Digital Investigations

eDiscovery, Cross-Border Investigations & Disclosure, US/UK/GDPR Compliance

Burke Data & Privacy provides sophisticated counsel for eDiscovery, digital forensics, and cross-border investigations — helping clients navigate complex evidentiary, technical, and regulatory investigatory challenges across US, UK, and EU jurisdictions.

Whether managing a cross-border internal investigation, coordinating multi-jurisdictional disclosure, or navigating GDPR constraints in US litigation, Burke Data & Privacy offers experienced, practical counsel to keep your digital investigation on track.

Digital Investigation Counseling & Services

  • Preservation & Collection.  Managing eDiscovery preservation obligations and forensic collections, from small-scale matters to large, multi-jurisdictional investigations

  • Search & Review Strategy.  Testing and negotiating search terms; deploying and defending Technology-Assisted Review (TAR) and AI-driven search technologies

  • Privilege & Discovery Review.  Overseeing discovery and privilege review workflows, making privilege calls, and managing quality control

  • Production & Coordination.  Managing production processes and coordinating with opposing, receiving, or responding counsel

  • Meet-and-Confers & Court Practice.  Leading meet-and-confer negotiations, preparing court filings and certifications, and appearing before courts and regulators as needed

Cross-Border Investigations & GDPR Compliance

Digital investigations increasingly cross borders — and legal frameworks don't always align. Burke Data & Privacy helps clients reconcile competing obligations under:

  • US discovery rules and litigation hold requirements, areas in which Burke has practiced, taught, spoken publicly and published widely over the years.

  • UK disclosure obligations under the Civil Procedure Rules (Burke played a small role in the UK’s 2010 introduction of Practice Direction 31B, added to CPR Part 31, specifically addressing the disclosure of electronic documents).

  • GDPR and EU data protection law, including cross-border transfer restrictions, data minimization principles, and works council/employee data considerations

This includes structuring defensible eDiscovery workflows that satisfy US/UK litigation and disclosure demands while remaining compliant with GDPR and other data protection regimes.  These are persistent challenges for multinational litigation, internal investigations, and regulatory inquiries, challenges Burke has managed for many clients, including:

Abbott Labs • American Airlines • Amgen • Citibank • CNA • Deere & Co. • Gilead Sciences • Havas • HSBC • Johnson Controls

Background & Experience

Burke's approach to digital investigations is informed by two decades of hands-on experience across the eDiscovery and cross-border data landscape:

  • Years of Practice as Business Litigator.  After graduating from NYU Law School and clerking for a federal district court judge, Burke practiced as a litigator at Paul Weiss and Seward & Kissel in New York City.

  • Academic Leadership.  Taught the first digital law courses at NYC’s Cardozo School of Law, as part of the Cardozo Data Law Initiative co-founded with Denise Backhouse, launching and teaching its first courses on “Electronic Discovery, Digital Evidence and Computer Forensics” and “Information Governance”.  Hosted academic conferences on digital investigation, data policy and governance.

  • Vendor-Side Technology Counsel. Served as Technology Counsel at one of the earliest eDiscovery processing software companies in 2000, co-head of Linklater’s global e-discovery working group in 2003-06, and as in-house European counsel for a leading US-based eDiscovery search tool provider from 2006-13, responsible for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.  Among the first US attorneys to develop deep, at-scale, cross-border eDiscovery experience at the intersection of U.S. discovery law and European data protection law.

  • Major Law Firm Practice.  Practiced on specialized global eDiscovery legal teams at Reed Smith, Seyfarth Shaw, and Norton Rose Fulbright, with a focus on large-scale cross-border privacy and cybersecurity data reviews.