Friday, October 14, 2011

E-Discovery Expert Former Judge Ron Hedges: On Cooperation




http://ow.ly/6XYfE

A blog post by Glenn T. Melchinger on the Hawaii Litigation Blog.

This post discusses a recent presentation provided in a Hawaii courtroom by eDiscovery expert and former Magistrate Judge Ronald Hedges.

Judge Hedges discussed the revisions to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which went into effect in December 2006.  The article states, "A central theme Judge Hedges raised was the need for counsel to truly engage on e-discovery issues, to cooperate and agree. Judge Hedges clarified that does not mean an agreement to bury issues of electronically stored information (“ESI”) in the proverbial sand. But why cooperation? Does a zealous advocate not need to fight, instead of agree? The reasons for counsel to cooperate to produce ESI are many, but Judge Hedges addressed the primary one: making sure you get the other side’s ESI, and in a cost conscious way proportional to the size of the dispute."

Among other comments the author also explains, "Judge Hedges provided one anecdote about cooperation, about counsel in a certain multi-district litigation who spent six months meeting and conferring under FRCP 26(f). By taking extra time, counsel formed key agreements that helped cut to the chase, avoid future disputes that would place burdens on the court, and streamline discovery. This points to another primary payoff for cooperation implied by Judge Hedges: simplification and certainty."


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