eDiscovery in 2013: What You Need to Know

Tonya Deem is a litigator with trial, appellate and arbitration experience, representing both established companies and emerging companies in a broad range of disputes, including patent litigation, complex business disputes, securities litigation and multi-district litigation.

Ms. Deem has represented companies in patent infringement actions in Texas, Delaware, North Carolina, California, Georgia, and South Carolina and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She regularly represents companies in defending actions filed by entities which invest in patents but do not own them.

Ms. Deem has successfully litigated and arbitrated several complex construction disputes, including material defect and product liability matters in premature component failure disputes and delay and workmanship claims. She has also represented brokers and advisors in litigation arising out of a failed tax shelter strategy, including claims of fraudulent misrepresentation.

A. David Fawal is in Butler Snow’s Commercial Litigation Group and located in the firm’s Birmingham office. AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, Fawal focuses on insurance defense/coverage, punitive damage claims, antitrust, civil RICO, product liability, class actions, arson, and eDiscovery.

Fawal presently serves on the Grievance Committee of the Birmingham Bar Association and the Military Law Committee of the Alabama State Bar. He is an active member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association and the Defense Research Institute. Fawal started his legal career on active duty in the U.S. Navy. He has continued his military service through the Reserves and is a Commander for the U. S. Navy Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Following his active duty, Fawal returned to Birmingham in 1995 and went into private practice focusing on civil litigation. A cum laude graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, Fawal received his B.S. in psychology. Fawal received his J.D. from the Cumberland School of Law where he was the Associate Managing Editor of the American Journal of Trial Advocacy and was a member of the Trial Advocacy Board.

Caroline Walters is an attorney at the Los Angeles office of McKool Smith Hennigan. Her practice focuses on the defense and prosecution of contract dispute, breach of fiduciary duty actions, fraud actions and securities litigation. Ms. Walters has been recognized as a California “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers from 2010 through 2012. Ms. Walters has significant experience with e-discovery, having overseen and managed extensive large scale e-discovery collections, reviews and productions. She is the co-author of “Navigating e-discovery” published in The Computer & Internet Lawyer by Aspen Publishers in April 2012.

Cass Christenson is a partner in the Washington office of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, and represents clients in state and federal courts throughout the country. He has handled a variety of e-discovery issues arising in intellectual property cases, insurance coverage cases, regulatory cases, and other complex commercial cases. Cass has trained attorneys regarding e-discovery practices and emerging issues, has developed litigation hold protocols, has drafted and implemented e-discovery plans, and has argued motions involving various aspects of electronic discovery. In addition, Cass has made presentations and authored articles concerning electronic discovery best practices and cost-control. Cass graduated from the Vanderbilt University School of Law, where he was elected to the Moot Court Board and was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review. McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP is an international law firm with more than 575 attorneys and public policy advisors in 13 offices and 11 markets.

Patrick Fowler is a partner in the Phoenix, Arizona office of Snell & Wilmer. Pat chairs his firm’s Electronic Discovery Committee, and is a regular speaker and writer on e-Discovery topics. For the past 25 years, his focus has been on complex litigation and trial work, primarily in defending companies facing product liability litigation involving catastrophic injury or property damage, along with commercial and intellectual property disputes. Pat’s practice is nationwide, as he has taken numerous state and federal court cases to trial from coast to coast. He also has managed and coordinated discovery and litigation on a national basis for several large clients.