ARCHIVED CONTENT
You are viewing ARCHIVED CONTENT released online between 1 April 2010 and 24 August 2018 or content that has been selectively archived and is no longer active. Content in this archive is NOT UPDATED, and links may not function.Extracts from articles by Greg Buckles
Post #1 – Fighting Over Customers: DTI vs. LDiscovery Lawsuit (5/2/17)
My thanks to a peer for shooting me this scoop. I dusted off my PACER password and found DTI’s complaint and the final order transferring this fascinating story from Virginia to NY. Forgive my syntax, but the cite is Document Technologies, Inc. et al. v. LDiscovery LLC d/b/a KrolLDiscovery, Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-405-AJT/IDD E. D. Va. Complaints are only one side of any story, but DTI’s side of this story claims that LDiscovery solicited four top Epiq reps to download proprietary data and entice former customers to LDiscovery after their one-year non-compete expired. All the M&A activity in the eDiscovery market (check my ITLA webinar) results in lots of personnel turnover and unfortunately gives rise to the temptation to take advantage of that uncertainty to poach top employees and their long-term accounts. I am sure that I will do a more in-depth dive into this case as it gathers steam, but I wanted to get you some of the fun claims from the DTI complaint.
No one likes their dirty laundry aired in a lawsuit or even in a blog by a skeptical ex-analyst. But hiding bad behavior just perpetuates it. The eDiscovery market needs transparency and accountability to provide a level playing field for consumers. Ethical behavior is its own reward.
Post #2 – Why Is Your Media Not Reporting the DTI-LDiscovery Suit? (5/3/17)
A reader asked why they had not seen the case reported in any of their news feeds or media subscriptions. I would have missed this case if a peer had not sent me the cite. All of this begs the question, “Why are the media companies with names that include ‘News’ not covering this multi-million dollar dispute?”
My unfiltered opinion is that these media companies are actually marketing companies who generate sponsored content rather than actual news organizations. Barry Murphy and [I] started the eDiscovery Journal back in 2008 because we wanted to speak truth to eDiscovery practitioners. Eventually, we shut down our market analyst-news division when we were unable to grow it on direct-to-consumer subscriptions. Do you pay for your eDiscovery periodicals and research reports? I did not think so. So ask yourself who pays to generate that content?
Ask why your media sources might be afraid to publish anything that their largest sponsors might not like. As a very sharp GC once said to me, “Sometimes it is not what they say, but what they avoid saying that tells the true story.”
Additional Reading (Subscription Required)
- DTI-Epiq Sues LDiscovery to Protect Confidential, Proprietary Sales Information (Sean Doherty, 451 Research, April 3, 2017)
Editor’s Note: Interesting articles and comments by industry analyst and eDiscovery practitioner Greg Buckles. As one who has observed the eDiscovery market since 2005, I agree with Greg’s media-centric comments and would highlight that there appears to be a real need and opportunity for objectivity in reporting from the publications, associations, and commentators covering the field of eDiscovery.
