Two great days of eDiscovery education conclude today! Here are the Thursday 2025 UF Law eDiscovery conference sessions, including one I’m in!

The 12th annual UF Law eDiscovery Conference conducted by the University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) is being held yesterday and today! This year’s conference features speakers, panels, and presentations from a broad group of global lawyers, eDiscovery and legal technology experts, and judicial officials. Once again, it’s literally a “who’s who” of eDiscovery experts once again this year!

With that said, here are the Thursday 2025 UF Law eDiscovery conference sessions (all times ET):

8:45 AM – 9:00 AM

Day 2 Opening Remarks

Welcome back to Day 2 of the UF Law E-Discovery Conference! We’re excited to continue our journey together as we dive into a full lineup of sessions focused on the future of e-discovery, from mentorship and leadership to the transformative role of AI.

We encourage attendees, speakers, and sponsors to bring the same energy, curiosity, and collaborative spirit from Day 1 as we explore new insights and practical strategies to inspire and empower us all.

Conference Chair: William Hamilton.

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Forging Tomorrow: Building the Future through Mentorship, Education and Leadership

We will explore the vital role current leaders in e-discovery play in cultivating the next generation. By fostering mentorship, education, and leadership, we can develop a new wave of accomplished individuals who are passionate about advancing the field. Panelists will share strategies for inspiring members of our community to step into key roles as future innovators, decision-makers, and influencers within the industry.

Join us for a dynamic discussion on how today’s trailblazers can shape tomorrow’s changemakers, creating a lasting legacy in e-discovery.

Approved for:

• 50 minutes General CLE Credit
• 50 minutes CEDS Credit

Moderator: Nirav Shah; Panelists: William Hamilton, Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy, Vazantha Meyers, Amanda Evanson.

10:00 AM – 10:50 AM

The Rise of Legal Operations: Expanding eDiscovery Skills Beyond the Lawyers

Dive into the emerging field of Legal Operations in our enlightening panel discussion, designed to demystify the role and its significance in today’s legal landscape. This session will describe what Legal Operations is, highlighting its importance as a strategic element of modern law practice. Attendees will learn how professionals in this evolving role can apply their eDiscovery knowledge/expertise to various tasks beyond litigation support, such as risk management, knowledge management, and vendor relations. Our experts will discuss integrating eDiscovery skills in optimizing legal service delivery, improving workflow efficiencies, and driving technology adoption in legal processes. Whether new to Legal Ops or looking to enhance your existing role, this panel will equip you with the insights to leverage eDiscovery competencies for broader operational success.

Approved for:

• 50 minutes General or Technology CLE Credit
• 50 minutes CEDS Credit

Moderator: Canaan Himmelbaum; Panelists: Sadie Khodorkovsky, Kelly Mickelson, Harsha Kurpad, Alicia Hawley.

11:00 AM – 11:50 AM

E-Discovery Collection Strategies: Mock Sessions

This fun and interactive panel will use a combination of mock client meetings and mock rule 26 meetings to provide strategies on how to handle collections from various sources in a strategic and defensible manner.  Then we’ll turn to the Court in some mock hearings to find out how defensible our strategies really are. This panel will shine the light on common and some uncommon issues in collecting from email archives, Microsoft 365 & Google, cell phones, and other sources, and you’ll walk away with practical, defensible strategies to implement.

Approved for:

• 50 minutes General or Technology CLE Credit
• 50 minutes CEDS Credit

Moderator: Tessa Jacob; Panelists: Kimberly Duplechain, Adam Gajadharsingh, Hope Cannon, Rebekah Bailey.

1:00 PM – 1:55 PM

Nuts & Bolts Essentials: Must-Know Insights for Your E-Discovery Career

Our Nuts & Bolts Essentials session continues, bringing you more high-level, rapid-fire insights in 8 to 10-minute segments covering essential eDiscovery topics for your career and projects. Like yesterday, these talks are crafted as quick overviews rather than deep dives, designed to whet your appetite with valuable tips, emerging trends, and key skills needed for success. With a unique focus each year, this dynamic session ensures you gain more practical, must-know information to inspire your growth and advance your professional journey.

