigations
I recently joined a Global Competition Review panel of M&A experts to discuss the effects and legal implications of several data-related issues on the merger review process. The panelists from Latham & Watkins, O2 and the European Commission/DG Commission brought a broad range of insights across regulatory, in-house legal and outside counsel perspectives.
During the Pandemic Has Your Data Social-Distanced or Co-Mingled?
After more than a year of social distancing, most of us are ready for a safe return to normalcy in our personal and professional lives—and just in time, the world is beginning to open back up. Still, even after offices are fully reopened, most work environments will maintain flexible, hybrid models wherein many employees continue to work from home. As a result, organisations will need to pay continued attention to how they evolve, maintain and enforce their information governance and data privacy programmes.
Q&A: Amber Gosney Discusses Drivers for FTI Technology’s Growing Data Privacy Offerings
According to a survey by the IAPP, data privacy is becoming increasingly prioritised by global organisations, with nearly half of privacy professionals stating that they reached full or nearly full compliance with GDPR in 2020. This is a good sign of momentum, but also underscores the fact that many organisations are still struggling to operationalise data privacy requirements in Europe and beyond. This fact is one of many reasons behind the growing demand for data privacy expertise across FTI Technology’s global client base. We recently discussed these issues with Amber Gosney, a new Senior Director within the firm’s Information Governance, Privacy & Security team in EMEA.
It’s Not Over Yet: Addressing Persistent Legal and Regulatory Risks in Remote Work Environments
Earlier this year, we teamed up with Colin R. Jennings, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs, and other speakers on a panel for the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the ACC. Our talk covered the breadth of risks and mitigation strategies that have emerged—and are continuing to create headaches for—legal teams during the COVID-19 pandemic.
FTI In The News: Managing Director, Tim Anderson Discusses The Latest In Emerging Data
The data landscape continues to evolve and now more than ever, accelerate. Driven by the pandemic, people around the globe have been forced to adapt how they communicate, professionally and personally.
Technical Considerations Amid the Explosion of Crypto Acquisitions and Public Listings
In addition to IPO and M&A moves, digital asset research firm The Block reported that 2021 will see the most private funding in cryptocurrency to date.
Discovery in the Cloud: An Investigator’s Close Look at Unexpected Risks and Challenges
After significant growth in 2020, cloud storage providers are continuing to experience increasing adoption within enterprises, and in turn spurring a rise in new legal and compliance challenges. The cloud storage market is forecasted to grow by more than 20% in the next five years across a range of established and emerging solution providers. With this growth, organizations are scrambling to make sense of how their reliance on providers like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Dropbox affects their governance and discovery processes.
IP in Open Waters Part 2: Bringing Data Back to Safety
In the wake of COVID-19 and the changes it has instigated, you may not be able to bring all your IP back to the safety of the rockpool – but it’s not too late to deploy the life rafts and patrols, and be prepared.
IP in Open Waters Part 1: Understanding the Depth of Data Risk in Australia and Beyond
The COVID-19 pandemic caused massive disruption to the working practices of corporate Australia, commencing with a sudden and substantial increase in remote working in March 2020 as lockdowns were implemented. With this shift, enterprise IT was asked to rapidly enable and support millions of users in leaving the highly controlled “rockpool” of corporate systems for the “open water” of cloud-based collaboration tools and personal devices. Within a few short weeks, the safeguards that many organisations had carefully built over years to maintain their critical IP in singular, securely stored instances were broken down. Sensitive data was suddenly spilling out into the depths—multi-instance, synchronised and available on the personal mobile phones and laptops of staff working at home.
What Companies Need to Know About the ADGM Data Protection Regulation
In February this year, the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) passed the Data Protection Regulation (DPR2021), which bears a striking resemblance to the EU GDPR, and the U.K. GDPR specifically. The former legislation, dating back to 2015, was based on the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) guidance, which was significantly different from GDPR’s standards. What this means is that for companies operating in the ADGM, major regulatory changes are afoot.
Beyond the Pandemic: EMEA Data and Discovery Roundtable
One year on from COVID, the risks resulting from long-term work from home environments and economic troubles have been widely discussed—and felt—in every major region worldwide. Data and discovery risks have been especially impacted. We gathered a roundtable of our experts from France, Germany, Ireland, and Spain to discuss these issues in detail.
#LegalOpsGoals: A Modern Legal Department by 2022
The rate of digital transformation with most organizations today is accelerating rapidly. Teams are experiencing an increasing demand to deploy technologies and demonstrate ROI for new systems. In FTI Consulting’s 2021 Resilience Barometer survey, 37% of respondents said they feel extreme pressure to integrate technology over the next 12 months and 44% said they feel significant pressure to do so.
With All Eyes on International Data Transfers, Five Tips to Stay Compliant
In Europe, regulatory scrutiny over data flows from EU member countries to the U.S., U.K. and other non-member jurisdictions is picking up steam. The Schrems II ruling is serving as a primary driver, arming EU data protection authorities (DPAs) with a new platform for enforcing GDPR.
Leading By Example Part 2: Karen Briggs Shares Her Philosophy on Key Workplace Issues
Karen Briggs is one of the leading women at FTI Consulting. She leads the Forensic & Litigation Consulting and Technology segments in EMEA and is driving significant growth for the firm across the region. In part one of this series, Karen talked about the current business climate and risk factors impacting clients in EMEA today. In this post, she discusses her leadership style and her passion for uplifting women in male-dominated industries and roles.
Leading By Example Part 1: Karen Briggs Discusses FTI Consulting’s Presence in EMEA
Shortly after joining FTI Consulting to lead the Forensic & Litigation Consulting segment in EMEA last year, Karen Briggs had her role expanded to oversee the Technology segment in EMEA. In this dual role of heading two of the firm's significant segments in the region, Karen has focused on the synergies between practices to improve client outcomes. During a recent video chat, we asked about her view of the EMEA Technology practice and how she leads her teams through today’s most pressing challenges. This post is part one of a two part series detailing our Q&A.
The Data Whisperer: Brandon Lee Discusses Working at the Nexus of E-Discovery and Information Governance
E-discovery, data privacy and information governance risks are increasingly intersecting in today’s organizations. In turn, the ways corporations manage their data, approach compliance and react to legal matters must evolve quickly. FTI Technology’s teams are focused on addressing these new challenges and opportunities. The recent addition of Managing Director Brandon Lee to the team is a prime example of FTI’s ability to provide solutions and expertise that bridge the most pressing legal, regulatory and data issues. We recently interviewed Brandon about his new role and his unique strategy for supporting in-house legal teams.
