12th Annual Florida E-Discovery Conference Coming

The University of Florida Levin College of Law will hold their 12th Annual E-Discovery Conference February 12-13, 2025. Hard to believe it's been a dozen years since this program created by Professor Bill Hamilton, renowned for providing practical, actionable education with real-world solutions related to electronic discovery, began. Forward-thinking national speakers present strategies that can be implemented at both law firms and corporate legal departments. Roundtables will commence in pre-conference sessions beginning February 11th. Leading organizations are forming committees, budgeting resources, performing research, conducting pilots, and beginning early implementations for generative artificial intelligence and new rules may be needed. Keeping pace with changes and making new connections in the industry are benefits of attending. Of course, the annual judicial panel with unique insights into courts handling these issues is not to be missed! Free online, as well as an in-person attendance option available.  See more here-- https://ufediscoveryconference.com/

 

10th Annual Florida E-Discovery Conference

Be sure to register for the University of Florida's Tenth Annual E-Discovery Conference taking place next year both virtually and in person on February 8 & 9, 2023. Panels will address challenges for complex cases and provide key takeaways that you can put into practice. The conference is centered squarely around practical education for matters of ESI and is perfect for lawyers and legal professionals of all levels. Spread over two full days, it’ll be a combination of several short talks, panel discussions with live Q&A, and product videos. This year set another record for decisions on electronic discovery with proportionality, BYOD, search terms and TAR, and issues in emerging technologies leading the way. Also of interest are off-the- shelf programs such Slack and Microsoft Teams, as well as programs designed and tailored for specific industries or companies, are now ubiquitous. Collaboration programs produce diverse types and versions and large volumes of data located in multiple locations on myriad of devices, including ephemeral or fragile data.  The case law panel will tackle the key decisions from this past year with a goal of providing practical takeaways. Register here-- 10th Annual UF Law E-Discovery Conference (ufediscoveryconference.com)

Free Online E-Discovery Conference 3/18 with CLE

The 8th Annual University of Florida Levin College of Law E-Discovery Conference will be held  on March 18, 2021 featuring national and international experts who will examine strategies implementing practical and effective E-Discovery for your litigation matters. 

This year, they are offering the full-day conference completely online and free for all attendees with 9.5 General, 9.5 Technology and 1 Ethics Credits for The Florida Bar.

The daylong conference will discuss various aspects of E-Discovery including:

• THE INITIAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS
• COLLABORATION AND NEGOTIATION STRATEGIES
• COLLECTION CHALLENGES FROM TODAY’S EVOLVING DEVICES AND DATA SOURCES
• BASIC AND ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES
• MAXIMIZING DOCUMENT REVIEW SPEEDS AND ACCURACY.

It also features a famed judicial panel of district court and magistrate judges, E-Discovery case law panel, and a panel analyzing the E-Discovery impact of rapidly expanding national and international privacy regulations. See more information on registering here-- https://ufediscoveryconference.com

Announcing 2021 E-Discovery Conference

This year, the E-Discovery Conference at the University of Florida Levin College of Law was postponed due to Covid-19. The program is run by Professor William “Bill” Hamilton, with whom I served on The Florida Bar Civil Rules Committee that wrote the Electronically Stored Information (ESI) amendments, as well as on the faculty of Florida's Advanced Judicial College, where we taught judges how to implement the rules in cases. I have spoken at UF Law's Institute for Dispute Resolution and produced webinars in conjunction with them, as well. Because the vaccine rollout has only just begun and due to the uncertainty of in-person gatherings, the conference is to be virtual next spring. At the moment, a save the date states it will be held on Thursday, March 18, 2021. The conference is free, virtual, and open to all. The agenda will include a great judicial panel, a hot-topics case law panel, some software demonstrations, and tons of how-to e-discovery tips and advice. See you in March online! See more information forthcoming here-- https://ufediscoveryconference.com/

 

UF Law E-Discovery Conference Opportunity

For many years, I've attended the E-Discovery Conference at the University of Florida Levin College of Law run by Professor William “Bill” Hamilton, with whom I served on The Florida Bar Civil Rules Committee that wrote the Electronically Stored Information (ESI) amendments and the faculty of Florida's Advanced Judicial College where we taught judges how to implement the rules in cases. I have spoken at UF Law's Institute for Dispute Resolution and produced webinars in conjunction with them, as well. Recently, I learned that the E-Discovery program at UF is creating new career paths for law school graduates that do not involve billable hours working at a law firm. The law school is one of the first to provide law students hands-on knowledge of through its Distinguished Speaker Series and has now partnered with international company, Consilio, offering new graduates unique opportunities to learn the ESI business. What began as the E-Discovery Project is a multidisciplinary endeavor enhancing litigation competence through electronic discovery law courses, research, the development of information retrieval method and tools, and offering electronic discovery skills training for practicing attorneys and litigation support professionals through public conferences and continuing legal educational offerings. Their CareerFest usually occurs in conjunction with the annual conference, set for March 19, 2020, where alternative career paths for law school graduates are explored through presentations by companies in the legal service and technology industry. See more here-- https://tinyurl.com/yxetorw7 and https://tinyurl.com/k26rjqr 

