Keynote: Litigating in a World of Stricter Privacy and Data Security Demands and Expectations

In this brief “keynote” session, our program co-chairs introduce us to the constellation of issues emerging as a primary driver of eDiscovery case law, rules, practice, and technology developments: The increasing threats to personal privacy and confidential business data. Discovery procedures that were considered routine ten years ago are no longer acceptable in a digitally networked world in which bad actors, or simple negligence, can trigger “incidents” that have enormous personal and economic consequences. On top of that, states and foreign countries have implemented new laws and regulations to protect privacy and mandate data security, affecting the free flow of information that we had become accustomed to in U.S. civil discovery. Our job is to understand this new environment, identify the potential dangers, and implement tools and procedures to comply with new regulations and protect litigants and non-parties alike.