RelFest 2026 is coming up in a week! Here are seven RelFest 2026 sessions to check out next week during next week’s conference!

Relativity Fest is now officially “RelFest”, which is an annual conference designed to educate and connect the eDiscovery community. It’s taking place this year September 29 through October 1 in Chicago. As usual, there will be a ton of 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 legal data intelligence challenges, and more!

There are also 271(!) speakers for this year’s event. And I’m excited to be one of them, as you’ll see below. And it’s really hard to pick just seven sessions to check out. Nonetheless, here are seven RelFest 2026 sessions you may want to check out.

Tuesday, September 29, 1:30 PM-2:30 PM CT

The 13th Annual Judicial Panel (Grand Ballroom)

With a theme of “Preservation, Proportionality, Privilege, and Prompts,” the 13th Annual Judicial Panel will address issues ranging from traditional e-discovery to modern legal data intelligence with AI. Have advanced technologies, including cloud computing, made disaster recovery a non-issue or does global uncertainty make it more important than ever?  At the same time, have technological advances made complying with data preservation obligations easier or has the veritable cornucopia of data sources made preservation an even bigger challenge?  When does an obligation to preserve data run afoul of Rule 26’s mandate to keep discovery proportional to the needs of the case? Considering the last of the “Four Ps,” when does the attorney-client privilege or the protections of the work product doctrine apply to AI prompts – or do they even apply at all? Join us as leading judges return to address these vital issues of the day.

Speakers: U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman, United States Magistrate Judge, United States Courts, Judge Michelle Rick, Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals, David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel & Legal Education Director, Relativity, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, U.S. District Judge, Western District of Texas, Dr. Victoria McCloud, Judge (Ret.) & Company Director, Judiciary.

Tuesday, September 29, 4:15 PM-5:15 PM CT

Case Law Update (Regency C)

In 2026, artificial intelligence continues to be an important issue in legal data intelligence case law, but where the past few years have focused on AI hallucinations, in 2026, we’ve seen the AI issues go from AI in legal research to AI in e-discovery. Are AI prompts protected by the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine? How has case law in 2025 and 2026 come down on e-discovery issues, such as failure to preserve, ESI and AI protocols, and sanctions? As always, we’ll also examine issues facing law firm practitioners, corporate counsel, and legal technology teams everywhere.

Speakers: David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel & Legal Education Director, Relativity, Doug Austin, Editor, eDiscovery Today, Honorable Andrew Peck, Senior counsel, DLA Piper, U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Goddard, U.S. District Court, Kelly Twigger, CEO and Founder, Minerva26, Joy Heath Rush, CEO, International Legal Technology Association (ILTA).

Wednesday, September 30, 9:00 AM-10:30 AM CT

RelFest Chicago Keynote (Grand Ballroom)

The industry is changing fast, and so is the tech – and the community – powering it. Kick off RelFest with an inspiring opening keynote, where we’ll discuss the pivotal transformations shaping our industry and how Relativity is showing up to empower your success. You’ll hear from Relativity CEO Phil Saunders, President Chris Brown, and other distinguished guests as they showcase groundbreaking product innovations designed to help you thrive. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain a competitive edge and hear directly from industry leaders.

Wednesday, September 30, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM CT

The Legal Data Intelligence State of the Union (Regency C)

The traditional RelFest State of the Union’s gathering of legal and technology professionals, members of the legal media, and judges gets an expanded focus for 2026 as the Legal Data Intelligence State of the Union. The experts will consider the vital issues of legal data intelligence today, law firm and corporate practitioners will make their arguments to the jury comprised of members of the legal media, and our judges will consider whether to affirm the findings of the Fourth Estate or issue a judgment non obstante veredicto (JNOV) if they believe the journalists should be overruled with a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Join us for this annual program where you’ll learn about important issues of law and technology, including AI use in law firms, legal departments, and the courts, the latest in e-discovery law, and even the Latin meaning and frequency of the JNOV.

