Location: Online (Zoom)
Date: January 27, 2021
Start time: 1:00 p.m. EST
End time: 2:30 p.m. EST
Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure – and most state versions of the same rule – calls for the “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.” The rule was amended five years ago to emphasize that responsibility for achieving that goal rests not only with the court but also with the lawyers and parties, who have an obligation to cooperate. But if discovery and other important pretrial activities in civil litigation are “party-driven,” what is the role of the judge in fostering cooperation?
The Sedona Conference’s Cooperation Proclamation predated the amendment to Rule 1 by several years and spawned an effort to collect and organize the best guidance by judges for judges to facilitate cooperation by the parties. The first edition of The Sedona Conference Cooperation Proclamation: Resources for the Judiciary was published in 2011, followed by a second edition in 2014, a few months before the federal rules amendments. Since then, there have been significant developments in the rules, especially at the state court level, as well as instructive case law and dramatic changes in digital information technology. In June of 2020, The Sedona Conference published a third edition of The Resources, which is available free for downloading here.
In this webinar, the editors of The Resources will discuss some of the thinking that went into compiling this set of judicial case management strategies, walk us through the unique format of The Resources, and take your questions and comments as time allows. In 90 minutes, we hope to touch on:
- Identifying the points in the litigation process where judicial involvement is required or would be helpful
- Anticipating the issues that may give rise to disputes between the parties, and suggesting strategies for avoiding them or resolving them fairly and expeditiously
- Identifying and analyzing the factors judges are required to consider when making decisions regarding proportionality, cost, and burden, or the reasonableness of a discovery request or response
- Assigning appropriate burdens of coming forward or of proof between the parties when making the decisions described above
- Recognizing the exceptional circumstances under which a party might be sanctioned for the loss of discoverable ESI, the failure to produce requested ESI, or other discovery-related misconduct.
Advance registration for this event is required, but registration is free to all members of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association (FMJA) and their support staff. To register, please provide the following information and hit the “submit” button. You will receive a confirmation with your unique log-in credentials by email a day or two before the event. This webinar will be recorded. If you cannot attend on January 27, please use the same form below to request access to the recording after the event.
eDiscovery Judicial Resources Webinar Slide Deck