Streamlining Privacy Compliance Among Global Regulatory Changes
Organisations that operate globally are subject to the ever-changing and continually developing regulatory landscape, which is challenging to comply with without a robust privacy and information governance backbone. In this blog, Ines Rubio, looks at how using aids such as privacy management technology to stay on top of processing activities and legal requirements will facilitate compliance teams’ work and serve as the go-to resource for updates, queries, and research on regulatory changes.
Q&A: Conor Gavin Discusses E-Discovery Trends and Segment Growth in Ireland
Demand for e-discovery and digital forensics capabilities is growing rapidly in Ireland. FTI Consulting is stepping up to the market’s emerging needs with the expansion of experts in the region and solutions to address the increasing complexity of litigation, investigations and governance in today’s climate. We recently spoke with Conor Gavin, a Senior Director in the segment’s Dublin office, to discuss his focus for supporting clients in Ireland and what he sees as the key issues for the year ahead.
The Era of Digital Regulation
How content is created and shared on digital platforms is coming under increasing scrutiny with Regulators and the public calling for online platforms to take on more responsibility. Regulation has been on the horizon with France coming close to passing law to regulate online hate speech (subsequently struck down in court due to freedom of speech concerns) and the Online Harms Bill was proposed by the UK in 2019.
Regulatory Update: ePrivacy
The ePrivacy regulation has had an uncertain path, and at times it seemed as though there would be no regulation introduced at all. One of the main stumbling blocks is the impact on online behavioural advertising and cookies walls on websites. However, in mid-February, the Council of the European Union’s Presidency announced a breakthrough: member states finally reached an agreement on the draft text. The next stage will be negotiations between the Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament.
The Dangers of Forgotten Data
Data is easy to forget. Especially with the increase in legacy-to-digital transformation, it’s easy to overlook unused systems or historical backups. All too often, the focus is on transitioning to new, digital technologies without decommissioning the legacy systems they replace.
Privacy Compliance for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses; It’s Not One Size Fits All
Read any survey of the challenges small and mid-sized business leaders face, and you’ll see an array of worries over managing cash, retaining customers, competing and keeping up with technological change. Chances are that regulatory compliance and data privacy aren’t making those lists of issues keeping SMB owners up at night. In fact, the majority of SMBs (80% according to one survey) know very little about whether and how data protection laws affect their business. Nevertheless, many data protection regulations are indiscriminate when it comes to organization size, and with consumers paying increasing attention to data privacy, the issue has become very real in the SMB arena.
Adapt, Rebound, Learn: Legal Industry Predictions Following the Strangest Year on the Books
Across FTI Technology, our teams have the opportunity to work on some of the most complex, high-stakes and innovative matters in the world. While 2020 was anything but typical, the work of helping clients problem-solve through technology was a familiar constant. In reflecting back on the lessons learned from the year and the related implications for the future of the legal industry, our global teams have gathered numerous predictions for what outside counsel and in-house legal teams can expect to face in the new year. A snapshot of these are shared below.
E-Discovery in 2021 is a Brave New World
Anyone who’s been in the e-discovery industry for any length of time knows that change is the only constant. It’s a practice and industry born from the very notion of change, and has been evolving steadily since its early days two decades ago. What’s happened over the last year is that the rate of change is now quickly picking up momentum. Trends that were just emerging in 2019 took full shape and began disrupting the space in 2020. More advancements—in the demands of e-discovery and the innovations brought forth to meet those demands—are on the horizon.
How Cartel Investigations are Evolving Alongside Data and Technology Advancements
Ashley Brickles recently participated in a cartels workshop hosted by Concurrences, alongside speakers from Herbert Smith Freehills, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), General Electric and the European Commission department for competition (DG COMP). The panellists comprised a diverse set of backgrounds and perspectives, which provided for a lively and educational session that covered procedural changes in cartel investigations, privacy concerns that have arisen in competition proceedings and the extent of the Commission’s investigatory powers.
Privacy in a Pandemic – the Conundrum of COVID-19 Check-in Solutions
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we were all grappling with the avalanche of concepts like ‘social distancing’ and ‘personal protective equipment’, the idea of contact tracing had many scratching their heads. In the age of automation, a manual process involving a team of people making calls and conducting interviews to find those exposed to the virus can seem almost counter-intuitive. Perhaps this is part of why, in 2020, we saw a dedicated push to find digital solutions to the challenges of COVID-19. This has included digital contact tracing solutions such as the Australian Government’s COVIDsafe app. However, the adoption of visitor registers that record which individuals have visited specific locations, and their contact details, have been far more helpful to contact tracers.
As Privacy Regulation and Competition Control Heat Up in Canada, FTI Addresses New Needs in the Region
Canadian regulators kept busy in 2020. Within the Competition Bureau, under the helm of new director Matthew Boswell, numerous new initiatives and guidelines were introduced to ramp up the nation’s competition oversight. In parallel, data privacy authorities shared new provisions for cross-border transfers impacting personal and sensitive data and legislators introduced a sweeping new privacy bill to refresh the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
In a Year of Chaos, General Counsel Step Into Infinitely Expanding Roles
Chief legal officers are facing unprecedented change. The challenges of 2020 have redefined an already changing role for the general counsel, and a second annual study of leading chief legal officers indicates they are rising to the occasion, becoming busines drivers in the own right and serving as crucial guardians against myriad emerging risks.
Data Risks and Challenges in M&A Transactions
At the recent PrivSec Global event, Sonia Cheng, Senior Managing Director and EMEA Head of Information Governance & Privacy at FTI Consulting, led a panel with Ahmed Baladi, Privacy & Cybersecurity partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Linda NiChualladh, Head of Privacy (Legal) at Citi. The session covered the underlying risks and considerations associated with data in M&A transactions and the skills needed to brave a complex M&A data landscape.
Q&A: Inés Rubio Joins FTI Technology to Support Growth in Ireland
As part of the growing Technology team in Dublin, Inés Rubio is looking forward to helping clients across EMEA tackle their e-discovery challenges through information governance (IG). With a background in international criminal law and legal technology, Inés brings a combination of technical, legal and strategic problem-solving expertise to the team. We recently interviewed her about her new role at FTI and her plans for supporting the practice’s growth in Ireland.
Primary Annual Study Benchmarking the Privacy Profession: The IAPP-FTI Consulting Privacy Governance Report is Now Live
Now in its sixth year, the report takes a deep dive into the leadership structures, core functions, staff and budgets, and tasks and priorities of privacy programs around the globe. It provides key metrics on ongoing compliance with core pieces of privacy legislation and the effects of recent legal rulings and guidance from data protection authorities on processing operations.