Speakers: Dr. Victoria McCloud, Judge (Ret.) & Company Director, Judiciary, Rhys Dipshan, Editor-in-Chief, Legal Technology, Law.com, Legaltech News, Joe Patrice, Senior Editor, Above the Law, Greg Buckles, Editor, eDJ Group, David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel & Legal Education Director, Relativity, Fiona Campbell, In-house Counsel, LexisNexis, Honorable Pamela Washington, Scott Milner, Partner & Global Analytics & Governance Practice Group Leader, Morgan Lewis, Stephanie Wilkins, Editor-in-Chief, Legaltech News, ALM Media, Robert Ambrogi, Publisher, LawSites/LawNext, Honorable James Francis, Arbitrator, Mediator, Special Master, JAMS.

Wednesday, September 30, 3:30 PM-4:30 PM CT

Leveling the Playing Field: AI for Incoming Productions and Smarter Case Strategy (Regency D)

For plaintiff firms, requesting parties, and government teams, the challenge is often the same: how do you move faster, find the right evidence sooner, and compete against larger, better-resourced opponents? This session will explore how Relativity aiR can help teams make sense of incoming productions, surface key issues earlier, and focus limited resources where they matter most. Panelists will share practical perspectives on using AI to accelerate analysis, identify important documents and patterns, and strengthen case strategy without scaling headcount at the same pace. This discussion will show how modern review technology can help smaller or leaner teams work smarter, respond with confidence, and level the playing field.

Speakers: Stephanie Clerkin, Director of Litigation Support, Korein Tillery, Christine Milliron, Director of eDiscovery, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Maks Babuder, Director of Product, Relativity, Lea Bays, Partner, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, Chad Bell, Partner, Korein Tillery LLC.

Thursday, October 1, 11:30 AM-12:15 PM CT

e-Discovery Gone Wrong: A Choose-Your-Own-Disaster (You’re Holding the Paddle) (Grand Hall IJ)

It’s 4:47 p.m. on a Friday. A new, urgent project just landed on your desk. Forty custodians. Slack threads, WhatsApp voice notes, Copilot outputs. And a legal hold that somehow never went out. Opposing counsel wants a meet-and-confer Monday morning. Tight deadlines. What do you do first? You decide. In this fully interactive session, the audience drives the case forward, voting at every fork in the road on scoping the project, the preservation and collection strategy, tool selection, cost-shifting posture, privilege calls, and sanctions risk. Our panel of e-discovery veterans, in-house counsel, and a sitting judge react in real time to your choices, share what they’d do differently, and show you where each path leads: to successful project outcome, a bruising sanctions hearing, or somewhere painfully in between. Bring your instincts and your strongest opinions. Every seat comes with a paddle. Every vote changes the story. You’ll leave with a mental playbook for the fact patterns keeping GCs up at night, and maybe a few new friends in the room who voted with you.

Speakers: Cristin Traylor, Senior Director, AI Transformation and Law Firm Strategy, Relativity, Mike Quartararo, President, Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), Stephanie Clerkin, Director of Litigation Support, Korein Tillery.

Thursday, October 1, 1:30 PM-2:30 PM CT

Hot Topics on Trial: The Great Debate in e-Discovery (Crystal A)

e-Discovery is constantly evolving, and the toughest questions legal teams face do not always have clear answers. In this interactive debate session, industry experts will take opposing sides on three major hot-button issues shaping the future of e-discovery, including generative AI and other timely topics transforming legal practice. Each round will feature advocates arguing the pros and cons before a judge, followed by an audience vote and a final ruling from the bench. Designed to be lively, practical, and thought-provoking, this session will surface competing perspectives on the trends, risks, and decisions defining the industry today, while giving attendees a chance to test their own views against the arguments in the room.

Speakers: Cristin Traylor, Senior Director, AI Transformation and Law Firm Strategy, Relativity, Jessica Tseng Hasen, Senior Counsel, U.S. Lead of Advance, Ashurst Perkins Coie, Nirav Shah, Corporate Counsel, The Home Depot, Melissa Weberman, Counsel & Head of eData, James Bekier, Ben Sexton, Vice President of eDiscovery, JND.

Those are seven RelFest 2026 sessions that I plan to check out (one is obvious). 🙂

The full interactive agenda is here. Register to attend RelFest 2026 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!

So, what do you think? Are you attending any of the seven RelFest 2026 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.