E-discovery’s Trailblazers

Eleven people —lawyers and nonlawyers — who helped create the industry.

Published by: The American Lawyer, July 29, 2013

Clearly it took a village to define and create today’s electronic discovery industry.  Ever since the sector’s early days, marked by the litigation following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, a series of lawyers, consultants, archivists, and judges have each played key roles in outlining processes, setting standards, defining the scope of e-discovery, and anticipating future trends.  Some, like K&L Gates partner Martha Dawson and U.S. District Court judge Shira Scheindlin, were early and vocal advocates of a robust role for e-discovery.  Others, like Jason R. Baron of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck, and U.S. District Court Judge Paul Grimm, focus on narrowing the scope and improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of e-discovery requests.  Another group dived deep into the long process of creating uniform standards and procedures for e-discovery:  This is a diverse group, including such people as consultants George Socha and Tom Gelbmann, Sedona Conference founder Richard Braman, and U.S. District Court Judge Lee Rosenthal, who chaired the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures during a crucial period beginning in 2003.

PRESENT AT THE CREATION
By Alan Cohen

They come from different backgrounds. Some are lawyers, some are technology experts, and some are a little of both.  These are our picks for six of the most important e-discovery trailblazers.

A FRONT-ROW SEAT
By Lisa Holton

Federal judges were among the first to see the sweeping changes that electronic discovery has brought to many areas of the law.  These five judges have not only set the stage in procedure and case law, but have become teachers, writers, activists, and ongoing critics of this rapidly changing industry.

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