An informal and occasional selection of recent international eDisclosure / eDiscovery / GDPR / legal IT / data protection / information governance / interesting news / articles collated since 2011 by Jonathan Maas of The Maas Consulting Group in London. Simply pick and click from below.
These links are copied from a recent BONG! I BONG! most work days as an email to subscribers: anyone can email Jonathan@MaasConsultingGroup.com to subscribe / unsubscribe. Subscription is free.
Don't forget to visit my BONG! archive. All my BONG! items are available and searchable (via your web browser). Thought you saw it? Now you can search for it!
BONG!
To Adobe or not to Adobe? A cautionary tale of what happens when SAR redactions go wrong (Lewis Silkin: Sean Illing) https://maas-bong.io/3uxlBDn
"It involves the data controller providing data to a data subject in response to a Subject Access Request in such a way that the data subject was able to remove redactions and see highly confidential third-party data. In this case, Pepperall HJ considered whether the controller should be granted injunctive relief to protect the confidentiality of the data accidentally provided."
BONG!
What do Wall Street Bros, Reddit, and a video game store have to do with eDiscovery? (DISCO: Cat Casey) https://maas-bong.io/3qX5JYL
"Reddit posts, like other social media posts, can be used as evidence in criminal or civil cases. Evidence of research done on Reddit implicated a man in his child’s murder and a viral video on Reddit landed a chair-throwing influencer in jail. While there is not yet much case law, the massive user base and visibility of the platform are increasing rapidly and the likelihood you will come across it as evidence is likewise rising."
BONG!
All the coronavirus in the world could fit inside a Coke can, with plenty of room to spare (The Conversation: Christian Yates [University of Bath]) https://maas-bong.io/3kqM4xO
"It’s astonishing to think that all the trouble, the disruption, the hardship and the loss of life that has resulted over the last year could constitute just a few mouthfuls of what would undoubtedly be the worst beverage in history."
BONG!
VIDEO: The mind-boggling theory that we could be descended from Martians (Motherboard: Becky Ferreira) https://maas-bong.io/2ZPXiTf
"Many scientists think that life may have started on Mars first, only to spread to Earth through a process called 'panspermia'."
BONG!
PODCAST: In conversation with Bjarne Tellmann from GSK Consumer Healthcare (Digital Legal Exchange: Michele DeStefano) https://maas-bong.io/3qWlhfq
"Tellmann shares his insights on the iterative process of digital transformation, with focus on value generation and customer experience. He also discusses DLEX workshop participation and his views on the future of legal."
BONG!
VIDEO: Tea with Me - Trailblazing Series #7 - James McKenna (YouTube: Dawn Hudgins [ILTA]) https://maas-bong.io/3bEiGAl
"James McKenna, chief information officer, Fenwick & West and president, ILTA, sits down with Dawn, ILTA VP of service delivery, to chat about people who have inspired us, the blaze we're leaving behind and other topics about trailblazers."
BONG!
The rise of the "legal support-preneur" (Lawyers Weekly: Jerome Doraisamy) https://maas-bong.io/2NGwC4M
"For a bounty of reasons - from under-appreciation by employers to a desire for greater flexibility - support professionals in law firms are looking to consult externally, which may cause law firms to rethink how they engage with such experts."
BONG!
Permanent shift to home working will boost productivity but may impact mental health, poll finds (Global Legal Post) https://maas-bong.io/2Nyhcj9
"More than three quarters of respondents to the Global Legal Post survey expect less office-based work once pandemic recedes."
BONG!
Worried about data privacy, huh? So what are you doing about those “spy pixels” embedded in the emails you receive? (The Project Counsel Group: Eric De Grasse) https://maas-bong.io/2NAIm94
"Effectively all email clients are web browsers now, yet don’t have any of the privacy protection features actual browsers do."
BONG!
PODCAST: The $200 million phone call (JD Supra: Anand Upadhye [Casetext]) https://maas-bong.io/3uC7I79
"In today’s episode we’re joined by Wendell Jisa, the CEO of Reveal Data. I ask him about his entrepreneurial journey, exactly how a $200M megadeal actually happens and why legal technology is finally attracting these massive investments."