Tune in for 'Open Ninth' This Month

Join me March 21st for my guest appearance on Open Ninth, a first of its kind podcast hosted by Ninth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Fred Lauten. This program features candid perspectives from judges and interviews with innovators in the legal field. These 'Conversations Beyond the Courtroom' are part of a new communications plan put in place by the Florida Supreme Court that seeks to better connect the courts with citizens. Since 2001, I've mediated lawsuits in this circuit and around the state as a certified mediator. I also served as a General Magistrate in the Civil Division, presiding over circuit cases in Orange County in 2013. In this episode, I discuss my experience as a mediator and the important role of mediation as an effective tool of alternative dispute resolution in the justice system. Be sure to listen here: https://www.ninthcircuit.org/openninth/negotiation-mediation-resolution

Join Me In Orlando For The Masters Conference™

I last spoke about resolving ESI disputes at The Masters Conference at the Harvard Club of New York City in 2015. I have been invited back for this month's seminar in Orlando where we will explore the latest legal trends. As the organizer puts it, whether you’re dealing with legal technology in a new, socially networked world, find your company expanding globally and thus facing international discovery issues, or planning for the future of technology in your firm or company, you know there’s a divide between what is in practice today and where your firm needs to be in the near future. Legal professionals must develop strategies for spanning this technology divide before it expands further across traditional borders, whether physical or technical. Corporate Counsel and attorneys have a new forum to gather the latest information on Cybersecurity, eDiscovery, data protection, records management and more: The 2017 Masters Conference for Legal Professionals will be held November 14, 2017 at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek at Disney World from 9:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. The event offers educational tracks that will allow attendees to learn from corporate and law firm thought leaders. See more here-- http://themastersconference.com/event/orlando-fl/no-mickey-mouse-about-it-florida-top-ten-country-attorneys-learn-what-latest

Anniversary of E-Discovery Amendments

Today marks one year since significant changes were made in 2015 to the original 2006 federal rules for electronic discovery. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)1 now emphasizes proportionality and seems to have influenced determining the expense or burden of proposed discovery in a more realistic way. The advent of technology assisted review has also brought costs down and is being employed more frequently by parties and is accepted and even encouraged by courts. My role remains as E-neutral, mediator or sometimes court-appointed special master to facilitate the electronic discovery process by helping parties to agree on the form in which they want information produced and the extent to which metadata will be produced. Mediation can feature private caucuses with retained experts or information technology liaisons that may help conduct discovery proportionally, minimizing motion practice, and avoiding sanctions and unpredictable judicial outcomes. Cooperation using alternative dispute resolution may also encompass settling procedures to be followed when discovering privileged information that has been inadvertently produced in the course of discovery, including clawbacks or agreed confidentiality orders. Rule 37(e) improved the safe harbor for mistakes in deletion, recognizing the volume of data generated is ever increasing and has made preservation more challenging. Sophistication of the parties is still taken into account in reasonable steps taken to initiate holds, but a lawyer's duty of competence in technology in more important than ever. Our E-Discovery & E-Neutral Services can help in that area, providing assistance by hosting Meet and Confer sessions, facilitating cost effective, mutually cooperative, and relevant ESI programs-- even in state court, with Mediated Case Management or Pretrial Stipulations under Florida Civil Rules 1.200 or 1.201. As Special Magsitrates, we are available to monitor E-discovery compliance or perform complex in-camera reviews for which judges don't have time. See more here-- https://www.uww-adr.com/services/e-discovery-and-e-neutral-services/index

ESI Orders Go Local in PB FL

In Palm Beach County, Florida there is a new discovery of electronically stored information (ESI) order waiting for practitioners in cases involving business torts, professional malpractice, antitrust, business transactions, IP, shareholder derivative actions, securities, or trade secret cases. Circuit Court Judge Meenu Sasser of the 15th Judicial Circuit Court has even mandated that within 20 days of the order, the parties are to schedule  a “meet and confer” conference which shall occur within 60 days of service of the Order. It is interesting to note that The Florida Bar Civil Rules Standing Committee voted against a federal rules style mandatory meet and confer when I chaired the effort to amend the rules to include ESI. Counsel for the parties are to discuss whether this cases are to be considered complex litigation case, as in Fla. Rule Civ. Pro. 1.201. Topics for the conference include: ESI custodian information; structure of client computer systems, software, devices, and relevant email information; ESI policies; need for an ESI clawback agreement; costs; and whether ESI issues could significantly protract the litigation. Hmm, looks like a call for effective Special Masters or E-Neutrals... See Standing Order effective for new cases starting July 1, 2016 here-- http://15thcircuit.co.palm-beach.fl.us/documents/42596/0/ESI-Order.pdf