Relativity Fest 2024 is coming up in a week! Here are six Relativity Fest 2024 sessions to check out next week during next week’s conference!

Relativity Fest is an annual conference designed to educate and connect the eDiscovery community, and it’s taking place this year September 25-27 in Chicago. As usual, there will be over 100 sessions across a variety of session tracks, ranging from Industry Insights to sessions that offer Continuing Legal Education (CLE) to sessions that promote Community & Culture. Not to mention workshops and other sessions for those looking to learn more about Relativity’s capabilities, strategies for using it to address today’s eDiscovery and legal challenges, and more!

There are also 236(!) speakers for this year’s event. And I’m excited to be one of them, as you’ll see below. But which sessions should you consider attending? Here are six Relativity Fest 2024 sessions you may want to check out.

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

1:00 PM-2:00 PM CT

The International Panel, Regency D

An annual Relativity Fest tradition, the International Panel brings together legal perspectives from around the world for analysis of global legal and technology issues. For 2024, Australia, Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States are represented, and we’ll examine topics such as how different jurisdictions are addressing the law of artificial intelligence, including the EU AI Act, the pan-African approach, and the findings of the NYSBA Task Force on Artificial Intelligence. We’ll also take our customary tour of court decisions and legal developments around the world and examine how different nations are approaching legal and technology issues differently.

Speakers: David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel & Legal Education Director, Relativity; Jonathan Armstrong, Punter Southall Law; Fiona Campbell, Director, Fieldfisher; Linda Sheehan, Head of intelligENS, ENS; Gina O’Neill, Head of eDiscovery, Herbert Smith Freehills; Meribeth Banaschik, Partner, Forensic & Integrity Services and EMEIA Innovation Leader, EY.

3:30 PM-5:00 PM CT

Negotiating ESI Protocols for the Use of Generative AI in e-Discovery, Regency D

Join us for this interactive session where we will demonstrate a mock ESI negotiation for using generative AI in litigation. Then, we will break into groups, and you will create your own provisions to share back with the community. You’ll walk away with sample provisions that you can use in future ESI protocols.

Speakers: Cristin Traylor, (she/her), Senior Director, AI Transformation & Law Firm Strategy, Relativity; Julia Helmer, Director, Client Solutions, Array; Andrew Myers, Discovery Counsel, Bayer; Aurora Bryant, Senior Counsel for eLitigation, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division; Lea Bays, Partner, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd.

Thursday, September 26, 2024

10:45 AM-11:45 AM CT

e-Discovery State of the Union, Regency D

An annual Relativity Fest tradition, the e-Discovery State of the Union is your opportunity to hear from prominent journalists, lawyers, technologists, and association leaders on the latest issues in the world of e-discovery and related legal fields. In a friendly competition, you’ll hear the experts’ perspectives on the latest e-discovery news, case law (including bad behavior in e-discovery), legislative developments, research data, and issues affecting the law on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to the law of emojis to the legal ethics of discovery evidence. Join us for this educational, interactive, and occasionally entertaining program, where—instead of lawyers and the media asking the questions—you can ask questions of them.

Speakers: Robert Ambrogi, Publisher, LawSites/LawNext; Stephanie Clerkin, Director of Litigation Support, Korein Tillery; David Cohen, Partner, Reed Smith; Joy Heath Rush, CEO, ILTA; David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel & Legal Education Director, Relativity; Scott Milner, Partner, Morgan Lewis; Ryan O’Leary, Research Director, IDC, Joe Patrice, Senior Editor, Above the Law; Maribel Rivera, VP, Strategy and Client Engagement, ACEDS; Amie Taal, Stratagem Tech Solutions Limited; Stephanie Wilkins, Editor-in-Chief, Legaltech News, ALM Media.

