Seventh Circuit Electronic Discovery Pilot Program Approves Model Discovery Plan and Case Management Order

The Seventh Circuit Electronic Discovery Pilot Program Committee, which for many years has been at the forefront of efforts to reduce the cost and burden of electronic discovery consistent with the goals of Rule 1, now provides another important resource for practitioners and judges everywhere. The Committee, which is currently engaged in Phase 3 of the Pilot Program, has developed a Model Discovery Plan and Case Management Order (CMO) relating to privileged documents. Drafts of both proposed documents were attached to the Committee's Interim Report on Phase Three, which detailed the Committee's ongoing efforts, including expanding interest in improving the e-discovery process across the country and internationally and creating an E-Mediation Program. The Committee has now approved a final version of the model Plan and model CMO. The model Plan is intended to “help the parties focus and articulate the scope of discovery, the form of production and review strategies for electronically stored information,” while the CMO “provides a model Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) order and some suggestions for the more efficient and effective logging of privileged documents.”

We applaud the Committee's work on both documents, as the development and distribution of model discovery plans and case management orders provides useful guidance to practitioners and judges around the country. Do you have local e-discovery rules, guidelines, protocols, model discovery plans, or model case management orders to share from your own jurisdiction? In anticipation of our 2nd Annual Educational Summit for State Court Judges: Unlocking E-Discovery, which we are co-hosting with the National Judicial College here in Denver on September 19th and 20th, we are collecting these valuable resources. If you are willing to share yours, send me an email: brittany.kauffman@du.edu. And if you are a state court judge interested in attending a summit on e-discovery specifically tailored for state court judges, featuring renowned speakers and providing both a core of basic training and in-depth and interactive discussions on more complex issues, it is not too late to register. Learn more at http://iaals.du.edu/ediscoverysummit2013.