On September 19 and 20, IAALS and the National Judicial College co-hosted the 2nd Annual Educational Summit for State Court Judges: Unlocking E-Discovery. The Summit provided a forum exclusively tailored for state court judges to learn about all facets of the discovery of electronically stored information—from preservation to production to eventual use at trial.
The Summit featured nationally renowned faculty in the area of electronic discovery and provided both a core of basic training for judges on e-discovery and in-depth and interactive discussions on the more complex issues facing judges in state courts.
As Professor Steven S. Gensler has commented with regard to the Summit, “In Anna Karenina, Tolstoy wrote that ‘happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ The same could be said for state courts and e-discovery. Different states—and different courts within those states—necessarily will have to confront their own sources of ‘e-discovery unhappiness’ in ways that make sense in light of local culture, docket details, and available resources. But there are things judges can do to guide the e-discovery process to reduce cost, prevent problems, and promote fair and affordable access to the courts. And whether your litigation ‘family’ is big or small, most of these practices can be adopted or adapted to make the e-discovery process a ‘happier’ one.”
Judges from over thirty states around the country came together to discuss these challenges and learn about ways in which they can positively impact the discovery process in their own courts so as to achieve the goals of Rule One—a just, speedy, inexpensive, and “happier” process overall. While there is no one size fits all approach given the divergent dockets around the country, the Summit provided judges with greater knowledge and a variety of tools to achieve these goals.
For a full event agenda, click here.
To view panelist biographies, click here.