1:00 PM-2:00 PM CT

Case Law Update, Regency D

Learn about everything from the legal status of hyperlinks to the continuing impact of artificial intelligence on the law at Relativity Fest’s Case Law Update. Join us for this continuing legal education (CLE) program reviewing recent case law in the fields of e-discovery law and related legal disciples with Judge Allison Goddard providing the view from the bench, the Honorable Andrew Peck and eDiscovery Today Editor Doug Austin sharing some of their top picks from EDRM’s Important eDiscovery Case Law Decisions, ESI Attorneys Principal and eDiscovery Assistant CEO Kelly Twigger with selections from the ACEDS-eDiscovery Assistant Case of the Week, and Moderator David Horrigan of Relativity sharing selections from his annual Data Discovery Legal Year in Review. The team will review and analyze important legal decisions over the last year and let you know how these cases will affect you, your practice, and your entire organization.

Speakers: David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel & Legal Education Director, Relativity; U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Goddard, U.S. District Court; Doug Austin, Editor, eDiscovery Today; Honorable Andrew Peck, Senior Counsel, DLA Piper; Kelly Twigger, CEO and Founder, eDiscovery Assistant.

3:30 PM-4:30 PM CT

Legal Costs and Access to Justice, Regency D

Here’s your chance to be part of law school class at Relativity Fest as students join us remotely to learn about legal costs and access to justice. Access to justice has many components, but perhaps none is more fundamental than legal costs, which represents a fundamental—often insurmountable—barrier for many people. In this program, we’ll examine research data on legal costs and access to justice, the Honorable James Francis will discuss the possibilities offered by alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration, and Dr. Victoria McCloud will provide perspective from the United Kingdom, including a so-called “winner takes all” civil system. Judge Michelle Rick will provide a judicial perspective as we welcome her law students to the program, and we’ll look at opportunities for progress with Relativity’s Justice for Change program.

Speakers: Dr. Victoria McCloud, Dr, Judge, England and Wales (Ret.); Judge Michelle Rick, Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals; Honorable James Francis, JAMS, and U.S. Magistrate Judge (Ret.); Beth Clutterbuck, CHRO, Relativity; David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel & Legal Education Director, Relativity; Isha Marathe, ALM Media.

Friday, September 27, 2024

9:00 AM-10:00 AM CT

The 11th Annual Judicial Panel: Politics, Free Speech, and the Judiciary, Grand Ballroom

2024 is an election year in the United States, and the United Kingdom had landmark elections on July 4. Rarely has the influence of politics affected the judiciary more than it has today. ABA Model Rule of Judicial Conduct 2.4 provides, “A judge shall not be swayed by public clamor of fear of criticism.” But is that even possible in today’s polarized and often toxic political climate? In this political climate, an assassination attempt on a former president has affected the nation, while US Marshals Service data indicate serious threats against federal judges doubled in Fiscal Year 2023 to a total of 457. Are these threats the result of toxic politics and free speech becoming reckless rhetoric? Are laws, procedural rules, and legal ethics mandates enough to protect judges and allow them to do their jobs? Does our Brave New World of artificial intelligence help the situation? These challenges are not limited to the United States. A longtime member of the Relativity Fest Judicial Panel — the United Kingdom’s first transgender judge — has received political backlash, including threats. Join us on the final day of Relativity Fest for what may be the most important Relativity Fest Judicial Panel ever.

Speakers: U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Goddard, U.S. District Court; Hon. Justice Tanya R. Kennedy, Associate Justice, Appellate Division, First Department; U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman, United States Magistrate Judge, United States Courts; Dr. Victoria McCloud, Dr, Judge, England and Wales (Ret.); U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, U.S. District Judge, Western District of Texas; David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel & Legal Education Director, Relativity.

Those are six Relativity Fest 2024 sessions that I plan to check out (one is obvious). 🙂

The full interactive agenda is here. Even if you can’t make it, Relativity Fest is still one of the few conferences that supports virtual and in-person attendance! Register to attend Relativity Fest 2024 virtually or in-person here.

In addition to speaking, I will be covering the conference as press and will be reporting on notable educational sessions each day. Hope to see you there! And I will have a preview of some notable sessions to check out next week!

So, what do you think? Are you attending any of the six Relativity Fest 2024 sessions I highlighted above? 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.