At the ALM LegalTech Conference held on Wednesday February 3, 2016, a panel of five district court judges discussed how technology has changed courtroom procedure. Discussing a slew of topics ranging from new courtroom technologies to the impact technology may have on pre-trial motions, the five judges provided insight into how the modern court system is adapting to advancements in technology.
Of note, however, was the panel’s cautionary recommendation to legal counsel for large corporations. With the evolution of ediscovery technologies, the judges forewarned counsel that broadly construed objections stating discovery of privately held data would be “overly burdensome” may fall on increasingly deaf ears. Rather, such objections would require greater specificity, such as demonstrating a specific time frame, specific costs or being able to show that the costs outweigh the benefits. The panel’s discussion serves as an important reminder for large companies which aggregate vast amounts of data that their data retention policies should be carefully constructed to provide the specificity that judges are now seeking during the pre-trial discovery phase.
Reporter, Brett Schlossberg, San Francisco, +1 650 422 6708, bschlossberg@kslaw.com.