Business Security in Times of Furloughs and Home Working
The effects of COVID-19 have led many companies worldwide to take drastic measures. This includes applications for temporal layoffs or furloughs, with the additional uncertainty of definitive layoffs for vast numbers of employees.
In this article, Javier Garcia-Chappell and Grainne Bryan discuss the necessary measures to protect and secure their data, as well as those devices and/or corporate media that may store them.
Never Have I Ever: The Newest Game in E-Discovery
Over the last several months, our teams here at FTI Technology have been fielding an increasing influx of questions about emerging data types. We’re often asked, “have you ever heard of, collected from, produced…” about an ever-growing list of emerging data types. This reason for this is that the massive proliferation of apps and cloud services in use at corporations today is beginning to creep into scope in e-discovery matters.
Q&A: Amid COVID-19, Data Integrity May Be the Weakest Link in Pharma Compliance
Across the globe, the pharma industry is investing billions of dollars into fighting COVID-19. Some of the leading companies have halted other research projects to allocate upwards of $1 billion to R&D for coronavirus treatments and vaccines (according to Forbes). In addition to government and market pressure to respond to the pandemic, pharma companies are up against increasing regulatory scrutiny. A notable—but often overlooked—risk on the regulatory front is the issue of data integrity, which is mandated by numerous global authorities. We recently discussed the issue of data integrity with Managing Director Ankush Lamba based in our Mumbai office, to get a better picture of the risks and how this issue has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
The Intersection of Privacy and IT: Key Questions Answered
Today, some degree of data privacy and data protection obligations —regulatory, security standards, consumer trust issues, etc.—touch nearly every organization around the globe. Fulfilling those obligations while maintaining operational resilience and productivity generally requires the involvement of multiple stakeholders as well as a broad range of company leaders. While typically led by an organizations legal and compliance department, operationalizing data privacy technology, implementing the required safeguards and governance workflows requires both the support and leadership of IT.
Third-Party Risk Spreads Like a Virus Among Work From Home Employees
Even sophisticated companies that dedicate ample resources to information governance often end up with gaps when it comes to third-party risk management. Now, as employees and third parties adopt new, unvetted applications to do their jobs from home, these gaps have become even greater. Organizations are under tremendous pressure right now—but making time to holistically assess and manage third parties will pay long-term dividends in reducing risk, while employees work remotely, and when they eventually return to the workplace.
Q&A: Aisha Brackett Discusses Diversity, Taking Risks and Finding Your Voice for Change
FTI Consulting is working toward becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, and ensuring our teams represent the many races, genders, lifestyles, ethnicities and cultures of the regions and communities where we live and work. The events of this year have shined a glaring light on the fact that there is much more work to be done. To help facilitate change, we’re engaging our teams in open conversations about tough topics. As part of that effort, we recently interviewed Aisha Brackett, a computer forensics consultant in the Technology segment’s London office, to learn more about her experiences as a Mixed Race woman with Black Heritage working in technology consulting.
It’s Official. The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 is Coming.
Along with countless significant decisions, November 3 brought the passage of a long-awaited update to California data privacy law. This week, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA) passed with a majority vote as expected, adding to and modifying the requirements and enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
A Peek Behind the Curtain of Information Governance Practices Across Startups and the Fortune 500
Information governance (IG) is becoming more difficult. Data volumes are exploding, regulations are emerging and changing and large workforces are widely dispersed across at-home offices. Just as an organization gets a handle on the data from one new system, five more are onboarded. For many legal, compliance and privacy professionals, IG progress may feel like two steps forward, one step back.
Q&A: In Celebration of the U.K.’s Black History Month, Kimberley Harvey Discusses Unconscious Bias and Workplace Diversity
October is Black History Month in the U.K. In honour of this important month, and as part of FTI Technology’s commitment to improving diversity, equity and inclusion in our firm, we are elevating the voices of our Black colleagues across the organisation. By engaging our people in candid conversations about racial bias, social injustice and workplace inequality, we hope to raise awareness of these issues and collectively contribute to important worldwide change.
Roundtable Discussion: How a High-Stakes FTC Quick Look Inspired E-Discovery Workflow Innovation
The E-Discovery Consulting & Services practice within FTI Consulting’s Technology segment recently completed e-discovery for a Federal Trade Commission quick look as part of the second request for a merger between two healthcare industry companies. Using Brainspace’s Technology Assisted Review (TAR) model, the team developed novel workflows to enable efficient e-discovery in the face of a number of unique circumstances. We recently chatted with the team involved on the case, which was led by Senior Managing Director Wendy King and included Managing Director Jon Murdock and Senior Director Myron Williams, to understand how the matter was different from other second request inquiries. They discussed the challenges involved and shared details around the new workflows FTI developed as part of the engagement.
How Life Sciences Organizations are Re-Examining their Compliance Operations and Technology
FTI Technology Senior Managing Director Rena Verma recently attended the 17th annual Pharmaceutical Compliance Congress. We asked Rena to share the insights she gathered from fellow risk and compliance experts, and her observations on the key issues facing the pharmaceutical industry.
E-Discovery Predictions Revisited
So far, 2020 has been…. an “experience." The challenges our industry had braced for, the opportunities we planned to seize, have been suddenly upended in ways we never would have anticipated. At the end of last year, our team shared a few predictions for what was to come in 2020. They weren’t wrong, but the landscape in which they are coming to fruition has changed significantly from what we envisioned. Now, looking at the wake COVID-19 has left behind to date, it’s a good time to revisit those predictions and revise them to match the way the world, the legal industry and e-discovery have changed this year.
SEC Cyber Report Focuses on Information Governance Best Practices
In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its most substantial cybersecurity guidance to date. The report, “Cybersecurity and Resiliency Observations,” was the result of examination findings and research from the last five years, much of which was led by the commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE). This is the first comprehensive guidance we’ve seen from the SEC’s cyber unit since it was established several years ago. In many ways, it reads as an examination pamphlet—outlining the essential information security practices and programs a financial services institution will need to have in place to stand up against a government raid, inquiry or investigation.
Why Global Reach and Local Expertise Matter in Cross-Border E-discovery
The interconnectedness of people, organizations and nations around the world has never been more apparent than it is today. The ongoing and rapid increase in globalization has driven change and growth in countless industries, transformation in business processes, diversification in economies, and yes, even widespread pandemics. It has also led to a spike in cross-border legal and e-discovery matters—a trend that is continuing on an upswing. Navigating international e-discovery in the best of circumstances is a challenge for even the most sophisticated attorneys. It is more so now, as legal teams struggle to adapt their work in the midst of this global health crisis.
