Joint Sessions and the Use of E-Neutrals in ESI Disputes

I am honored to have been featured in the American Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Section's Just Resolutions eNews during this year’s ABA Mediation Week. The theme was “Mediation: Successes, Challenges, Trends and the Next Generation: Looking to the past, present and future.” In looking at where we’ve been and what is to come in civil litigation, one can find a confluence in the growth of electronic information and the need for cooperation in gathering such evidence that it necessarily creates. Electronic Discovery is everywhere. Corporations and small businesses alike utilize computer systems to cut costs, improve production, enhance communication, store data and improve capabilities in this world of constant technological development. The prevalence of electronically stored information or ESI and its associated impact on litigation are readily apparent. E-Discovery has become vital to most cases. Virtually all business information and much private party information can be found only in ESI. At the same time, the costs of collecting, reviewing, and producing ESI reportedly have reached proportions that rival the amount in controversy, itself. This piece considers the role of the E-neutral who can facilitate the electronic discovery process in complex cases by helping parties to agree on key issues while together in joint session, enabling them to focus on the merits of their case. See article here-- http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/uncategorized/dispute_resolution/just-resolutions/kolin_joint_sessions.authcheckdam.pdf