Samantha Brutout to speak at the 2020 Construction SuperConference

Samantha Brutout will present at the 2020 Construction SuperConference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The panel session, "Don't Get Slapped With Slack: Navigating eDiscovery and Information Governance with New Technology," will explore, among other topics, newer technologies such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and other instant messaging apps that employees may be using, along with the business, legal, and other implications of these tools.

The number of people who are using these tools was growing before the pandemic, but now with so many working from home, use of Microsoft Teams has exponentially increased because companies needed something that they already had in place. A lot of companies already used Office 365 and had Teams' subscriptions that they did not even realize they had. To properly prepare for eDiscovery, basic questions must be answered, such as:

• What policies are in place?
• How are materials preserved in case of litigation?
• What devices are permitted for employees to use these tools?
• Does the company have a bring-your-own-device policy, or are there corporate issued phones?

The panel will highlight some of the advantages of using new communication technologies on construction projects, as well as some of the pitfalls. Too often, companies are unaware of the communication tools being used by their employees, which can lead to problems at inopportune moments.

Brutout will be joined on the panel by eDiscovery industry experts Matt Mahon, national manager, eDiscovery Sales, Ricoh USA Inc., Garry Pate, director, Forensic Investigation & Litigation Services BDO and Chris Imler, Legility.

For more information about the panel or DFL Legal's e-Discovery practice, please contact Samantha Brutout at 412-926-1816 or sbrutout@dfllegal.com.