Pre-Conference Sessions

 

E-Discovery and Beyond: Planning, Policy, and Process
Facilitated by Brian Foster, PMP

Wednesday, October 14

 

Program Description:
Today, all organizations are potential defendants in litigation. There is extensive case law describing situations of "discovery gone wrong", subjecting organizations to summary judgments, sanctions, adverse inference instructions, or fines. There are also many instances of defendants paying millions of dollars to conduct discovery to ensure no stone is left unturned when collecting potentially relevant information. This pre-conference seminar provides IT, records management, and litigation professionals with practical tools they need to improve their response to a discovery event in a compliant and cost-effective manner.

Program Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this seminar, participants will be able to:

1. Conduct a litigation readiness assessment
2. Create a litigation response team
3. Develop maintenance processes for the ESI data map
4. Create preservation processes
5. Discuss how an e-mail archiving process might be beneficial to their organization
6. Discuss the issues related to collection processes and guide decisions on how their organization should proceed
7. Develop a business case to support the investment required to standardize discovery processes
   
   

Program Facilitator:
Brian Foster, PMP, director of legal business consulting for Access Sciences Corporation, has 25 years of experience in information management and litigation areas. He specializes in the development and implementation of processes and tools to reduce organizations' exposure during discovery events. Prior to joining Access Sciences Corporation, Foster was the director of e-discovery at a major oil company in Houston where he led the discovery events in numerous large cases.

 

Overview / Litigation Readiness Assessment

Session 1 Description:  
Great news! Your organization is ready to make an investment in discovery. But where do you begin? How do you know which process to focus on first? In this session, you will learn to identify areas to be reviewed in a readiness assessment; use templates for data collection; and develop an action plan to implement a litigation readiness assessment for your organization.

Session 1 Learning Objectives:  
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Develop an information collection template
2. Conduct a readiness assessment within the organization
3. Develop a cost benefit analysis to determine where to apply resources
4. Prepare a project charter to obtain support for moving forward

 

Litigation Response Team / Data Map

Session 2 Description:
This session will address the roles and responsibilities of a litigation response team and describe the characteristics desired in a team member. You will learn how to network into the organization to identify the right people for the response team. You will learn the description of ESI data maps, learn why data maps are important, identify items to include in the data map, and create a data map template. The session concludes with defining a maintenance process for the ESI map.

Session 2 Learning Objectives:  
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Develop roles and responsibilities for the litigation response team
2. Network in the organization to identify team members
3. Develop a network of key information providers for data maps
4. Create a maintenance process for the ESI map

 

Preservation Processes and E-mail Archiving

Session 3 Description:
The preservation process is a critical juncture in litigation, having standard processes helps organizations reduce the risk of spoliation. Proper preservation policies and procedures are necessary to protect information from being accidentally altered or destroyed that could result in sanctions or fines. This session will help you develop a preservation process and a user training program to increase understanding of preservation. You will take part in a discussion about the issues related to e-mail archiving as a preservation solution. Key to an organizations success in defending against sanctions is a properly implemented program containing a preservation policy with trained users and governance tools to ensure compliance.

Session 3 Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Develop a preservation process for the organization
2. Create a user training program to increase understanding of preservation
3. Develop an audit and governance process to ensure compliance
4. Discuss the issues related to e-mail archiving as a preservation solution

 

Collection Processes, Discovery Plan, and Business Case

Session 4 Description:
The collection process is normally the final stage of discovery that is handled internally as the results are normally processed and reviewed outside the organization. In this session, you will learn about various collection protocols and how each may fit the purpose for a given matter, but be totally inappropriate for another matter. Using the knowledge and skills gained throughout the day, this session culminates in the development of a Discovery Plan. At the end of the day you will learn how to develop the business case necessary to support the investment.

Session 4 Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe collection protocols to guide the decision within their organization
2. Analyze the range of collection protocols and explain how each fits into a litigation response plan
3. Create a discovery plan for use within a matter
4. Develop the business case to support the investment

 

 

Pre-Conference Sessions sponsored by: