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counsel, investigators, and experts – to conduct employee interviews ethically andeffectively and maintain privilege on appropriate portions of the internal investigation.F. Retaining Other Litigation VendorsBeyond experts, there are numerous non-legal professionals that can assist incatastrophic litigation. Most importantly, you must immediately consult IT specialistsand consider retaining an e-discovery vendor for preserving electronic information.Vendors engaged early in the process provide the most value. 16In-house and outside counsel who handle complex lawsuits are bombarded with noticesfor blogs, articles and seminars dedicated to issues of evidence preservation and e-discovery. These subjects continue to evolve at a breakneck pace, with littlestandardization other than in some high-profile federal courts. Notably, the State Bar ofCalifornia issued its Interim Opinion on “ethical duties in the handling of discovery ofelectronically stored information.” 17Other seemingly “landmark” cases arises severaltimes per year from other jurisdictions. 1816 Another sometimes overlooked effort involves capturing all photographs and videos of events before,during, and after the catastrophe. Cameras are ubiquitous. Surveillance cameras at nearbybusinesses must be identified, and the images contained requested, along with news helicopter andcell phone videos. For instance, random cameras (installed for other purposes) captured criticalevidence used in the Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse and the Boston Marathon bombinginvestigations.17 Formal Opinion Interim No. 11-0004 (ESI and Discovery Requests), State Bar of California (2014). “Anattorney’s obligations under the ethical duty of competence evolve as new technologies develop andthen become integrated with the practice of law. Attorney competence related to litigation generallyrequires, at a minimum, a basic understanding of, and facility with, issues relating to e-discovery, i.e.,the discovery of electronically stored information (‘ESI’). … Lack of competence in e-discovery issuescan also result, in certain circumstances, in ethical violations of an attorney’s duty of confidentiality, theduty of candor, and/or the ethical duty not to suppress evidence.” (Emphasis added).18 E.g., Procaps, S.A. v. Patheon, Inc., 2014 WL 800468 (S.D.Fla.).