WG1 2023 Annual Meeting Agenda

Preservation, handling, review, and production of electronic information are critical aspects of many government regulatory investigations and other proceedings. Some might argue that what we generally call “eDiscovery” first rose to prominence as part of government regulatory actions in the early 2000s, and such proceedings today are at the forefront of highlighting modern electronic information disclosure issues such as the use of personal devices. Most of the laws and commentary on eDiscovery, however, have focused on civil litigation between private entities, and not specifically on the roles and responsibilities of parties in the context of a government proceeding.  

Working Group 1 has recently established a brainstorming group on Electronic Information in Government Proceedings, which will recommend whether to form a drafting team for a Sedona Conference publication on the topic. This panel will update WG1 members on the work of the Government Proceedings brainstorming group, raise and discuss some of the key topics under consideration, and solicit feedback from members.

• are parties currently living up to the original intent of the Rule and meeting their obligations to make a reasonable inquiry into the facts in preparing the disclosures; 
• as part of a party’s initial disclosures, should they be identifying custodians, including the names, titles and departments of custodians, and custodial and noncustodial data sources containing potentially relevant ESI for potential collection, review, and production; 
• is the timing for initial disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1)(C) workable for the parties to provide sufficient disclosures?