Negotiating ESI Protocols: Pros and Cons, Strategies, Best Practices, Avoiding Pitfalls of Overuse

Mr. Atkins is a seasoned construction attorney with significant experience in litigation and contracting. He also co-chairs the Real Estate Litigation practice at Smith Anderson. Mr. Atkins regularly represents owners, contractors and developers in multi-party disputes involving public and private commercial projects. He is also regularly involved in other commercial, contract and business-related disputes. Mr. Atkins has represented clients in some of the largest construction disputes in North Carolina including multi-million dollar claims related to the construction of state-owned psychiatric hospitals, a light rail system and public highways. He regularly counsels clients on risk management issues and claim development during construction. Mr. Atkins has significant experience in mediation, litigation, and arbitration and has been involved in projects across North Carolina, throughout the southeast, in Puerto Rico and in Eastern Europe. He has been involved in numerous cases with millions of documents produced in discovery and is able to assist clients in the development of strategies to efficiently process and produce large volumes of documents while minimizing discovery costs. Based on his experience, Mr. Atkins serves as the firm’s eDiscovery Partner-In-Charge. He also regularly represents clients before the various North Carolina construction-related licensing boards and counsels them on applicable laws and rules. In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Atkins also regularly assists clients with development and construction contracting matters including on complex projects such as public private partnerships.

Ms. Halter is a partner in the firm. Her practice includes complex commercial and business litigations, arbitrations and government and internal investigations, particularly as they relate to managing large, document-intensive cases, specifically those involving electronic discovery. For more than two decades, Ms. Halter has counseled clients regarding complex electronic discovery in litigations, arbitrations and investigation matters involving intellectual property, trade secrets, securities, and banking, including SEC and FINRA investigation matters, antitrust, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, products liability, real estate, and employment litigation, as well as other government and internal investigations and public records act requests. She is a member of the e-Discovery Analysis and Technology (e-DAT) group, a dedicated, firmwide practice group that deploys advanced technology, including predictive analytics and other technology assisted review resources, and implements proven business processes to provide clients with efficient and cost-effective electronic discovery counseling and document review services. Ms. Halter also counsels clients in a variety of industries on information governance, records management, and litigation readiness issues, providing advice and assistance regarding information governance policies, practices and records retention schedules, employee training, and other recommendations to maintain legal compliance, lower record management costs, and reduce liability risks.

Mr. Hersh is a Partner in Akerman’s Litigation Practice Group and leads Akerman’s eDiscovery Services team. He advises clients on electronic discovery (eDiscovery), information governance, litigation readiness and response, cross-border discovery issues, and data privacy. Mr. Hersh leverages his unique knowledge of the technical and legal dimensions of eDiscovery to advise clients on defensible and cost-effective strategies for data preservation, collection, review, and production, with an emphasis on controlling the scope of discovery and implementing cost-shifting strategies. He represents clients in all aspects of eDiscovery throughout the country in both state and federal court, and represents foreign corporations who are defending lawsuits in the United States.

Mr. Goodfried is a staff attorney for the e-discovery analysis and technology (e-DAT) group. He manages all aspects of the e-discovery process, from advising clients on document retention and information governance, through document production and litigation support. Mr. Goodfried has managed e-discovery on multibillion dollar lawsuits, government investigations, and international arbitration. His role also includes evaluation and testing of new e-discovery software; training lawyers and staff on the use of e-discovery software; and managing Legal Holds for several clients.