When Employees Work from Home, Compliance Culture Requires Extra Care
The last two months have given businesses many new issues to consider and practices to re-examine. Alongside introducing unexpected risks, the sudden shift to working from home has disrupted corporate culture, and more specifically, culture as it relates to compliance and privacy practices.
In the Midst of Significant Change, E-Discovery Providers Need Agility and Foresight
Collaboration and new forms of communication are steadily gaining on traditional channels. Worldwide revenue for this market reached more than US$38 million last year, and is growing more than 15 percent year-over-year in EMEA. In an e-discovery context, this increasing adoption of collaboration applications and tools—including Microsoft Teams and OneNote, Slack, Telegram, Zoom, etc.—is a prelude to stark change.
Maintaining Continuity as We Adapt to The New Normal
At FTI, we have adapted our e-discovery offerings to adhere to pandemic-related stay-at-home orders and distancing policies. In this guide, we share the steps we have taken to maintain continuity with the hope you can apply them to your own organization and teams.
Q&A: Geoff Budge Leads Technology Practice in South Africa, Offers Business Guidance for COVID-19
Managing Director Geoff Budge has been working with FTI clients in South Africa for more than three years. Now, he is building a team of experts and solutions for the newly-established Technology practice in South Africa. His team will focus on expanding in the region and delivering the Technology segment’s client-centric, flexible model across e-discovery, information governance, risk, data privacy, security and legal operations solutions. We talked to Geoff about this move, and his thoughts on the biggest issues corporations in South Africa are facing during the current pandemic.
Q&A: Renato Fazzone Discusses Expanding Footprint and Client Service in Germany
The recent appointment of Renato Fazzone as Senior Managing Director and Germany Head of Technology established our permanent presence in the German market for our Technology practice. Backed by more than 15 years working in e-discovery and litigation support, as well as advising clients on corporate fraud and antitrust matters, Renato is eager to expand our offerings and expertise to clients in the region. We recently sat down with him to discuss his vision, the top issues impacting German corporations today, and how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting FTI’s offerings.
Managing Your Software Assets in the New World of COVID-19
Life endures even in the most difficult situations—and it adapts and evolves to meet new challenges. Now, as we watch, and fight back against the spread of COVID-19 worldwide, we are arriving at the very edge of an evolution, a new future, a new workspace model that tackles today’s limitations. With COVID-19 leading to lockdowns, organizations are facing their unique challenges as they try to cope with both the safety of their people and the continuity of business. This article will explore some of these changes related to IT and software assets, along with their potential consequences.
News Roundup: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Activity and COVID-19 Pandemic
We are living in unprecedented times. Every industry, every profession, every nation has now felt the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Even though many of us have more time on our hands due to mandated or self-imposed isolation, there still aren’t enough hours in the day to keep up on all of the news. Our Blockchain Advisory and Cryptocurrency Disputes, Investigations and Litigation (CDI&L) team has been watching the news closely as it relates to cryptocurrency and blockchain opportunities and deployments. While not all encompassing, the round-up below highlights some of the most interesting industry news we’re seeing to date.
COVID-19: The Call for Personal Data Hygiene
Coronavirus is everywhere, figuratively and literally. It has overtaken our news, social feeds, and nearly every message and exchange. We’re getting a glaring reminder of the importance of strong personal hygiene (wash your hands!). But what about information hygiene? Beyond the devastating impacts on health infrastructure, human life and the economy, this crisis is also exposing new risks to personal data.
Q&A: Legal Industry Expert Brings Technology Segment to Ireland
Grainne Bryan recently joined our Dublin office as a Managing Director to help establish and lead the Technology practice in Ireland. Joining from a corporate law firm, Grainne brings two decades of experience in the legal industry. Her background includes developing and implementing individual solutions to complex projects and standardising workflows and processes for projects involving all aspects of document identification, collection, production and review. Grainne sat down with us to discuss her new role and how the technology landscape is evolving not only in Ireland but globally.
FTI Talks Cryptocurrency Policy, Opportunity and Forecast at Global Blockchain Association Future of Money Conference
Like with all other disruptive technologies, in blockchain and cryptocurrency, the leapfrog game of new challenges, new advancements and new laws, will continue as the space matures.
Q&A: Successful E-Discovery Starts with Comprehensive Case Management
In e-discovery, counsel and review teams are juggling a lot of moving parts. Between collecting data across numerous locations and data types, assessing key facts, establishing workflows and determining which analytics to apply, e-discovery teams have little time to worry about the logistics of project management. At FTI, Emily Seabury and Elizabeth Noble are among the team of case managers behind the scenes, making sure everything runs smoothly from start to finish. They and FTI’s broader client teams aspire to always be anticipating the next steps to reach a client’s goal, so that the client need never to ask for an update or flag something that needs to be done. We sat down with Emily and Elizabeth to discuss our case management system, and why it is so crucial to ensuring successful outcomes for client matters.
Q&A: David Meadows Joins FTI, Eyes Innovation in E-Discovery and Investigations
Newly appointed as a Senior Managing Director, David Meadows is bringing his e-discovery and computer forensics expertise to FTI Technology’s E-Discovery Consulting & Services and Digital Forensics & Investigations practices. Based out of the Chicago office, David will help clients leverage advanced analytics to reduce cost and risk around their data challenges. He sat down with us to discuss his new role and his thoughts on innovation.
2020 + CCPA = $55 Billion Spend for Businesses
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) has arrived, and businesses are bracing for the financial impacts. Every company’s risk and compliance posture is different, and each company’s data footprint is unique, so the cost of compliance will range from company to company. Generally, estimates from the California Department of Justice project that compliance will cost up to $50,000 for small businesses and $2 million for companies with more than 500 employees. This totals a forecasted $55 billion in initial expenses to operationalize the new requirements.
Federal Cryptocurrency Regulation Introduced for 2020
As 2019 came to a close, and pundits looked back on the tumult of regulatory changes that shaped the last decade, lawmakers slipped in a few final bills. One, introduced in late December by U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar from Arizona, has the potential to make waves in the financial world. The Crypto-Currency Act of 2020 was drafted to add clarity to the cryptocurrency industry and provide a clear framework for crypto regulations in the U.S.
The Most Interesting Cryptocurrency Stories to Close out 2019
Cryptocurrency news heated up at the end of 2019. The second half of the year also brought a wave of new litigations around cryptocurrency misuse, fraud and theft. I expect we’ll see even more of this in 2020, along with a surge of interesting news. Industry watchers can expect a range of cases, from the state level, all the way up to far-reaching cross-border matters, as criminals find new ways to leverage crypto markets to further their malicious interests.
