When I travel to an educational conference, I typically identify notable sessions for the conference that day for those attending. It’s easy and it’s informative. But it usually applies to people who actually traveled to the conference. But the University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) E-Discovery Conference is happening today and tomorrow and you can attend wherever you are – it’s completely online and free! With that in mind, here are the Wednesday sessions at UF Law’s E-Discovery Conference.

Just a reminder that you can register here to attend the conference, which, in my opinion, is now the best two-day eDiscovery conference there is with regard to terrific speakers and topics! If you hurry, you can still catch all of today’s sessions! Here are the Wednesday sessions at UF Law’s E-Discovery Conference (all times ET), including one I’m presenting!

9:45am-10:00am: Introduction and Welcome

A few words of welcome and an introduction to the conference theme.

• William Hamilton, Senior Legal Skills Professor At The University Of Florida Levin College Of Law
• Laura Rosenbury, Dean and Levin, Mabie, and Levin Professor Of Law At The University Of Florida Levin College Of Law
• George Socha, Senior Vice President of Brand Awareness At Reveal

10:00am-10:50am: Practical Takeaways From Case Law

2021 saw more than 4000 decisions in ediscovery, a record since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended in 2003. So how do we digest all those decisions?  By creating a list of practical takeaways from court rulings that you can use to better refine your practice and work in ediscovery. We’ll touch on ESI protocols, whether hyperlinks should be treated as attachments, what transparency really means, how to navigate negotiating search terms and several more practical notions that courts are espousing and you need to put into practice.

• Kelly Twigger, Principal at Esi Attorneys (Moderator)
• Hon. Mac R. McCoy, United States Magistrate Judge
• Maria Salacuse, Assistant General Counsel for Technology At EEOC

11:00am-11:50am: ESI Protocols: To Have Or Not To Have

For years there has been a big push for parties to come to agreement on key discovery-related issues and enter into ESI Protocols to manage expectations among the parties and hopefully avoid burdening busy courts. This panel will consider the extent to which ESI Protocols are actually accomplishing these goals. Do ESI Protocols drive efficiency in the discovery process, reduce disputes or the need for judicial intervention? This panel of renowned, experienced professionals will address the elements of an ESI Protocol, outline advantages and disadvantages of ESI Protocols including their recommendations on must have topics in an ESI Protocol and provide real world examples of where ESI Protocols have and have not “worked” to achieve the stated goals.

• Scott A. Milner, Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (Moderator)
• Hon. James C. Francis IV (Ret.), Arbitrator, Mediator & Special Master at Jams
• Ariana J. Tadler, Founding Partner at Tadler Law LLP And Founding Principal at Meta-E Discovery LLC

1:00pm-1:50pm: E-Discovery Nuts & Bolts

An attendee favorite, this session consists of five fast-paced presentations on various topics ranging from trends and professional development to E-Discovery basics.

Learn about the key findings from eDiscovery Today’s 2022 State of the Industry Report (SOTIR), sponsored by EDRM. The 2022 SOTIR report includes results regarding key trends based on the 281 legal industry professionals surveyed (analyzed by corporate, law firm, service/software provider and consultancy respondents) and observations from 29 industry thought leaders regarding these trends. Doug will present findings from the report and what they could mean for your eDiscovery practice.

• Doug Austin, Editor of eDiscovery Today

Think Outside the Box! This fun, fast-paced presentation will help you understand and get you comfortable with the words precision and recall. Never worry again that you cannot “talk the talk” or “walk the walk” of measuring search validity.

• William Hamilton, Senior Legal Skills Professor At The University Of Florida Levin College Of Law

Entering the legal and legal technology job market during the pandemic comes with an array of new challenges and opportunities driven by the abnormality of the current workforce climate. This presentation will unpack what has changed irrevocably because of Covid when searching for jobs or hiring staff, how job seekers can maneuver the job market skillfully and take advantage of the current circumstances, what pitfalls to look out for, and what uniqueness the eDiscovery and data privacy job markets hold for new entrees at the attorney and staff level.

• Jared Coseglia, CEO & Founder of TRU Staffing Partners

The mystifying journey of one law school grad – the journey and transition – student, outside counsel, in-house lawyer and the path to the electronic discovery business. This session will cover the idea of seeking an alternative legal career directly after law school and the transition. You will learn about the Consilio Internship Program, as well as the various opportunities that await you post law school and during your legal career. This topic will benefit not only the law student, but any lawyer looking to make a move. We will dive as deep as we can into tips, advice and guidance that Mr. Himmelbaum has learned over his 21 year career in the legal industry.

• Canaan Himmelbaum, Director of Global Business Development at Consilio LLC

2:00pm-2:50pm: How to Master Proportionality: Real-World Paths Through The Discovery Jungle

Federal Rule 26(b)(1) and state equivalents require the court to limit the frequency or extent of discovery that is not proportional to the case. Achieving workable proportionality can be elusive because it entails multi-factored economic and legal analysis on a case by case basis. If the lawyers cannot agree, the judge uses information provided by the parties and considers the evidence in light of the factors in the rule to fashion a case-specific determination of the appropriate scope of discovery. What does that mean for you? In this session, two seasoned lawyers, a top legal technologist, and a federal magistrate judge explain how to make proportionality work for you and your client. The panel will discuss practical strategies for keeping the judge and client happy while getting the discovery needed to win your case and keeping opposing discovery to economically manageable levels. Resources and checklists will be provided to participants in a Proportionality Toolkit.

• Ralph Artigliere, Owner at Ralph Artigliere LLC (Moderator)
• Suzanne Clark, Mass Torts Discovery Counsel at Beasley Allen Law Firm
• Rose Jones, Partner at King & Spalding
• Michael Quartararo, President at Association Of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS)
• Hon. Julie Sneed, U.S. Magistrate Judge United States District Court, Middle District of Florida

3:00pm-3:50pm: AI and Analytical E-Discovery Tools: New Opportunities

AI and analytical tools are fundamentally changing how we conduct eDiscovery. They can make hard-to-evaluate content easy to access, help you find important patterns in data that you otherwise might never have learned about, and – if you are likely – change the time to insight from weeks to minutes. Join our panel as we discuss the array of options available today and techniques and strategies for making effective use of them.

• Martha Louks, Director of Technology Services At McDermott, Will & Emery
• Joy Murao, Founder and CEO of Practice Aligned Resources LLC
• Farrah Pepper, Chief Legal Innovation Counsel at Marsh Mclennan
• Michelle Six, Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP
• George Socha, Senior Vice President of Brand Awareness At Reveal (Moderator)

4:00pm-4:50pm: The Annual Judicial Panel

We continue the annual conference tradition of The Judicial Panel with a new twist. Although we are honored to welcome back distinguished Florida jurists, we are pleased to have judges from around the nation join us to discuss important issues in e-discovery and related areas of data law. The panel will discuss case law and legislation affecting you, your practice, your data, and your family.

• Hon. Patricia Barksdale, U.S. Magistrate Judge of The Middle District of Florida
• Hon. Gary R. Jones, U.S. Magistrate Judge of The Northern District of Florida
• Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy, Associate Justice of The Appellate Division, First Department, Supreme Court of The State Of New York
• Hon. William Matthewman, U.S. Magistrate Judge of The Southern District of Florida
• Hon. Xavier Rodriguez, U.S. District Judge of The Western District of Texas
• David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel and Legal Education Director at Relativity (Moderator)

So, what do you think?  Are you going to attend the supersized UF Law E-Discovery Conference?  Why wouldn’t you? It’s free, you know. 😉  Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.