A selection of upcoming and potentially interesting live webinars / webcasts (please check the local times yourself)
26 Feb 1300 GMT Digital arbitration: A technical perspective (Knovos / ICDR / Ashurst / DLA Piper) https://maas-bong.io/36ZSnTM
26 Feb 1530 GMT Public consultation on the draft set of Digital Dispute Resolution Rules (UK Jurisdiction Taskforce) https://maas-bong.io/37qrMza
03 Mar 1200 GMT Digital data: The current trends and challenges for investigations (ACi / Consilio / Moore Kingston Smith) https://maas-bong.io/2N8Krc7
04 Mar 1300 EST How to avoid inevitable over-collecting of Google Workspace (G-Suite) (Hanzo) https://maas-bong.io/37PT6Ho
04 Mar 1800 GMT Employee DSARs: The coming deluge (Exterro) https://maas-bong.io/3qN8ITi
08 Mar 2230 GMT You ask, we answer: Nuix 2021 Regulator Report Q&A (APAC) (Nuix / Kaplan) https://maas-bong.io/3uqtivf
09 Mar 1400 GMT Why more legal departments are in-sourcing eDiscovery (Exterro / Maas / Panoram / FTI) https://maas-bong.io/3txGpKo
09 Mar 1600 GMT You ask, we answer: Nuix 2021 Regulator Report Q&A (Nuix / Kaplan) https://maas-bong.io/37M220e
10 Mar 1200 GMT Use of analytics in regulatory investigations (ACi / Nuix / Kaplan / BT / Deloitte / Baker McKenzie) https://maas-bong.io/3qBALoV
10 Mar 1300 UTC Five key considerations when responding to complex DSARs (Exterro / The Prince's Trust / News UK / DPN Associates) https://maas-bong.io/3dfNDNu
16 Mar 0830 EST Legalweek(year) (Various) https://maas-bong.io/3j4BnjZ
16 Mar 1700 GMT A better way for privilege review: Harnessing AI for accuracy and productivity (EDRM / Reed Smith / Text IQ) https://maas-bong.io/3jLFNeP
18 Mar 0830 EST 8th annual eDiscovery Conference (University of Florida / Various) https://maas-bong.io/3jCX4rD
19 Mar 1030 EST eDiscovery of challenging data sources - Teams, Zoom, Slack & co. (CeDIV) https://maas-bong.io/3svnZsq
24 Mar 1000 GMT Briefing TEI 2021 / Transformation, efficiency, innovation (Briefing / Various) https://maas-bong.io/3bjBnsK
25 Mar 1400 GMT Legal Tech Conference 2021 (La Touche Training / Various) https://maas-bong.io/2NbO0hx (£)
13 Apr 0830 EST Legalweek(year) (Various) https://maas-bong.io/3j4BnjZ
14 - 15 Apr 1200 EDT The Sedona Conference Working Group 11 annual meeting (Sedona / Various) https://maas-bong.io/3bHi5xJ (members only) (£)
28 - 29 Apr 1200 EDT The Sedona Conference Working Group 1 mid-year meeting (Sedona / Various) https://maas-bong.io/2NWQn86 (members only) (£)
11 May 0330 EST Legalweek(year) (Various) https://maas-bong.io/3j4BnjZ
13-14 Jul 0830 EST Legalweek(year) (Various) https://maas-bong.io/3j4BnjZ
Let me know of any upcoming webinar / webcast you'd like to see included in this list.
By the way, I have noticed that sometimes the links we compile above have registration / paywall information inserted between the referenced site and you. At the time I compose these emails there are no such distractions so I can only assume sites randomly impose registration/payment requirements on links to them. I apologise in advance as my intention is to give you all untrammelled access to this information.
(Incidentally, and for those outside the UK (or in the UK but without televisions), BONG! is a reference to the main evening TV news in the UK, on which headlines are read out between strikes (bongs) of the now-silent Big Ben, the bell in the Elizabeth Tower (renamed from the Clock Tower in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee) at the Palace of Westminster. (You can thank a particularly persistent pedant early on in the life of the BONG! for this rather precise explanation.)
©️ 2016-21 | The Maas Consulting Group Ltd
©️ all photographs 2016-21 | Jonathan Maas
BONG!
(26 February 2021)
Who we are
The Maas Consulting Group is led by Jonathan Maas, a renowned paper and electronic discovery/disclosure veteran with an unparalleled 38 years experience in the field: 27 years in international law firms, seven years in international consultancies and four years leading the Maas Consulting Group. Jonathan speaks and writes on the subject widely and has been involved in developing civil procedure in England & Wales to respond to the modern demands of litigating in the digital age.
Jonathan’s métier is acting as a verbal or written bridge between technical experts and lay people, whether it’s conveying complex technology concepts to a legal audience or explaining matters of detailed legal procedure to IT specialists. He has the ability to unite diverse teams to complete discovery exercises as cost- and time-effectively as possible. In this way he has delivered numerous successful projects for national and international businesses and local and central government. This translates into extremely experienced and empathetic support for lawyers and IT professionals.
His experience of identifying, collecting, classifying and acting on data in the legal environments of investigations and disputes continues to add value in the current environment of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Information Governance and preparations for the UK to leave the European Union (BREXIT). Sound and defensible data management is more important in business than it has ever been.
Jonathan has also researched and implemented computer systems in law firms for the purposes of library and know-how management, litigation support, costs budgeting, collaborative working and more.
At a glance, since 1982 Jonathan has worked at:
Hogan Lovells
Simmons & Simmons
The Litigation Support Company
DLA Piper
EY
Huron Legal
Consilio
Maas Consulting Group
This is the home of the BONG! Jonathan regularly sends out a popular daily email alert (see to the right, his “BONG!”) to subscribers, containing brief snippets of interesting and current discovery, GDPR, legal technology and other news. Every weekend The Project Counsel Group sends out curated selections from that week's BONGs to an international distribution list of some 12,000 individuals, from Swiss paralegals to US judges. Also, every month Jonathan distills the more important eDiscovery news from that month's BONGs into a column - "ICYMI" (In Case You Missed It) - for Legal IT Insider, with a brief note putting each selected item into context.
Although based in London Jonathan has set up and managed case teams in Australia, Bermuda, France and Hong Kong.
Click here for information about some example projects from Jonathan's long career.
View Jonathan Maas'
Welcome to the web site of The Maas Consulting Group. We specialise in working with lawyers, IT people and suppliers, negotiating, delivering cost-effective solutions, writing, speaking, listening, hearing, attention to detail, humour, determination, tact and diplomacy, project management, encouraging the best out of people, removing problems, team work and getting things done.