2020 Forecast: Expect Landmark Changes in E-Discovery, Data Privacy and Investigations
Across our practice areas, we asked our experts to share their predictions for what will shape legal, compliance and information governance in the coming year. Below is a roundup—across new laws, emerging technology and key industries—of what they expect will make the biggest impact to businesses worldwide.
Cryptocurrency Trends to Watch
Today, there are more than 2,200 types of cryptocurrency in the global markets. An estimated 34.6 million digital wallets are in use. Between new client matters and a gripping news cycle relating to cryptocurrency regulations, scams and investigations, our team has identified several key trends impacting the industry.
Europe’s Top Court Delivers Landmark Privacy Decisions with Broad Implications for the Regulation of the Internet
Europe’s highest court, The European Court of Justice ("ECJ") in Luxembourg, ruled on two cases last week involving GDPR’s right to be forgotten as it applies to information available on the internet. In the first ruling, the court held that the privacy rule cannot be applied outside the European Union. In the second, the court said the right to freedom of information must be balanced against the right to privacy and specifically the right to have links related to certain categories of personal data automatically deleted.
Hacking, Extortion and Stolen Coins: Unraveling a Major Cryptocurrency Breach
When one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges was breached in May of this year, few in the industry were surprised. Cryptocurrency exchanges have long been appealing targets of malicious actors looking to steal currency and personal information. But this recent breach, which will potentially impact tens of thousands of cryptocurrency investors around the world, is particularly unique. The series of events that has unfolded in its aftermath serves as a stark reminder that the criminals looking to profit from this industry are both sophisticated and highly motivated.
Questions Arise Amid IRS Crackdown on Cryptocurrency Investors
In July, more than 10,000 cryptocurrency investors received warning from the IRS that they may owe taxes on improperly reported income. Weeks later, another round of letters were sent to some, outlining the amount of taxes owed for cryptocurrency gains and demands for payment. These letters are likely the tip of the iceberg in a long-anticipated IRS crackdown on crypto income—the latest in a series of government activity in this arena.
In Two Decades, E-discovery Has Changed and Stayed the Same
E-discovery is a continually changing practice. For approximately two decades now, it has played a tremendous role in shaping the legal world. As e-discovery’s influence and prevalence has grown over the years, the technologies, economics, processes and expertise around it have in many ways become unrecognizable to what they were in the early 2000s. Still, much about the field has also remained the same.
Tips and Tricks for Streamlining Complex Cases
E-discovery matters are more complex than ever before. While the legal industry now has access to powerful tools that can significantly reduce the time invested in manual processes, lawyers are at the same time facing exploding data volumes and an ever-growing spread of data sources and evidence types.
Client Service in Case Management: Q&A with Elizabeth Noble
Senior Director Elizabeth Noble is an unsung hero. As a case manager for some of our largest and most complex e-discovery matters, she is a strategic driver for the backend work that ensures a case goes smoothly. We sat down with her for a discussion about her role, and the importance of case management in saving time and money in e-discovery.
Cryptocurrency Regulation Round Up
The regulation of digital currency markets in the U.S. and abroad remains foggy. Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have been vague regarding how tokens and crypto-based assets map to traditional securities. Clear guidance has not emerged. However, even in the absence of guidance, regulators are bringing forth enforcement actions against companies believed to have engaged in improper cryptocurrency operations.
Alexa, Where’s My Data?
The digital universe will explode to 40 trillion GB of data by 2020. The total Internet of Things market is forecasted to hit $520 billion in the next two years, and will account for at least 10 percent of the total digital universe. We’re talking 4 trillion GB of IoT data in the foreseeable future. All this data, and the ways in which it is collected, stored and secured is intersecting with the blending of corporate and personal worlds, raising important questions about data privilege, compliance and the future of digital forensics.
SEC Weighs in on Crypto Project, Offers Limited Guidance
In early April, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued its first "no-action" letter regarding business use of blockchain-based digital assets. The letter was in response to a proposal from an air charter provider looking to launch a blockchain-based token platform to facilitate sales for air charter services. While the SEC’s response does offer some guidance, it outlines very restrictive conditions for the proposed program and is not particularly actionable for the broader business community.
Cryptocurrency Pyramid Scheme Investigations Continue Worldwide
In March, news broke of fraud and money laundering charges brought against the leaders of the global, multi-billion-dollar OneCoin cryptocurrency pyramid scheme. The story has continued to develop in months since, with arrests made and new information revealed about the extent of the damages that have followed in its wake.
TMT Boards Threaten 2020 Growth if they Ignore Data Privacy Today
This year will see real progress in 5G network implementation, an expansion of the connected device marketplace, further adoption of applied AI and the advancement of ad-tech capabilities. These constituent parts will more noticeably converge and begin to firm up the long-term vision of global commerce, in which online platforms will have greater reach into the real world and the consumer’s data will fuel unprecedented insights and outcomes. In parallel with this push into the future, global Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) corporations will continue to struggle with data privacy regulatory risk.
Cryptocurrency Market Activity Signals Trends to Watch
On April 2, Bitcoin mysteriously spiked to $5,000, reaching nearly five-month highs in just a 60-minute period. Some experts think this jump may be the beginning of a renewed surge in cryptocurrency value.
Digital Asset Protection Gains Momentum: Considerations for Insurers
Insurance claims involving cryptocurrencies are on the rise. Today, the industry is not fully prepared for how to deal with them. These claims seem like familiar claims on the surface, but have incredible uniqueness due to the involvement of cryptocurrencies.
Recommended Reading: Texas Introduces Privacy Bills Furthering the Data Security and Privacy Conversation in the US.
As the trend continues, Texas has joined other states in the data privacy ring by introducing two privacy and data protection bills. Both bills are aimed at protecting personal information and holding companies accountable for data security.
Ad Techs and Transparency Issues take Center Stage for GDPR Enforcement Activity
In many ways, 2018 was a year of waiting. Waiting first for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to go into effect on May 25th. Then waiting again to see how regulators sought to investigate privacy complaints and enforce the new law. Now within the first two months of 2019, we’ve seen the beginnings of the anticipated uptick in European enforcement activity. And it is not a surprise to see the ad-tech space drawing most of that regulator attention.
2019 Data Privacy Predictions
In the last half of 2018, GDPR enforcement activity among data protection authorities across Europe saw a steady uptick and the trend will continue in 2019. Organizations in a broad range of industries received public reprimands, enforcement notices and fines. Violations ranged from data breaches, to lack of security practices and failure to obtain consumer consent to collect data.
