Blog from the Financial Times Boldly states what most Contract Attorneys already know

From FT.com:

"To many, “e-discovery” still sounds like an internet start-up, although the term - short for “electronic discovery” - is rapidly becoming commonplace, especially in the finance world, where rogue traders and rumour mongers are prompting more focus on e-surveillance and a company’s ability to find the right electronic documents to respond to a lawsuit.

In the wake of scandals such as Jerome Kerviel’s alleged rogue trading at Societe Generale, or the aggressive rumour-mill that undermined banks including HBOS and Bear Stearns, banks are now eyeing an emerging new range of “spy software” that can even monitor instant messaging dialogue, utilising powerful computers that can read emails, listen to telephone conversations and analyse chat conversations as participants type, reports Reuters.

The software that enables the recording and monitoring of employee activity can help companies collect huge amounts of internal information - which they may increasingly need in the face of lawsuits spawned by the subprime crisis, or to meet rising regulatory demands, the report adds."