The Sedona Conference Working Group 1 Midyear Meeting 2024

Date: 
Thursday, April 25, 2024 - 8:30am to Friday, April 26, 2024 - 1:00pm

Time zone: Eastern Daylight Time

Location:
FDIC Virginia Square Campus
3501 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA

The 2024 Midyear Meeting of the Sedona Conference Working Group 1 on Electronic Document Retention and Production (WG1) will be Thursday, April 25, and Friday, April 26, at the FDIC Virginia Square Campus in Arlington, Virginia. A welcome reception will precede the meeting on April 24, beginning at 5:30 p.m. 

A primary focus of the meeting will be to present work product from several Working Group 1 drafting teams and brainstorming groups for feedback and dialogue among WG1 members. These sessions include:

Drafting Team Reports:

  • Multidistrict Litigation Discovery
  • Discovery of Modern Communications and Collaboration Platforms
  • Mobile Device Discovery
  • Discovery-Related Sanctions

Brainstorming Group Report:

  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Discovery

The meeting also will include sessions on the following topics:

  • Case Law Review: Staying Current with Key eDiscovery and ESI Decisions
  • Voices from the Bench: The Judicial Perspective for 2024 and Beyond
  • Ethical Issues Around the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Discovery

We are also pleased to present a session with special guest Candyce Phoenix, Senior Counsel and Senior Advisory to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. Ms. Phoenix will discuss insights on the role of data science and eDiscovery techniques in this complex investigation. 

Since this year's meeting falls during Passover, chametz-free food options will be available.

You are welcome to stay at any of the hotels in Arlington, VA, or the surrounding area.  The Sedona Conference does not have a room block at any particular hotel. 

To attend the meeting or participate in any of The Sedona Conference’s Working Group Series (WGS) activities, you must be a WGS member. For details on membership, please click here.

CLE

The Sedona Conference will seek CLE accreditation for this meeting in selected jurisdictions (except Virginia), as dictated by attendance.

