Tampa, Fla. – Carlton Fields Tampa associate, Rebecca Shwayri, was quoted in a news article, “E-Discovery and Cyber-Shredding at News of the World,” published July 21, 2011 by the iSight.com Blog: News & Tools for Better Investigations. The article discusses e-discovery issues as it relates to Rupert Murdoch’s recent closing of the paper, News of the World, stating: “The e-discovery implications of the e-mail deletions are significant in light of the ongoing police investigation into the hacking allegations. If the executive can be identified, it’s likely that criminal charges will be filed for obstruction of justice.”

Shwayri added, “A company is supposed to suspend its routine destruction of electronically stored information if litigation is reasonably anticipated. At the time the UK company shut down in the phone tapping case, litigation could definitely be anticipated. Government investigations were already being threatened once the news story broke. Arguably, a litigation hold should have been applied (at the very latest) at that time.”

The article went on to discuss evidence spoliation and how e-discovery rules in the U.S. and the U.K. are different. Shwayri said, “Even if the e-discovery was located in the UK, a lawyer should make the argument that a litigation hold applies to e-discovery held overseas (especially if litigation is based in the United States).”

Shwayri is a member of Carlton Fields’ E-Discovery Task Force and has assisted the firm and its clients in developing policies for the institution of litigation holds and the preservation of electronically stored information. Additionally, she is a member of the firm’s Business Litigation and Trade Regulation practice group and represents corporations, financial institutions, and business clients in disputes involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, class action, and conversion claims.