Notable Engagements
…It’s about Results
Attorneys want results. Impact Forensics experts are battle-tested professionals with decades of winning experience. Here are some sample cases we have under our belt:
Employment
Impact Forensics has performed computer forensics imaging and electronic evidence searching and processing in a major trade secret non-compete case involving the former employee of a large, publicly held company. The project required the searching and processing of over 3 Terabytes of data, including over 5 million emails. Evidence was required to be produced in only 48 hours for court production associated with an emergency restraining order.
Trade Secrets
Jeffrey Hartman led the computer forensics and intellectual property investigative team for a Plaintiff that resulted in a rapid and successful settlement in a trade secret case valued at over $250 million. Various former employees of our client were accused of misappropriating trade secrets including business plans and wireless internet architecture technology. Significant computer forensics efforts provided the evidence required to drive the defendants into settlement.
Copyright
Impact Forensics represented the Defendants in a patent and copyright suit in which the Plaintiffs denied receiving certain software files as contracted. The project required imaging and examining hundreds of thousands of electronic software files contained on various RAID array servers in order to demonstrate that the software files were, in fact, delivered.
Evidence Spoliation
A computer forensics analysis performed by Impact Forensics experts uncovered evidence that a defendant in a trade secret case had installed “Evidence Eliminator” software on her computer which had deleted approximately 12,000 files. Our analysis and expert witness testimony also caused the defendant to admit that she had also destroyed evidence by intentionally damaging a portable hard drive resulting in an adverse ruling by the Federal Judge.
Economic Espionage
A computer forensics investigation and trade secret Grand Jury testimony led by Jeffrey Hartman led to a favorable finding for our client and a prison sentence for the defendant in an economic espionage case involving a foreign national. The next-generation wireless technology at stake was valued at $80 million.
Court-Appointed Neutral Experts
Impact Forensics provided court requested electronic discovery in a trade secret case involving a major U.S. auto maker against a competitor accused of stealing technology. The project included collecting electronic evidence across multiple U.S. locations, providing the court with a “sampling” of evidence, keyword searching and electronic evidence production.
Cyber-Squatting / Web Hijacking
Impact Forensics securely captured the web site and documented the web/metatag functionality for our client in a case involving the inappropriate routing of web traffic to a competitor from our client’s web site. Our client’s opponent had inserted metatag information into their web code that violated our client’s intellectual property rights and routed consumers to their site in a misleading manner.
Evidence Collection / Preservation - Defense
Impact Forensics performed the computer forensics imaging of 30 computer hard drives in an alleged consumer fraud case and provided the FBI with copies of images for our client, a Fortune 500 company.
Trade Secret / Tape Restoration
Impact Forensics provided E-mail back-up tape restoration and evidence production in a trade secret case involving the alleged exploitation of fighter jet “heads-up” cockpit display technology. The engagement included tape recovery and electronic evidence from legacy back-up tapes into contemporary formats in order to demonstrate the technology in question was misappropriated from our client, a fortune 100 company.
Expert Witness / Software Code Theft
Impact Forensics provided expert witness services in a case involving the theft of software code, in which the opponent had used our client’s software code in the creation of their product. The project required computer forensics analysis to isolate and identify the misappropriated code and expert witness testimony regarding the features and functionality of the code.
Patent Infringement
Impact Forensics had provided the searching, filtering and production of millions of electronic email files and other documents in a patent infringement case. The evidence located resulted in a settlement favorable to our client.
Bank Failure / Fraud
Impact Forensics performed computer forensics and electronic discovery support in litigation related to one of the largest bank failures in United States History. Impact provided the forensics analysis on dozens of computers and millions of electronic bank records: providing electronic evidence production and loading hundreds of thousands of files into a litigation-support database for our client, a law firm representing the U.S. Government.
Discrimination
Computer forensics and expert witness testimony presented by Impact Forensics in this case was instrumental to the favorable jury verdict for our client, a former City of Chicago Police Officer. Impact experts discovered “smoking gun” evidence which was presented during the jury trial in this highly publicized sexual harassment case. Impact experts testified with regard to the computer forensics techniques used by the opposition and also uncovered pornographic computer evidence that led to a large award for the Plaintiff.
Department of Justice / Defense
Impact Forensics performed the network analysis and computer forensics work for the defendants in a matter which led to a settlement favoring our client and the dropping of charges by the Department of Justice. This case involved the alleged theft of trade secrets (software and proprietary customer information). The project included imaging multiple computers and large file servers and refuting questionable evidence. Other elements of the engagement included expert witness reporting and presentation of opinions with respect to electronic evidence presented.
Bankruptcy Fraud
Impact Forensics performed significant electronic discovery and computer forensics work involving the imaging of over 30 computers and servers across multiple U.S. locations in a multi-million dollar bankruptcy case. We conducted electronic discovery for critical electronic evidence related to email, accounting software applications, hand-held PDA’s and other electronic media.
Inappropriate Materials in the Workplace
Working for attorneys representing a Chicago-area school district, Impact Forensics experts responded to reports that a junior-high teacher was involved in viewing pornographic materials at school and was making inappropriate contact with students. Impact Forensics recovered pornography from the teacher’s computer and also discovered sexually explicit communications with students from the teacher’s computer and hand-held organizer / PDA.