Five Lessons Learned from Early GDPR Fines
Earlier this month, data protection authorities in Portugal doled out a €400,000 fine to a hospital for failure to apply appropriate access controls over digital patient data. This is one of the first penalties we’ve seen issued under GDPR since its enactment earlier this year. There are several interesting elements of this particular case, one of which is the fact that fines were imposed even though no data breach event occurred.
GDPR Compliance - The Unintended Consequences for Organisations
GDPR has made data protection a reality not only for heavily regulated industries but for all organisations. Once seen purely as a legislative burden, GDPR compliance is now providing organisations with a range of benefits.
Are Data Subject Access Requests a Trick or a Treat?
It’s that time of year… no, not when bands of trick-or-treaters are traipsing up your walk, but when the ghoulish specters called data subject access requests (DSARs) are going to start flooding in.
Recommended Reading: $17 Million Settlement in US Privacy Suit
A California-based consumer electronics company has agreed to a $17 million settlement in a lawsuit that claimed the company installed data-tracking software on its internet-connected smart TVs without notifying customers, and then profited from the sale of the personally identifiable information to advertisers.
Recommended Reading: Examining Safeguards for Consumer Data Privacy
For those interested in the growing momentum around broader US data privacy protections, I wanted to flag a recent Senate hearing on “Examining Safeguards for Consumer Data Privacy.” On Wednesday, September 26, 2018 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation met to examine consumer protection and privacy policies of top technology and communications firms.
Recommended Reading: Data Breach and Potential Class Action in UK
After a recent data breach, a law firm is threatening the company with a potential class action lawsuit, citing Article 82 of the U.K. Data Protection Act. Specifically, the law firm is citing the "right to compensation and liability" — which states, "Any person who has suffered material or non-material damage as a result of an infringement of this regulation shall have the right to receive compensation from the controller or processor for the damage suffered."
Latest iOS Update Makes Evidence Deletion Easier
In May, Apple released iOS 11.4, and with it, new features for storage and synchronization of Messages to iCloud. Our team has written before about the e-discovery and digital forensic investigations challenges that can arise when Apple updates operating system functionalities. The changes in 11.4 yet are another example of how this continually moving target can impact organizations that are required to preserve, collect and review data from Apple devices for legal, regulatory and investigative matters.
Regulatory Compliance as a Competitive Advantage
Next year, firms around the globe will be impacted by some of the world’s toughest new regulations and privacy requirements. Adapting to this new landscape was a key topic at The Lawyer's Managing Risk and Litigation conference.
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iOS 11 Has a New Passcode Workaround. Here’s What Counsel Needs to Know.
For years, mobile devices have introduced a slew of new challenges into e-discovery and digital forensics investigations, from data encryption and proliferating hardware to rapidly changing third-party applications. Debates continue between law enforcement agencies and technology companies about mobile device encryption and whether criminal investigators should be given back-door access to suspects’ phones. Just last week the U.S. Deputy Attorney General spoke out against Apple on this very issue, saying law enforcement should have access to investigate the communications of the shooter in the recent tragic Texas shooting.
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Q&A with Sandeep Jadav, FTI Technology’s new Managing Director for Asia
We recently appointed a new Managing Director to lead the Technology team in Asia. Sandeep Jadav is joining the tech team from Ernst & Young, and brings more than 17 years of experience in leading teams in forensic technology. We sat down with him to discuss his new role, how the field has evolved over the course of his career and his thoughts on emerging trends and challenges impacting corporations doing business in Asia.
Equifax Breach a Category 4 or 5 Attack, but By No Means Unique
Late last week, we learned that Equifax was breached via a simple web application weakness, and over 143 million consumers’ records were compromised. The bad (worse) news is that this story is not unique, and this is by no means the final chapter.
Advice From Counsel Featured in Security Technology Executive Magazine
With organizations increasingly challenged to support the modern workplace environment – mobile phones, remote employees, cloud collaboration sites, social media, IM platforms and chatrooms – while keeping this data secure and easily retrievable for legal or regulatory needs, we at FTI conducted the latest iteration of AFC to uncover how legal teams are handling the challenges.
How Counsel Can Leverage the Power of IG
While information governance is often thought about in the context of data security and IT efficiency, there is an equally important factor that deeply resonates with a corporation’s board and C-suite: reputational risk.
New Data Types in the App Age
The legal industry is hungry for guidance on how to deal with the explosion in cloud-based applications and new data types that are creating headaches for organizations of all sizes. While the threat of big data has cast a shadow over IT and legal departments for several years, the real challenge is proving to be the variety of data, and it is quickly defeating traditional collection and review tools and strategies.
Part 2: The Evolution of Predictive Coding in Australia
Paul Hunter shares some comments on what lawyers in Australia need to keep in mind as predictive coding gains adoption in the region.
The Evolution of Predictive Coding in Australia
Phil Smith, a director in FTI Technology’s Melbourne, Australia office, is an expert advisor to clients looking to implement predictive coding. He shared some insights on how the technology is evolving in Australia and FTI’s efforts to help clients update strategies and streamline e-discovery reviews using technology that is still nascent in the region.
We Now Have an Instruction Manual for Data Security Programs
Target’s multistate settlement ($18.5MM) for their 2013 data breach is the strongest evidence yet that Data Governance and Security is impacting organizations in every vertical and geography.
Evaluating Network Permissions in Investigations
Jim Scarazzo explains how risk, IT, legal and compliance intersect across the many stages of investigation.
FTI Discusses Information Governance Enforcement in InformationWeek
Sean Kelly highlights steps IG teams can take to build enforcement into their policies from the outset.
A Lawyer’s Role in Microsoft 365 Migration
O365 migration should be viewed as a critical business initiative that requires the involvement of the legal department as one of the primary decision makers every step of the way during a migration.
IG Engagement, Enablement and Change to Ensure Policies Aren’t Collecting Dust
Policy enforcement is a challenging task for most organizations – more so for those in regulated industries that have a highly complex legal and compliance profile.
Microsoft 365 Migration Considerations Discussed in Computer Business Review
With increasing adoption of Microsoft 365 (O365), analysts have indicated the migration process has arisen as an acute pain point from an information governance and e-discovery perspective.
ILTA Peer-to-Peer: Skills You Need To Summit the Mountain of Data Challenges
In a recent FTI Advice from Counsel study, 76 percent of respondents said that while they do have information governance programs in place, initiatives ranged across 30 different areas of focus. These included data security, budget transparency, efficient records retention, data analytics, compliance, risk prevention and optimizing data for litigation needs, and underscore the difficulty many legal teams have in focusing their IG efforts.
Understanding How Analytics and Linear Review Can Coexist
Despite increasing adoption of new technologies in the legal space, the vast majority of legal teams are still not implementing analytical tools in a way that can truly make a difference to alleviating their overall e-discovery burdens and growing expenses.
