The Sedona Conference and its Working Group 1 on Electronic Document Retention and Production are pleased to announce publication of the final, post-public-comment version of The Sedona Conference Commentary on the Need for Guidance and Uniformity in Filing ESI and Records Under Seal ("Commentary"). The intent of the Commentary is to minimize the burden on litigants and courts created by the lack of uniformity in U.S. district court procedures for sealing confidential documents and electronically stored information (ESI). The Commentary offers a Proposed Model Rule designed both to bring uniformity to the process of filing under seal and to create a fair and efficient method to deal with the sealing and redacting of ESI, so that the parties can focus on the litigation while conserving the resources of the court. The Proposed Model Rule does not provide any guidelines or guidance for what ESI is properly sealed or redacted; it only provides a procedure for doing so. A public-comment version of the Commentary was published in December 2021.
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