Friday, July 25, 2008

Ropes & Gray names e-discovery counsel

By Ryan McBride

Scraping evidence from the innards of computer hard drives is no longer just part of business litigation at the Boston office of law firm Ropes & Gray LLP —  it has become a full-time job. Specifically, it is Shannon Capone Kirk’s job.

Kirk joined Ropes & Gray’s Boston office July 15 as the firm’s first lawyer designated as “e-discovery counsel.” The firm’s hiring of Kirk indicates that electronic records discovery is playing a larger role in corporate litigation and may be advancing from niche to mainstream status.   

“I think for Ropes & Gray it’s just a recognition of the importance of technology and its significant impact on litigation,” Kirk said.

For technology law firms, particularly, e-discovery has made a huge impact in the outcome of cases. Take, for example, the recent patent-infringement lawsuit wireless communications firm Qualcomm Inc. mounted against industry competitor and fellow California-based company Broadcom Corp., which successfully defended itself through the e-discovery of thousands of Qualcomm e-mails that essentially cleared Broadcom of all charges. 

Kirk, who previously headed e-discovery for law firm Ungaretti & Harris in Chicago, plans to advise fellow attorneys at Ropes & Gray on e-discovery as well as clients of the firm. She was unaware of other firms in the Hub with full-time e-discovery counsels, yet said she knew of at least a few across the country.

Some major players in innovation sectors have hired internal attorneys to focus on e-discovery, said Kirk, noting that New York-based drug company Pfizer Inc. and Internet search giant Google Inc. are some well-known examples.