The Chilli IQ 6th Information Management & E-Discovery Summit is only a few weeks away and with the list of confirmed speakers and content, this year’s event promises to be a valuable experience for all those involved with E-Discovery.
Looking through the conference programme there are some excellent subject matters for a number of the sessions. Among the many topics of sessions, the ones that caught my eye for being particularly relevant at present are:
- E-Discovery from a judicial perspective
- Computer Assisted Review and Predictive Coding
- How to best manage outsourcing eDiscovery and hosting
- Social media – understanding its power and potential
The lead International keynote speaker is Browning Marean of DLA Piper (US). Browning is delivering a session on ‘Meeting the Challenges of Legal Holds’. Browning brings an international presence with his experiences, with similar principles and methods being able to be used in Australia and New Zealand. I note that Browning is also down to sit on the panel about ‘Predictive Coding’ which is a very topical subject at present, especially with the order of Judge Peck in the Da Silva Moore v. Publicis Groupe case in the US.
It is a well-balanced list of speakers covering the judiciary, law firms (legal and technical) and service providers to the legal industry. Personally I have heard from a number of the speakers at other events over the years and they have always been very knowledgeable and informative.
It is refreshing to see a strong judicial presence at the conference as too often e-discovery events are conspicuous by the lack of any judicial figures. The E-Discovery Summit has two judges confirmed as speakers. Justice McDougall, Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW will look at E-Discovery from a judicial perspective, whilst Justice Bergin, The Chief Judge in Equity of the Supreme Court of NSW will also be covering the recent Supreme Court Practice Note – SC EQ 11 – Disclosure in the Equity Division.
As I have mentioned in an earlier post, there are not any similar e-discovery events in New Zealand. It is positive to see a number of attendees currently confirmed from New Zealand. This number will no doubt increase leading up to the event, as any organisation that is heavily involved in litigation will want to have a presence at the event. If they do not, then I am sure their competitors that attend will benefit greatly from the additional knowledge that they will gain. The issues covered will be similar to the issues that many organisations and law firms experience in New Zealand.
E-Discovery continues to be a rapidly changing industry. I am finding an increasing number of people that are being overwhelmed with the increasing complexities of ediscovery, and at the same time to try and ensure that it is managed efficiently, cost effectively and in a timely manner. No matter what country you are from, we are all faced with the evolving challenge of the greater volumes and sources of electronic information. We all need to continue our learning about the new technologies and processes that are continuously emerging to address these challenges.
Looking through the list of sponsors for the event, there are a number that have been around the e-discovery space for many years. I know from my experience that the majority have also conducted work in New Zealand, or are always looking at opportunities to develop further work in New Zealand for their products and services.
More information about the E-Discovery Summit can be found on the dedicated website that Chilli IQ has set up for the event.