Approved for:

• 50 minutes General or Technology CLE Credit
• 50 minutes CEDS Credit

Back to Basics: Forensics in the Age of Cloud and AI: 1:00 PM – 1:10 PM

As Cloud and AI redefine data landscapes, the focus on forensic rigor is fading, leaving collections less defensible and more prone to challenge. This session revisits the foundational principles of digital forensics—chain of custody, preservation, and defensibility—and explores how these basics remain critical in today’s complex data environments.

With real-world examples and practical insights, we’ll uncover the risks of cutting corners in cloud-based and AI-driven collections and discuss how to safeguard the integrity of your e-discovery process.

Let’s bring the basics back to ensure a future rooted in defensibility and trust.

Presenter: Jerry Bui

Properly Scoping Your Project from the Outset: 1:10 PM – 1:20 PM

If there is one thing that e-discovery professionals need to get right to ensure a successful outcome for their client it is properly assessing the nature and substance of a case or investigation at its outset and planning for the e-discovery processes that follow. In project management, this is known as scoping. Working in e-discovery requires that practitioners get a handful of things done right. Tune in for this lightening round to learn the handful of things that will ensure a successful outcome for your client.

Presenter: Michael Quartararo

Cracking Open the FOIA Vault: How eDiscovery is Revolutionizing Government Transparency: 1:20 PM – 1:30 PM

This presentation explores the intersection of FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and eDiscovery, highlighting how cutting-edge technologies like AI-driven analytics, machine learning, and predictive coding are reshaping transparency in government. Drawing parallels between FOIA and eDiscovery, it examines the legal and technological challenges faced by lawyers, judges, and agencies. Attendees will learn how private-sector innovations can streamline FOIA processes, improve accuracy, and enhance public accountability. By bridging the gap between transparency and technology, this session emphasizes the potential for eDiscovery tools to revolutionize how government data is managed and accessed in today’s data-driven world.

Presenter: Nicholas Wittenberg

E-Discovery Face-Off: Plaintiff vs. Defendant: 1:30 PM – 1:40 PM

Prepare for a spirited debate as two attorneys in the trenches take the stage to argue two of e-discovery’s topics that keep them up at night. Moderated by Professor Hamilton, this session uses a lively, debate-style format inspired by ESPN’s Around the Horn.

The focus will be on two critical issues:

1. Emerging Data Sources: Should social media activity and similar data be produced in litigation?

2. Redactions Beyond Privilege: Are there legitimate grounds for redacting anything other than privileged information?

Professor Hamilton will kick off each topic with a neutral, factual statement, setting the stage for our speakers to present their points. Representing opposing sides—plaintiff and defendant—the speakers will bring their best arguments to the table, and practical reasoning to persuade both the audience and their peers. Real-time voting gives attendees the power to decide whose argument reigns supreme.

Speakers: Jennifer Hoekstra, Scott Milner; Moderator: William Hamilton.

Key Trends Transforming eDiscovery in 2025: 1:40 PM – 1:50 PM

Get ready for a quick, impactful rundown of the biggest trends shaping eDiscovery in 2025! This 10-minute lightning session offers a sneak peek into the latest findings from eDiscovery Today’s State of the Industry Report. From advances in TAR and generative AI to navigating mobile and collaborative app discovery, learn what’s redefining the field and how it impacts your work. Gain insights and walk away with a sharper understanding of what’s next in eDiscovery and how you and your team should prepare for the following months.

Presenter: Doug Austin

2:00 PM – 2:50 PM

Accelerating AI Adoption: Insights from Legal Tech’s Pivotal Moments

As AI reshapes the legal landscape, the race to adopt it is on—but we don’t have to start from scratch. This session explores key lessons from past legal tech revolutions to accelerate AI’s accuracy and adoption today.

Join a panel of experts from across the legal ecosystem who will uncover practical insights drawn from pivotal moments in legal tech history. Whether you’re in-house, a tech provider, counsel, or part of the judiciary, this session will equip you with a roadmap for navigating your own AI journey with confidence and foresight.

