Almost every story we read — from the Mueller report to the trial of Kevin Spacey — revolves around ESI. Politicians and celebrities (think Roseanne and Anthony Weiner) have ended their careers and had them ended for them over texts, tweets, and just plain poor judgment. The Internet of Things has created a treasure trove of data that allows a crime scene or an accident to be pieced together moment by moment. Data is everywhere and it’s proliferating at an exponential pace.
There is no question that all discovery is eDiscovery and finding it is as simple as knowing where to look for it, how to get it properly, and how to use it effectively.
But — and it’s a big but — are you thinking about it? Are you looking at the new technology you use every day and wondering how you need to advise your clients about it?
The issues are everywhere. California is changing its privacy law and several states are following its lead in finally addressing consumers’ privacy in their information online. (Hats off to the EU for kicking that off.) The president communicates with the American people by tweeting. Text messages and social media are becoming evidence in more cases than not. The issues are constantly morphing, courts are wading into issues with greater frequency, and case law is exploding. I ran a search on eDiscovery case law in eDiscovery Assistant just now, and found 486 decisions since January 1, 2019 — 486. Do you have time to read all of those and stay up to date?
As the lawyers and legal professionals responsible for guiding our clients through the morass, we need to know the issues and how to begin addressing them. The Masters Conference series is working hard to address precisely that issue — to provide current content to keep legal professionals up to date on identifying and understanding these issues for their clients. The Masters travels across the country and to England each year putting on events in nine cities across the United States with local professionals talking about issues relevant to the individual legal community. Each event is tailored to the issues and professionals in that city or area. The events are small — between 80-200 people depending on the location — and offer tremendous opportunity not just for networking, but for asking real questions of professionals who engage with these issues every day and getting practical advice to take back and apply immediately.
Next Tuesday, June 11th, Denver will be host to the fifth Masters Conference in 2019. As with each individual Masters Conference, the agenda in Denver has been thought out by the steering committee for the local event, and I had the privilege of being a part of that committee this year. Last year was our inaugural event in Denver with just one track of combined topics. The success of the event led us to create two tracks this year — one devoted to eDiscovery, and another encompassing other key issues in ESI including privacy, AI, and blockchain. I’ll be heading up the eDiscovery track and our goal is to have conversation with our participants about the issues they are seeing and providing practical solutions. You can see the full agenda and list of speakers here. I’ll be moderating a panel on the value and importance of the ESI protocol with Joy Murao of Practice Aligned Resources, Paul Stafford of Thomson & Knight, and Gretchen Marty of Littler. You won’t be disappointed. Registration is open through Monday, and costs $265 for the day, or you can hop over to our Let’s Talk eDiscovery Facebook group and grab the discount coupon.
This year’s Masters Conference series has undergone some serious changes from days of old, with the goal being to extend the opportunity for all legal related advancements in technology and practice, according to Robert Childress, Founder of the Masters Conference series. “The Masters Conference has morphed over the past 14 years as the changes in legal technology and and the impact of electronic information has grown and developed. The Conference series goal has always been to support legal professionals in staying up to date on changes by matching the attendees with the experts and encourage participation by all attendees.”
Each of the events is held at a local law firm allowing for intimacy and exchange in conversations vs. talking heads and a real ability to connect and engage.
We’ll end the day with some beverages and great conversation and a real chance to build relationships with folks in your community. The hardest part of facing these issues is not having anywhere to turn to get answers, and building a network of people who can help you solve problems will go a long way. Join us at the Masters in Denver next week or catch up with the Conference Series in New York in July, Orlando in August, D.C. in October, and the first ever event in Atlanta in November.
You’ll find gold in them thar hills, I promise.
Kelly Twigger gave up the golden handcuffs of her Biglaw partnership to start ESI Attorneys, an eDiscovery and information law Firm, in 2009. She is passionate about teaching lawyers and legal professionals how to think about and use ESI to win, and does so regularly for her clients. The Wisconsin State Bar named Kelly a Legal Innovator in 2014 for her development of eDiscovery Assistant— an online research and eDiscovery playbook for lawyers and legal professionals. When she’s not thinking, writing or talking about ESI, Kelly is wandering in the mountains of Colorado, or watching Kentucky basketball. You can reach her by email at Kelly@ediscoveryassistant.com or on Twitter: @kellytwigger.
