Last fall, the Supreme Court of Florida approved proposed E-discovery
rules for state cases-- the first such rules for Florida. The court
adopted amendments to case management to include ESI.
The new rules now affect the state’s diverse legal community of trial
attorneys. They aim to streamline case management, but also
impose unfamiliar burdens on practitioners who are new to E-discovery.
Neutral third parties, such as special magistrates (formerly masters in
FL)
and mediators, may be able to assist in these instances. I will be
speaking in conjunction with the Orange County Bar Association's
Intellectual Property and Technology Committees who are presenting an
afternoon CLE called "Florida's New E-Discovery Rules and Best Practices
for All Cases: Taming the ESI Beast," on May 14, 2013 in Orlando. My
topic before joining a panel on best practices is entitled, "Using
E-Neutrals to Limit the Cost of E-Discovery." For the uninitiated,
“E-neutrals” can help shape discovery plans, allocate costs and suggest
and create efficiencies that may not have existed in litigation. Our
services are not limited to grappling with old or new rules, or to
discovery disputes. The course description states, "Lawrence Kolin, an
Orlando lawyer and full-time mediator, chaired the Florida Bar
subcommittee that drafted these rules. In his CLE, he will present how
neutrals can help litigants navigate e-discovery pitfalls and resolve
expensive battles before they arise. The course material quotes me: “In
resolving these issues, I focus parties on the merits, rather than using
E-discovery as a sword or shield,” states Kolin. “Mediation of ESI
disputes is an avenue that can present parties with significant
cost-savings through self-determination, if performed early enough in
the litigation.” I hope you will join me! Contact Marie West--
mariew@ocbanet.org for registration or see
http://orangecountybar.org/calendar.asp and
http://orangecountybar.org/content/uploads/PDFs/May%20CLE%20Flyer-Tech-BizLaw-IP%20Seminar-rev2.pdf
for more information.