Confirmed Dialogue Leaders

Norton Rose Fulbright

Minneapolis, MN, USA

Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory

Washington, DC, USA

U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, PA, USA

King & Spalding
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

New York, NY, USA

Redgrave Data

Falls Church, VA, USA

Redgrave LLP

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Innovative Driven

Alpine, UT, USA

Hausfeld

Washington, DC, USA

Scott+Scott
Seeger Weiss LLP
Husch Blackwell LLP

Kansas City, MO, USA

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Rockford, IL, USA

Hausfeld

Philadelphia, PA, USA

BakerHostetler
DLA Piper
Troutman Pepper
U.S. Dept of Justice

Washington, DC, USA

DLA Piper

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Innovative Driven

Minnetonka, MN, USA

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

New York, NY, USA

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

New York, NY, USA

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
Merlin Search Technologies

Naperville, IL, USA

DLA Piper

New York, NY, USA

Arnold & Porter
SunPower

Columbus, OH, USA

Scott and Scott

New York, NY

Relativity

Richmond, VA, USA

The Sedona Conference

Phoenix, AZ, USA

WG1 2024 Midyear Meeting Agenda

Time  Session  Panelists
(All times EDT) Wednesday, April; 24, 2024 (*=moderator)
5:30 — 7:00 p.m. Welcome reception  
  Thursday, April 25, 2024  
7:30 — 8:30 a.m. Breakfast & sign-in  
8:30 — 8:45 a.m. Welcome and Announcements Claudia Morgan, Ken Withers
8:45 — 10:15 a.m. [Session 1] ESI Case Law in 2024: Staying Current with Key eDiscovery and ESI Decisions  
  ESI case law in 2024 is pushing courts to consider issues across the spectrum of electronic discovery. While tackling issues involving artificial intelligence and other novel sources of ESI, courts must also deal with seemingly banal yet still timely and important topics such as ESI preservation failures and privilege log disputes. This session will review a range of these issues, highlighting some of the top eDiscovery cases from the past six months and discussing how they may affect discovery practice going forward this year and beyond. Phil Favro*, Nathaniel Giddings, Hon. Andrew Peck, Hon. Rukhsanah Singh
10:15 — 10:45 a.m. Morning Break  
10:45 — 11:45 a.m. [Session 2] Drafting Team Report: MDL Discovery  
  Multidistrict Litigations (MDLs) can present unique procedural and logistical discovery hurdles that set them apart for other litigation in federal court. The Federal Rules Advisory Committee has recently proposed Rule 16.1 to address these unique issues. The MDL drafting team has reviewed the comments received to Rule 16.1 during the comment period and will be prepared to discuss the proposed rule during this session and to present their working outline to prompt efficient discovery in the MDL context. Shauna Itri, Tanya Canup, Gil Keteltas*, Gerard Quinn
11:45 a.m. — 12:45 p.m. [Session 3] Drafting Team Report: Discovery of Modern Communications and Collaboration Platforms  
  The drafting team will provide an update on the draft Commentary regarding modern electronic communications and collaboration platforms. Given the increase in the business use of these platforms for business use, the Panel will discuss the identification, preservation, collection and production of modern communications and collaboration data and the challenges involving discovery from these platforms.  The Panel will also discuss and elicit membership feedback on the drafting team’s work to date. Gareth Evans*, Hon. Travis Laster, Jonathan Swerdloff, Cristin Traylor
12:45 — 2:00 p.m. Lunch (provided)  
2:00 — 3:00 p.m. [Session 4] Recommendations from the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Brainstorming Group  
  The Brainstorming Group will share insights from their outline on potential WG1 guidance for the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, including generative AI, in discovery. After meeting for several months, the group has reached consensus and will make recommendations on issues including applications of AI and ML in discovery, overlap with TAR, advancing acceptance, application of Sedona Principles and other past guidance, and ethical requirements. The group seeks feedback from WG1 members on their recommendations. Kelly Atherton*, Steven Berrent, Hon. Cathy Bissoon, Miriam Marks, Amy Sellars
3:00 — 4:00 p.m. [Session 5] Mobile Device Discovery: Challenges and Guidance  
  Gone are the days when the contents of mobile devices, specifically phones and tablets, could be presumed to be outside of the scope of discovery obligations. Discovery of mobile device data affects all parties (and often non-parties) in litigation and investigations, whatever their role or size of organization. Yet, there are few sources of practical guidance on the topic. This panel will: (i) provide guidance for identifying when mobile device data (including third-party chat or messaging applications) may be subject to discovery; (ii) discuss best practices for preserving, collecting, searching, and producing mobile device data; (iii) discuss the implications of BYOD and other company policies and procedures on a party’s obligations to preserve, search, and produce mobile device data; and (iv) explore privacy issues that arise when personal mobile devices are collected and searched. Hon. Mark Coulson, Dennis Kiker*Jason Lichter, Michelle Newcomer, John Pappas
4:00 — 4:15 p.m. Afternoon Break  
4:15 — 5:00 p.m. [Session 6] eDiscovery Insights from the January 6 Investigation with Special Guest Candyce Phoenix  
  Candyce Phoenix, Senior Counsel and Senior Advisor to the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, will discuss insights on the role of data and discovery in the investigation. Ms. Phoenix will discuss the nature and effects of discovery in this complex investigation, including coordination of multiple teams and stakeholders, deployment of various workflows and data analysis techniques, and culmination of the evidence into a compelling narrative. Tara Emory*, Candyce Phoenix
5:30 — 7:30 p.m. Reception (guests invited)  
  Friday, April 26, 2024  
7:30 — 8:30 a.m. Breakfast & sign-in  
8:30 — 10:00 a.m. [Session 7] Voices from the Bench: The Judicial Perspective for 2024 and Beyond
  This session will present a wide range of judicial perspectives on emerging eDiscovery trends, new technologies, and recent case law. This esteemed panel will discuss hot topics such as generative AI, collaboration and short-message format discovery, modern “attachments”, and best practices for evaluating and resolving complex eDiscovery disputes.  Hon. Cathy Bissoon, Hon. Deborah Boardman, Hon. Mark Coulson, Tessa Jacob*, Hon. Iain Johnston, Hon. Travis Laster, Hon. Rukhsanah Singh
10:00 — 10:30 a.m. Break  
10:30 — 11:45 a.m. [Session 8] Drafting Team Report: Discovery-Related Sanctions  
  The Sedona Conference has undertaken a paper focusing on the application and effectiveness of discovery-related sanctions available under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including the court's application of sanctions since the 2015 amendments and the interplay between sanctions available under the Rules and the court's inherent authority. In this Panel, the dialogue leaders will discuss and elicit membership feedback on the draft paper’s guidance to jurists, practitioners, and litigants about how to effectively utilize discovery-related sanctions to ensure fairness, protect the integrity of proceedings, and further Rule 1’s mandate. Hon. Iain Johnston, Jeannine Kenney*, Eric MandelKelly McNabb
11:45 — 12:45 p.m. [Session 9] Ethical Issues Around the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Discovery  
  This panel will discuss ethical issues you should consider when using generative AI tools in discovery, including:
•    Maintaining confidentiality of client Information
•    Duty of candor
•    Duty of competence 
Hon. Deborah Boardman, Andrea D'Ambra*, Joseph GuglielmoDaniel Lim, Leeanne Mancari
12:45 p.m. — 1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and wrap-up Ken Withers
1:00 p.m. Adjournment & Grab-and-go lunch (provided)  
Date: 
Thursday, April 25, 2024 - 8:30am to Friday, April 26, 2024 - 1:00pm