Day One Recap from Georgetown's Advanced E-Discovery Institute
It was an exciting and information packed first day at the Georgetown Law Advanced E-Discovery Institute. We encourage you to read our recaps of sessions on e-discovery case law, the economics of e-discovery and information governance.
The conference keynote addressed data privacy and was delivered by J. Trevor Hughes, President and CEO of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. The general theme of the presentation was that there is such a constant and pervasive collection of personal information that we, as a society, have no idea the scope of just how little privacy we have. We especially liked the quote: "Privacy—we don't have an app for that."
As you can imagine, technology-assisted review (TAR) is a big topic at this year's conference. So big, in fact, that not one, but two sessions were devoted to the topic on day one. Here are a few key takeaways from the sessions on TAR:
- TAR mitigates error—it does not amplify it.
- TAR is not just for review. It is useful at the ECA phase, and for cost analysis and compliance.
- Experts agreed there should not be, at this time, a set of standard statistics that a solution has to meet in order to valid (e.g., a minimum of 80% recall); this application of statistics and machine learning to litigation support is too new.
Another session addressed using and challenging digital forensic evidence. The panel concluded that attorneys must plan early on admitting uncommon ESI forms and consult with the appropriate experts in order to develop a protocol for collection, analysis/review and production.
It was a very educational first day at Georgetown and day two promises more of the same with sessions on the evolving role of e-discovery counsel, preserving and admitting foreign ESI and, you guessed it, more TAR. Check back soon!