After some of the most miserable weather I can remember at this time of year it was something of a relief to fly off to Santa Barbara, California earlier this month to attend my second conference held by the Litigation Counsel of America. On this occasion I was also accompanied by my colleague Naj Bueno.
The venue was the Four Seasons Biltmore resort at the eastern end of Santa Barbara where the conference unfolded over two days in near perfect weather (once the sea mist had burned away each day). Starting with a Millnet sponsored cocktail reception for the approximately 150 Fellows and their guests in the garden of the hotel, we were greeted like old friends. That first evening culminated in a splendid dinner at the San Ysidro Ranch kindly organised by Carol Owen of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP in Nashville Tennessee and Adam Arceneaux of Ice Miller LLP in Indianapolis.
The conference got underway after early breakfast when I confess to feeling better than I had any right to, and we were soon into the swing of events “netquestering” jurors from the internet and discussing intellectual property litigation. A highly entertaining and effective lecture by Ken DeMoura followed, entitled “Internet Toolbox for Trial Lawyers” with humorous examples of where lawyers may gain assistance from slightly off the wall websites to ensure they are up to speed with the parties on the other side. Ken has recently set up his own firm in Dedham, Massachusetts after a spell as a Partner at LeClair Ryan. Via seeking redemption from a “judicial hellhole” we moved on to what cross border litigators need to know about the US-Canadian paradigm and finally that day to our session entitled “Predictive Coding: A Sea Change in E-Discovery?”
Chaired by Carol Owen, our panel consisted of Naj and me together with Brian S Heslin of Moore & Van Allen of Charlotte, North Carolina. Our panel discussion had been billed as follows:
The next “sea change” in complex litigation discovery? More and more, lawyers are turning to predictive or computer-assisted coding to assist in their e-discovery efforts. These software tools use sophisticated algorithms that enable a computer to determine the relevance of data, replacing the need for human review of each document. The use of computer-assisted review in large data-volume cases can save the producing party significant amounts of legal fees. As such, many consider this technology to be the next stage of e-discovery and a potential solution to the sky-rocketing costs of litigation that have plagued clients and litigators over the past few decades. In February of this year, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck issued the first opinion that judicially approved the use of computer-assisted review in appropriate cases. Judge Peck’s opinion outlined an iterative process to review and produce relevant ESI while adhering to the applicable civil procedure and evidentiary rules. This panel will discuss many issues surrounding Judge Peck’s opinion and the aftermath, including a brief overview of how predictive coding works, the use of predictive coding in litigation, the pros and cons of predictive coding and the future of predictive coding in litigation.
Judging by the response we received and the many questions which were raised at the time and subsequently, this was a subject which our audience found both interesting and timely.
The evening reception and gala dinner with its induction of new LCA Fellows took place in a room overlooking the ocean. Indeed the Pacific was so close that it was almost under our feet as we enjoyed some excellent fare culminating in cognac and, for those still that way inclined, cigars.
As if to underline the importance currently attached by lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic to the potential minefield which is social media we were treated next day to an excellent overview of how to avoid the pitfalls of “Attorney Blawging and Social Networking.” If there was ever any doubt that lawyers need to be concerned about these topics, this talk was quick to dispel them!
Of course, as is the case with many such conferences, the real work is done outside the conference hall and we had many opportunities to network with colleagues old and new. All very useful, not to say delightful.
However, one particular instance sticks in my mind as a reminder of what someone described to me as “kooky” California. On the Saturday evening a group of us went downtown in Santa Barbara to a well known local fish restaurant called the Hungry Cat. Before we even got to the sea urchins, we were ordered out of the restaurant! I had no idea what we had done wrong as I found myself in the street before I had had anything to eat or drink. After all, I thought, five of us had only been standing at the bar about to order drinks because our table was not ready. Subsequently I discovered that the law of “Elf and Safety” is as intrusive in California as in this country. Apparently the restaurant staff were concerned that five people standing at the bar (and we were the only people standing in the whole restaurant apart from the waiting staff) constituted a fire hazard and contravened local fire regulations and ordered us into the street! I confess it seemed a bit strange to be in a restaurant with a bar and to be unable to stand and order a drink while our table was being prepared!
Back in the UK, tucked away, as we are, in the old printing district of London just north of Liverpool Street, it is not often that we hear our street address featured on Radio 4.
Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I heard Fi Glover of Radio 4 announce on One to One that she was visiting the premises of an entrepreneur in the area of what to some is known as Silicon Roundabout [see No magic roundabout, 7th October, 2011] and to hear her describe walking down Scrutton Street. Fame of a sort, I suppose to be near the location of a Fi Glover interview but, as importantly, now that the sun has at last started to shine in Scrutton Street, I feel that this Mama and Papa blogger may be forgiven for California dreaming.