I was feeling nostalgic listening to Bob Dylan’s music and remembered my times in Zurich (back in the 1997/8) especially the stories and tales about the gold vaults underneath the streets of Zurich!
I wish I can trace my friends and ex-colleagues in Zurich so that we can re-visit and re-craft the tales in the light of recent changes in banking secrecy in Switzerland. According to the recent BBC news: “The Swiss government confirmed that in line with OECD rules, it would now respond to overseas requests for information in cases of suspected tax evasion, and not just tax fraud”. Indeed the secrets are getting out and perhaps the gold vaults will also soon be opened for inspection, if my friends’ stories are indeed real.
I love stories especially when they stretches my imagination or lack of imagination (shock, surprises?!) and touches on my real life experiences. Well..Imaging walking above gold vaults just underneath your feet and at the same time being harassed by youngsters begging for money or small change. ‘Are They A Changing’ too in this non-secretive age or rather in this age of no more small changes in times of depression? I do hope so…
I just opened an e-mail alerting me on ‘10 Steps to Manage E-Discovery Projects’. Ah! Something just don’t change 
; more steps and guidelines and this time instructing (‘like it or not’ ?!) lawyers to become project managers. Now that is a mighty call.
Having glanced the 10 Steps, I have only one observation (with lots of other reasons which I will not list here as they’re my secrets) that is – Project managers are not ruled by 10 steps activities nor can the ediscovery activities be codified into neat steps.
Imagine (now this is not lack of imagination) a lawyer (with all due respect) having to obey the code of ethics and work product or privileges stuff and then ‘like it or not’ being called to act as a project manager. Performing and/or switching role does not mean roles and responsibilities are clear or executable. In fact the multi-roles may create more mayhem when what one needs in ediscovery are clear roles and responsibilities. Also, imagine what the IT department will think of the Legal department?! Conflict all round I should think.
So I thank Bob Dylan for the imagination to ‘get real’ (lawyer acting as lawyer and project manager?!) and at the same time to imagine the impossible possible (like the change in banking secrecy).