Law Technology News
IntApp ( www.intapp.com) has
introduced Activity Tracker 2.
The web-based program helps
organizations manage compli-
ance and confidentiality, says
president Dan Tacone.
The Reign of SOX
By Kenneth Jones
Managing complex mass tort liti- gations has always presented a
daunting challenge to companies and
law firms alike. But after the passage
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, the
need to accurately track claims, their
associated risk factors, and the projected resolution costs of the matters is not
just a financial reporting exercise, it’s
the law.
So, how does SOX pertain to litigation management? The Act itself is
quite voluminous, but let’s focus on
§404 of the Act, re: internal controls,
which present several responsibilities
for litigation managers. Perhaps the
most important obligation is the need
to perform top-down risk assessments
on the collection of claims.
This requires transaction-level and
entity-level controls; the tests help
identify litigation variables, risks, and
projected costs with a sufficient level
of precision.
Fundamental operational controls
should include reconciliation of data
entry for material data points, and pro-
cesses to segregate key duties where ap-
propriate. On the technology side, it is
crucial to implement change manage-
ment systems and disaster recovery/
backup policies. These help ensure that
litigation data is accurate and protect-
ed. Creating written policies and pro-
cedures to document the audit checks
and other operational actions is also
necessary.
BASIC FRAMEWORK
Here is a basic framework:
1. Select a Suitable Technology Platform
Meeting these new, increasingly-complex requirements requires pro-fessional-grade “back end” technologies. Gone are the days when a single
individual, using word processing or
spreadsheet lists, PC-based databases,
or standard off-the-shelf collaboration
software, could meet the SOX reporting needs for a large litigation.
Pinpoint the technologies that can
handle the job. For the most part, these
will be either a relational database package (e.g., Oracle, SQL Server) that can
be used for ground-up development,
or the selection of an existing off-the-shelf case management system.
Either approach must provide transactional audit logs, sophisticated security modules to selectively grant user
access to particular functions, and utilities to export data or create database
copies.
See Jones Page 26
RESOURCES
Hot Picks
San Digital has debuted four-bay storage devices in
portable and rack-mounted formats. The portable
TowerStore TS4CT (left) features a hardware-embed-ded RAID chipset, which helps administrators offload
RAID calculations from computer to storage unit. It
incorporates Firewire 400 and 800 connections, as
well as eSATA and USB 2.0 ports, says the California
company. Page 20.
Olympus’ Stylus Tough-6020 camera
features a 14-megapixel image sensor and
a 5x wide-angle optical zoom lens. Users
can shoot 720p videos via a one-touch
button, that can be displayed on high
definition televisions by using an HDMI
cord. AF Tracking technology helps lock
subjects into focus. Page 16.
