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Federal civil discovery CLE to take place at Akron Law
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: March 23, 2018
From new methods to eliminate negligent spoliation to preservation requirements for ephemeral apps like Snapchat and Confide—those are just a few of the issues that experts will discuss at an upcoming continuing legal education seminar taking place at The University of Akron School of Law next month.
Sponsored by the Akron Law Review, the April 6 event entitled “A Day of Discovery - New Issues and Trends in Federal Civil Discovery,” will feature federal judges and law professors from around the country.
“The overall goal of the CLE will be gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the 2015 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” said Akron Law Review Editor in Chief Calleigh Olson. “The speakers will be clarifying some of the changes, offering guidance on how to implement them and presenting some suggested changes that they believe could improve upon them.”
After opening remarks by Akron Law Dean Christopher J. Peters, the first session will get underway at 9:15 a.m. with U.S. District Court Chief Judge Lee Rosenthal (S.D. Texas) and The University of Oklahoma College of Law Professor Steven Gensler discussing how the “anti-boilerplate” movement is emphasized in the discovery amendments along with the new use of discovery protocols in Fair Labor Standards Act cases.
Akron Law Professor Bernadette Bollas Genetin, who teaches civil procedure and other federal courts classes said the amendments permit judges to treat boilerplate discovery requests and objections as serious discovery violations, “rather than mere annoyances.”
Genetin said the 2015 discovery amendments were largely aimed at controlling unnecessary costs and burdens of discovery.
“These amendments changed the scope of discovery provision considerably by emphasizing that discovery must be proportional,” said Genetin, who serves as a faculty advisor to the Akron Law Review.
“Prior to the amendments, every party was entitled to other parties’ relevant, non-privileged information,” said Genetin. “In 2015 the rules were changed so that discovery requests must also be ‘proportional to the needs of the case,’ considering six factors, including the importance of the issues in the case, the amount in controversy and the burden or expense of requested discovery.
“Whereas the scope was once presumptively broad, now discovery scope is decided on a case-by-case basis,” she said.
Brittany K.T. Kauffman, director of the Rule One Initiative at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver is also among the featured speakers.
Genetin said Kauffman will focus on making a case for the need for broader initial disclosures followed by tailored discovery in order to reach the goals of reducing the burden and expense of discovery.
Keynote speaker Maryland District Court Judge Paul W. Grimm will address practical and common sense measures that judges can implement to realize the benefits of the 2015 amendments.
“He advocates that judges conduct live ‘pre-motion’ conferences for motions to dismiss, discovery motions and dispositive motions,” said Genetin. “This will permit judges to resolve or narrow the issues to be decided before parties undertake expensive formal motion practice.
“Judge Grimm interprets the 2015 amendments collectively to require judges to be ‘more active case managers,’” she said. “He recommends that judges take early and continuing control of cases through pre-motion conferences in order to reduce the delay, burden and expense of litigation.”
Other sessions will delve into the increasingly important issues surrounding transnational discovery and the Sedona Principles (Third Edition, October 2017) and its proposed best practices for e-discovery.
In addition speakers will tackle topics like attorney negligence in the preservation of e-discovery along with the ways in which rule makers, opposing parties and judges can apply pressure to encourage competence in preservation.
The final portion of the CLE will explore the duty to preserve and provide discovery with ephemeral apps like Snapchat and Confide.
“These ‘self-destruct apps’ are designed to automatically destroy information,” said Genetin. “This discussion will explore the tension between the ‘privacy by design’ features built into these communication tools, which essentially mimic the fleeting nature of conversations and the duty to preserve and disclose electronic information in civil discovery.”
“A Day of Discovery - New Issues and Trends in Federal Civil Discovery,” takes place on April 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Olson said organizers chose April 6 because it coincides with the Public Interest Auction taking place at Akron Law later in the evening.
“We are hoping the two events will complement one another and lead to increased participation in both,” said Olson.
The CLE, which includes lunch, costs $50 and participants are eligible to receive 6.25 CLE hours.
Pre-registration is required, but walk-in registrations will be accepted on the day of the CLE if seating is available. To register visit (https://commerce.cashnet.com/LAWEXP). Anyone with questions can send an email to robin4@uakron.edu.
“I would say this CLE is a must for anyone who litigates in federal court and should be strongly encouraged by those who litigate in state courts,” Genetin said.