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What Are Your New Year's e-Discovery Resolutions?

Relativity

Is there a better time for reflection, self-assessment, and setting new goals—both personally and professionally—than the start of the new year? A few members of the e-discovery community were gracious enough to tell us their resolutions—and the resolutions they’d like to see others commit to—for the next year. Check out what they had to say and share your own 2015 e-discovery resolutions in the comments.

Judge Andrew Peck, Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York

There are two resolutions I’d like to see lawyers shoot for in 2015: 1) Cooperate more. Cases should be decided on their merits, not based on e-discovery fights. Plus, it will save your clients money. 2) Use Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) in every case. It’s malpractice to not consider it.

Ari Kaplan, Founder of Ari Kaplan Advisors

Be prepared. The most successful legal teams are familiar with their data map, recognize budget constraints, are aware of their search capabilities, and fully understand personnel resources. That knowledge allows them to be transparent and proactive, which can often positively influence the entire process.

Brent Ozar, Microsoft Certified Master of SQL Server

I'm going to stop writing the year 2014 on my contracts. I tend to start the year with pretty low standards. After that, I'm going to work on my first presentation about Elasticsearch, the technology underneath Relativity Data Grid. People are often surprised that a SQL Server guy advocates getting data out of the database, but I'm a total believer in using the right tool for the right job. NoSQL solutions are fantastic for text search, and I think I can help make the concepts a lot simpler and more trustworthy.

Judge Nora Barry Fischer, District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania

In 2015, I think lawyers should have more meaningful conversations about the issues during the Rule 26 conference. And, I sure do like Judge Peck's suggestion from our Relativity Fest panel— bring your technology geek to the Rule 26 and the initial conference with the court.

Frank Canterino, CTO of Empire Discovery

Over the next year, my goal is to use e-discovery software to give mid- and small-sized law firms the same capabilities as big Am Law 100 firms.

Judge David Waxse, Magistrate Judge for the District of Kansas

My suggested resolution for lawyers would be to make sure they are complying with the new provisions of Model Rule 1.1, which state that a lawyer should provide competent representation to a client and maintain competency by staying in touch with changes in the law and its practice—including the benefits and risks of technology.

Mark H. Ettinger, Vice President of Linguistic Systems

In 2015, we want to help resolve international legal disputes by removing language barriers. Technical advances in this field make my team excited about working with organizations to keep costs low, while maintaining the necessity for human involvement in accurate translation for these complex projects.

Rick Lutkus, Senior Associate at Seyfarth & Shaw LLP

My resolution is to get more actively involved in emerging technologies that complement and integrate with Relativity to more fully leverage the platform for my clients' benefit.

Happy New Year from all of us at kCura. We wish you the best of luck in setting and keeping your e-discovery resolutions in 2015.


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