WG1 Midyear Meeting Agenda

Time Session  Panelists
(All times EDT) Wednesday, April 27, 2022  * = moderator
5:30 — 7:30 p.m. Welcome reception  
     
  Thursday, April 28, 2022  
7:30 — 8:30 a.m. Breakfast & sign-in  
8:30 — 8:45 a.m. Welcome and Announcements Craig Weinlein, Martin Tully
8:45 — 10:15 a.m. [Session 1] ESI Case Law in 2022: Key Trends and Developments  
  ESI case law in 2022 is pushing courts to consider both technologically challenging and well-worn topics. While addressing subjects like ephemeral messaging and cloud applications, courts continue to grapple with issues regarding Rule 34 responses and conduct that could merit discovery sanctions. This session will review some of the top eDiscovery court decisions from the past six months on these and other issues and discuss how they may affect discovery practice going forward in 2022. Philip Favro*, Hon. Allison Goddard, Ruth Hauswirth, Robb Snow
10:15 — 10:30 a.m. Morning Break  
10:30 — 11:30 a.m. [Session 2] Unique eDiscovery Challenges in Multidistrict Litigation  
  Multidistrict Litigations (MDLs) are the 800-pound gorilla in federal courts and are a procedural and logistical area outside of the "standard" rules. Since at least August 2017, when the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules created an MDL subcommittee, conversations, panels, and conferences have discussed problems with current MDL rules and proceedings. Join us for a session exploring the unique eDiscovery challenges in the MDL context as well as best practices in how to face those challenges. Tracy Greer*, Tim Opsitnick, Angelica Ornelas, Michelle Six
11:30 — 12 noon [Session 3] Draft Commentary Review: Today's Privilege Log Solutions  
  With the explosion of electronic communications, privilege review has become even more cumbersome and expensive, causing many to ask whether a better approach to demonstrating privilege exists. The Sedona Conference has assembled a drafting team to explore alternative logging options and methodologies for improving efficiencies. Dialogue leaders will update membership on the team's draft and elicit feedback on important topics. Adam Gajadharsingh, Tessa Jacob*, Meghan Podolny
12:00 — 1:00 p.m. Lunch (provided)  
1:00 — 2:00 p.m. [Session 4] Database Principles: Keeping Current in the Cloud in a Remote-Work Era  
  WG1 last updated The Sedona Database Principles in 2014 to reflect current best practices and recommendations for eDiscovery in civil actions involving databases and information derived from databases. Since that time there has been a growing trend toward remote work and virtual offices. With this trend, the use and importance of cloud databases has significantly increased. The Database Principles drafting team will provide dialogue on the status of the team's efforts to update the Database Principles to reflect the current times. Jeffrey Bannon, Scott Clary*, Laura Hunt, Jonathan Swerdloff, Shari Mauney
2:00 — 3:00 p.m. [Session 5] Diversity in the Legal/Corporate Sector: Branding or True Initiative?  
  Are diversity and inclusion committees, policies, and mission statements being used by the legal sector truly effective, or are they marketing fluff? In this session, representatives of different constituencies will explore initiatives that have truly advanced diversity and inclusionj in the legal field, as well as those that have fallen short. Join us to dialogue on what we can learn from both to continue to advance diversity and inclusion. Kelly Atherton*, Leeanne Mancari, David Moncure, Maureen O'Neill, Hon. Maria Valdez
3:00 — 3:30 p.m. Afternoon Break  
3:30 — 4:30 p.m. [Session 6] The Application and Effectiveness of Discovery-Related Sanctions  
  The Sedona Conference has undertaken a paper focusing on the application and effectiveness of discovery-related sanctions available under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including how sanctions are being used in discovery, the court's application of sanctions since the 2015 amendments, and the interplay between sanctions available under the Rules and the court's inherent authority. This panel will discuss how The Sedona Conference can help practitioners navigate this evolving body of law. Kimberly Duplechain, Adam Gajadharsingh, Eric Mandel*, Kelly McNabb, Hon. Anthony Porcelli
4:30 — 5:00 p.m. [Session 7] Draft Commentary Review: Discovery Implications of the Internet of Things  
 

The Internet of Things Drafting Team was convened in 2021 to examine the discovery challenges presented by the emergence of tens of billions of connected devices commonly known as the Internet of Things ("IoT"). This session will provide a progress report on the drafting team's efforts and seek feedback from Sedona membership.

 Ross Gotler*, Claire Hass, Tessa Jacob, Greg Kohn
5:00 — 7:00 p.m. Reception (guests invited)  
     
  Friday, April 29, 2022  
7:30 — 8:30 a.m. Breakfast & sign-in  
8:30 — 10:00 a.m. [Session 8] Voices from the Bench: The Judicial Perspective for 2022 and Beyond
 

This session offers a wide variety of judicial perspectives about issues that are top-of-mind for the field including:

  • What is and isn't working with ESI Protocols?
  • What technologies are increasingly problematic for ESI discovery?
  • Should courts help parties reach agreement regarding ESI disputes or just make rulings on those disputes?
  • Do Special Masters help?
  • How have remote proceedings affected litigation?
  • Sanctions and their role in ESI disputes?
 Hon. Allison Goddard, Greg Kohn*, Hon. Anthony Porcelli, Hon. Sam Thumma, Hon. Maria Valdez
10:00 — 10:30 a.m. Break  
10:30 — 11:30 a.m. [Session 9] Changes and Trends in TAR Case Law  
  TAR has provided fertile battleground among litigating parties on many issues, including parties' discretion to use TAR, transparency and cooperation, use of search terms with TAR, validation, proportionality, and, of course, the application of Sedona Principle 6. WG1 published its TAR Case Law Primer in 2017, which provided a comprehensive synthesis of TAR case law at that time. Five years later, case law has continued to evolve, such that a drafting team began work last year on an updated, second edition of the Primer. This panel will discuss TAR case law changes and trends since 2017 and how they are being incorporated in the revised Primer. Emily Jennings, Leeanne Mancari, John Pappas, Maria Salacuse*
11:30 — 11:45 a.m. Break  
11:45 — 12:45 p.m. [Session 10] The Evolving Ethics of Technology Competence in a Post-Email World  
 

Forty states have ethics requirements of technology competence for lawyers; some well-known court decisions have stressed their importance. With a continued shift in communications from email to chats, texts, apps, Teams, and Slack--accelerated by the pandemic--and technology focused on the cloud and Internet of Things, what does this mean for lawyers in 2022 and beyond?  Our panel will discuss this topic and such questions as:

  • What standards should judges hold counsel--and themselves--to?
  • Should judges receive additional training so they are aware of the recent changes in technology?
  • Should such training be part of continuing education requirements for lawyers?
  • What ethics principles are lawyers bound by in relation to their eDiscovery obligations?
 Lea Bays, Steven Berrent, Christopher Boehning*, Claire Hass, Niloy Ray, Hon. Sam Thumma
12:45 — 1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and wrap-up Craig Weinlein
1:00 — 2:00 p.m. Grab-and-go lunch (provided)  
Date: 
Thursday, April 28, 2022 - 8:30am to Friday, April 29, 2022 - 1:00pm