Best Practices for Mobile Device Collections
FTI Technology Managing Director Colleen Casey Voshell recently teamed up with colleague T. Sean Kelly to share some insights on dealing with mobile device data collection and e-discovery. Voshell and Kelly agree on the importance of counsel understanding policy issues, data privacy concerns and software limitations that come into play when dealing with mobile data.
FTI Shares Information Governance Philosophy in Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
One of the most meaningful elements of information governance is how it can drive the differentiation of data types and enable stronger security protocols around a corporation’s most sensitive data.
Lessons Learned in Canadian Competition Law
In a recent merger, a Canadian corporation was tasked with responding to the Competition Bureau’s request for supplementary information, known as a Supplementary Information Request (SIR), similar to Second Requests in the U.S. Working closely with the client and FTI’s team of experts, Tim Klinger, Managing Director at FTI Technology and the lead for the company’s practice in Canada, helped the client implement FTI’s Ringtail e-discovery software to review approximately 420 GB of data that was potentially relevant to the government’s request.
Mitigating FCPA Fallout
Whether unexpected or the result of an internal investigation, an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or Department of Justice (DOJ) can burden even a prepared organization and result in serious financial consequences. With the number of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions proliferating across industry types and organization sizes, and fines growing larger each year, it is increasingly important to execute investigations with speed and efficiency.
A Prescription that Works: Analytics for Healthcare Companies
In a recent article in New Jersey Law Journal, FTI Managing Director Colleen Casey Voshell wrote about how analytics tools can boost information governance initiatives for healthcare companies and other corporations in highly regulated industries. Because healthcare organizations must juggle the tasks of maintaining compliance with regulations, dealing with a high volume of litigation and securing sensitive data that contains customer and/or patient information, information governance and overall data management are becoming exceedingly difficult to navigate.
Corporate Counsel Name FTI Technology Top Provider in Information Governance, Managed Review and Investigations
We’re pleased to announce that FTI Consulting is a top provider in 13 categories in the first-ever Best of Corporate Counsel survey. Corporate counsel voted in a range of categories across hundreds of software and services providers in the legal industry.
Sedona Working Group 6, Data Privacy Best Practices & Brexit
QA with Craig Earnshaw, Senior Managing Director, FTI Technology
Sophie Ross Discusses FTI’s Approach to Unlocking Foreign Language E-discovery
Given the global nature of e-discovery today, the need to review documents in multiple languages is a challenge facing an increasing number of corporate legal teams. Even the most sophisticated legal departments, with fine-tuned e-discovery processes, still struggle with the review phase when non- English language documents are involved.
Multi-National E-discovery During Privacy Shield Limbo
In October, the High Court of the European Union made a ruling that nullified the existing Data Safe Harbor agreement between the EU and the U.S., which since 2000, outlined rules allowing the transfer of protected data from Europe across our borders. The safe harbor agreement provided a way for U.S. companies to migrate personal data originating in the EU, to the U.S. for e-discovery and regulatory purposes, in a way that was consistent with the EU Data Protection Directive.
Understanding the Impact of Anti-Forensics Techniques
As a computer forensics investigator, FTI Consulting’s Bryan Lee examines evidence of corporate employees stealing data, embezzling company funds, committing fraud, and performing a wide range of other nefarious activities. In many of the cases Bryan has investigated, the employee attempts to cover their tracks using various methods such as deleting their internet history. Recently, there has been an upward trend in users altering their computer prior to performing their intended actions.
Monumental Ruling on Predictive Coding in the UK
By now you have probably heard about the February 16th ruling in the case Pyrrho Investments and MWB Business Exchange v. MWB Property and others by Master Matthews of English High Court. In the ruling, Master Matthews outlines many of today’s e-discovery (or ‘e-disclosure’) challenges for litigants – the growing mountain of data for any-sized litigant, and the shortcomings of keyword searches.
Legaltech New York (LTNY) 2016
We’re excited to discuss some of the biggest trends impacting the legal industry at Legaltech New York (LTNY) 2016. Learn more about our day one panels featuring noted industry thought leaders from the bench, corporations and law firms.
2015 Winds Down Following Record Awards Season
FTI had a busy year in 2015 on many fronts – from the launch of Information Governance and Compliance Services and Ringtail 8.5 to important work on landmark cases, thought leadership at industry events and awards recognitions. Our teams have worked diligently to improve every year in providing clients with meaningful product innovation, the most seasoned experts and overall best legal software and services in the industry.
LTNY 2015 Recap
Show themes reflect e-discovery’s evolution from a niche concern to an area intrinsically connected with the biggest problems facing law, business and government today.
Dynamo Q&A with Expert Witness Jim Scarazzo
On September 17 Judge Buch of the U.S. Tax Court made an important ruling in favor of predictive coding in the Dynamo Holdings Limited Partnership, Dynamo GP, Inc., tax matters partner, et al v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue case. This is the Tax Court’s first ever opinion regarding how to conduct e-discovery, and FTI’s own Jim Scarazzo served as an expert witness in court and was cited several times in the ruling. Here is a short Q&A with Jim about the case and his involvement.
Study Uncovers E-discovery Trends In Asia
Economic globalization is driving an increasing amount of activity in Asia, taking U.S.-based multi-national corporations to the Far East and into highly charged legal and compliance environments. This, intersecting with regulatory activity stemming from the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and UK Bribery Act is driving increased e-discovery in Asia.
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Dealing with Big Email in E-discovery
David Grant, a senior managing director at FTI Technology, recently contributed a two-part article to InsideCounsel on the issue of big email, and how corporate legal departments can address the many challenges that result from an e-discovery standpoint. In the article, David offers counsel an alternative to the standard comprehensive review process that is undertaken at the outset of most e-discovery matters.
Advice from Counsel | Part 3: The Emerging E-discovery Playbook
The first two posts in this series highlighted some fascinating findings from our annual Advice from Counsel study, providing recommendations for the top corporate e-discovery ‘plays’ according to legal departments at Fortune 1000 corporations. Some of the top practices touched on included preservation and collection, when to utilize service providers, tackling the uncertain waters of predictive coding and leveraging data re-use. In addition to the five overarching ‘plays’, the survey respondents also weighed in on other pressing matters that are impacting e-discovery today, and will continue to do so in the near future.
Advice from Counsel | Part 2: The Emerging E-discovery Playbook
In an earlier post we introduced some interesting findings from our annual Advice from Counsel study and highlighted some in-sourcing and outsourcing trends that corporations are exhibiting as part of their overall corporate e-discovery playbook. While the previous post discussed “plays” around collection and preservation, as well as guidelines for choosing service providers this post will focus on the smart plays around predictive coding and data re-use.