Approved for:

• 50 minutes Ethics or Technology CLE Credit
• 50 minutes CEDS Credit

Moderator: Meribeth Banaschik; Panelists: Stephen Dooley, Andrew Ward, Hon. Anthony Porcelli, Chandan Sarkar.

3:00 PM – 3:50 PM

Fake Evidence: Deepfakes, Shallow fakes, and the Liar’s Dividend

Deep fakes, shallow fakes, the liar’s dividend, and admissible enhancements are reshaping the landscape of digital evidence in the courtroom. This panel will explore the evolving technology behind altered audio, video, and image content, the challenges they pose under current evidentiary rules, and the ethical obligations attorneys face. Learn how courts and lawyers can identify and manage disputes over manipulated evidence while maintaining compliance with Florida Bar and ABA ethical rules. A panel of experts will provide practical insights for lawyers and judges navigating this high-stakes frontier in litigation.

Approved for:

• 50 minutes Ethics or Technology CLE Credit
• 50 minutes CEDS Credit

Moderator: Dan Regard; Panelists: Clinton Sanko, Jerry Bui, Juan Villaseñor.

4:00 PM – 4:50 PM

Smart, Swift, and Strategic: GenAI’s Power in Document Review

Step into the fast lane of e-discovery with GenAI-powered document review, where the transformative potential of Generative AI (GenAI) redefines what’s possible in legal workflows. This session dives deep into how GenAI supercharges document review, enabling legal teams to sift through massive datasets with unprecedented accuracy, speed, and contextual depth. Learn how to harness GenAI tools for critical applications, including relevancy identification, privilege review with automated privilege logging, PII identification and extraction, foreign language document review, and even audio and image analysis.

We will demonstrate how GenAI not only enhances first-level review with precision coding and relevancy analysis but also extracts meaningful insights from complex document sets, empowering legal teams to identify patterns, prioritize critical information, and refine legal strategies with unparalleled efficiency.

This panel will feature real-world examples and impact stories—highlighting case studies, success stories, and practical solutions to challenges encountered in implementing GenAI solutions. Whether you’re a law firm partner, in-house counsel, or legal service provider, this session will equip you with actionable strategies for harnessing GenAI to achieve faster, smarter reviews. Don’t miss out on this essential guide to staying ahead in a rapidly evolving e-discovery landscape.

Approved for:

• 50 minutes Ethics or Technology CLE Credit
• 50 minutes CEDS Credit

Moderator: Maribel Rivera; Panelists: Esther Birnbaum, Robert Keeling, Jake Ancona, Nathaniel Giddings.

5:00 PM – 5:50 PM

GenAI Revolution: Supercharging Your Case from Start to Finish!

Step into the future of e-discovery with GenAI-enabled workflows that give legal professionals an unprecedented edge across every phase of litigation. By unlocking critical factual insights faster, GenAI empowers you to shape your case from the earliest assessment to appeal—enhancing everything from meeting witnesses and preparing testimony to crafting persuasive motions and compelling arguments.

 Discover how to put discovery data to work like never before as our expert faculty showcase real-world applications and explore the transformative opportunities GenAI brings to every stage of your case.

Approved for:

• 50 minutes Ethics or Technology CLE Credit
• 50 minutes CEDS Credit

Moderator: George Socha; Panelists: Manfred Gabriel, Mike Gaudet, Mary Jacques, Daniel Klier.

5:50 PM – 6:00 PM

Conference Closing Remarks

Our final 10 minutes of the conference will bring together all we’ve learned over the past two days, with closing remarks that highlight key insights and celebrate the spirit of collaboration that defined our time together.

From emerging trends to timeless strategies, we’ll reflect on how each session prepares us for the challenges and innovations to come. Thank you for being part of this year’s conference—here’s to the ongoing journey in e-discovery!

Speaker: William Hamilton

Those are the Thursday 2025 UF Law eDiscovery conference sessions. Lots of terrific educational sessions once again!

Here’s the bad news. I found out Tuesday night that, once again, even virtual attendance has been closed. Hey, I warned you! The conference has more than 3,000 attendees this year and even the virtual app is at capacity! So, if you didn’t register this year, plan to register earlier next year!

So, what do you think? What do you think of the Thursday 2025 UF Law eDiscovery conference sessions? 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.