Advice from Counsel | Part 1: The Emerging E-discovery Playbook
Is there an ideal corporate model for e-discovery? One that can evolve as new challenges emerge, but still provide budget certainty and process efficiency? These are among the questions we explored with Fortune 1000 inside counsel for our annual Advice from Counsel study conducted in partnership with legal technology expert Ari Kaplan. The results are now in and they show, attorneys across the board moving toward a corporate ‘playbook’ that will guide e-discovery in the coming years.
Advice from Counsel | Information Governance, Baseball, Plain White T’s
In early June, we invited in-house e-discovery professionals from D.C., Virginia and Maryland to the latest Advice from Counsel summit. It was an informative gathering with lively roundtable discussions amongst peers on interesting e-discovery topics such as: judges ordering the use of predictive coding, indexing data by concepts, the practicality of co-operation and disclosure of predictive coding to opposing counsel, whether it’s possible to conduct privilege reviews using predictive coding and even securing executive buy-in for “spring cleaning” data remediation projects.
Advice from Counsel | LegalTech Insights
FTI will soon announce the full results of our annual Advice from Counsel (AFC) study in partnership with legal technology expert Ari Kaplan. This will be the fifth year we have studied key challenges, habits and trends at Fortune 1000 corporate legal departments, and delved into discussions with these organization’s counsel and e-discovery experts to bring forth practical advice and insights to the industry.
Part 2: Beyond the hype – Common Use Cases for Predictive Coding
Part 1 of this post introduced some strategies for combining predictive coding with analytics technologies that were discussed on one of FTI’s LegalTech panels in February. Senior managing director Kathryn McCarthy moderated the discussion with Honorable Judge Andrew J. Peck, Jason Lichter from Pepper Hamilton and Eric Leiber of Toyota Motor Sales. In addition to covering case law around predictive coding, they offered three key use cases for when these technologies can best be applied together. In the earlier post, we summarized their recommendations for second requests. Here we discuss internal investigations and depositions.
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Part 1: Beyond the Hype – Common Use Cases for Predictive Coding
Predictive coding is overhyped to the extent that while few legal teams consistently use it, the topic itself is practically passé. Yet in conversation corporate counsel and law firm attorneys express the need to cut through the hype and understand how to use and defend predictive coding.
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Predictive Coding: Unanswered Questions?
Just one more week to Legal Tech New York and the panels are putting the finishing touches on presentation materials. Our 10:30 am session on Wednesday the 5th covers predictive coding from a different angle than most conference sessions. First, we’re fortunate to have distinguished legal professionals representing the bench, corporate in-house teams, as well as law firm counsel. Secondly, the focus will be on practical advice for using predictive coding for three common use cases – Second Requests, in-house investigations and litigation. And last but not least, the panel will discuss some of the unanswered questions as it relates to predictive coding. This includes the debate on whether or not to disclose the use of predictive coding, the role of keywords, and also knowing when predictive coding may not be well-suited for your case.
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What are the Rules?
If you’ve ever been asked “what are the rules?” when it comes to collecting, processing or reviewing data overseas, or if you’ve ever asked that question, this is the LegalTech session for you. Our expert panel with diverse profiles – law firm, corporation, analyst firm – have all been asked at one time or another to quickly sum up the data privacy rules. How is China different than Brazil? What if employees sign consent forms upon hiring? How does the Snowden/NSA leaks change the game?
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LegalTech New York Panelists Announced
You’ve heard the theoretical discussions on e-discovery – now learn the actionable steps to manage it in a faster, defensible, cost-effective and strategic manner. These practical, interactive sessions will focus on how inside counsel and law firms can utilize new technology and processes to take control of e-discovery.
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E-discovery in Asia
The National Law Journal just published an article co-authored by Richard Kershaw of FTI Technology and Mike Vella of Jones Day, on the important topic of e-discovery in China. Both of these professionals have extensive experience managing matters from this region, and the article is a must-read for any legal team with offices in China. State-secrecy laws, the intersection of “BYOD” (bring your own device) and investigations, and other common scenarios are discussed.
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Abe Lincoln Used Visualizations, Too
It’s easy to think that the world’s move towards more visual representations of data is relatively new. Think of the increased number of infographics in newspapers, GIFs on the web or even icons on your desktop. But in fact, did you know that the first infographic was invented in 1786? And that even Abe Lincoln appreciated how infographics were able to convey complex information in a simple manner?
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Compliance Week West: Data-Intensive Investigations in an Age of Evolving Compliance Standards
FTI Technology experts speak at numerous events in any given year, and the audience is often comprised of counsel with e-discovery responsibilities. This Compliance Week West event in Menlo Park, California, was a nice opportunity for us to present to a different audience – compliance and risk officers – on a very important issue impacting both e-discovery and compliance professionals: data-intensive investigations.
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More FYI on BYOD
What’s the cure for a BYOD headache? Our consultants are asked this almost daily. And of course, while there isn’t an easy answer to this question, the risks BYOD pose are very real (i.e. IP theft, etc.). As a follow-up to his ARMA 2013 panel on collection best practices, Technology’s Veeral Gosalia outlined some of the complications and best practices with BYOD and e-discovery in a Tech Target article this week.
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Can Predictive Coding Provide Greater Information Governance? – ARMA 2013
These two terms – “predictive coding” and “information governance” – generate a lot of industry buzz but our most recent Advice from Counsel survey results indicate adoption is lagging. So this ARMA 2013 conference session was designed to provide ARMA attendees with practical knowledge of predictive coding and examples of how leading-edge companies are using it for more than just e-discovery.
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How is Case Law Impacting Record Managers and Self-Collection? – ARMA 2013
As ARMA evolves into an organization focused on helping companies address information governance challenges, we were proud to participate in the ARMA 2013 conference with two stellar panels.
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FCPA Investigations and Data Privacy
If you’re involved in FCPA investigations, or any type of cross-border discovery matter, take a minute to download survey results of 114 FCPA professionals. In it, respondents share their thoughts on key trends and best practices for matters ranging from FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act, and whistleblower investigations.
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Assessing Your Budget Transparency
How much do you spend on e-discovery each year? Or on each matter? If you don’t yet have a process in place to calculate e-discovery costs and measure ROI of your e-discovery program, you’re not alone.
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KMWorld Names Ringtail as a "Trend Setting Product"
It’s always nice to receive industry recognition, especially for products and services that provide tangible benefits for clients. This year, KMWorld named the software as a service (SaaS) version of Ringtail as a trend-setting product.
