‘Choreographies’ and other painstaking preparation give ACEDS conference attendees maximum learning, enjoyment
ACEDS panel “choreographies” assure that nothing is left to chance in the knowledge attendees gain in each of the 17 panels, like keeping tight control of costs and budgets. ACEDS is poised to give the 200 first-year attendees maximum knowledge and career connections in 17 panels and 13 networking events on March 23-25.
It's easy to drop a group of speakers in front of a crowd to recite the same tired presentations they repeat time and again on the e-discovery lecture circuit. What's hard is not just finding top speakers, but coordinating and "choreographing" their presentations in engaging, dynamic ways to assure maximum learning by the attendees.
After nearly 20 years of running first-rate conferences throughout the world which attracted thousands of people who left thousands of outstanding testimonials, the folks who run ACEDS know how to cajole the expert speakers into rehearsing exactly what they will present, keeping their presentations to a specific number of minutes, and being prepared to answer questions that come from expert moderators roaming the floor and from the attendees on the spot.
When attendees arrive at the ACEDS Annual E-Discovery Conference, March 23-25 at the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, FL, they will be forgiven if they mistake the panels for a Broadway show. In essence, the same amount of "choreography" takes place in the months leading to the respective events.
The folks who run the ACEDS conference have produced successful conferences in specialized legal fields for two decades, utilizing the same comprehensive, unique methods that boil down to three words – prepare, prepare, prepare. In the months running up to the ACEDS conference, 28 expert speakers spent hours on telephone conference calls with ACEDS staff to plan each session beat-by-beat in an effort to deliver the most knowledge for the attendees in the available time.
E-discovery budgeting panel illustrates ACEDS preparation
On the opening day, March 23 at 3:30 PM, attendees will be treated to a general session titled "Budget, Budget, Budget -- The Secret to Victory Without Breaking the Bank." Most of them will not know the work that the four speakers and the ACEDS staff devoted to planning each of the 75 minutes of the panel. Download the choreography here.
"We pride ourselves in the great testimonials we routinely get from our attendees. All the preparation comes out in the finished product," said Gregory Calpakis, Executive Director of ACEDS and a conference veteran. "When you see how smoothly the panels work, how the experts answer all questions and move nimbly from topic to topic, how the slides we project are timely and pertinent even to unexpected comments, and how interactive and approachable the format makes the speakers, you realize preparation is the difference."
The preparation of the speakers results in a "choreography" that is sent to all the speakers on every one of the panels. The choreography lists the subject of each speaker’s time-limited opening remarks, the subjects they may anticipate and the question and answer period that follows their opening statements in the slides that will be projected during the panel.
Panel will teach collection strategy, validation, processing, review, vendor selection
In the Budget, Budget, Budget panel, controlling e-discovery costs will be dissected by four experts.
David Yerich, E-Discovery Director at UnitedHealth Group, will show how to develop and implement a collection strategy and how to validate electronically stored information. Then, Tony Reid, Principal at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, will teach effective processing methods and data de-duplication. Helen Bergman Moure, principal at Lex Aperta, will tackle the budgetary aspects of document review and how to make it cost effective. Finally, John Barkett, a Miami Shook, Hardy & Bacon partner and past chair of the American Bar Association’s National E-Discovery Institute, will guide attendees through the crucial and complex job of vetting, selecting and contracting with vendors.
"We are proud of the unique way we run our conferences," said ACEDS president Charles Intriago, a former federal prosecutor and partner at a major international law firm who also created the world-acclaimed Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). "We make sure the speakers don't pontificate, drone on or duplicate what the others say. We also make sure the attendees questions are answered in a direct way."
"Our dynamic, interactive format has one goal -- to assure that the attendees walk away with the maximum, practical knowledge that the speakers can impart in the available time. We don't go for speeches or war stories. Our panels are practical and provide the knowledge that professionals can use right away. To bolster what the speakers teach, we 30-minute refreshment breaks after most sessions so the attendees can mingle with the speakers some more,” Intriago added.
3 days of comprehensive panels and expert speakers
ACEDS will host 28 expert speakers in 17 panels on March 23-25. All panels have been planned, choreographed and painstakingly scheduled to provide attendees with a rare opportunity to learn from the best in the field.
On Saturday, March 26, attendees will have the option of attending a full day CEDS Exam Preparation Seminar, conducted by ACEDS Advisory Board Chair William Hamilton and ACEDS Advisory Board Member Helen Bergman Moure.
Or, attendees may sign up now to play in the First Annual ACEDS Litigation Hold-in-One Golf Tournament at the nearby beautiful Westin Diplomat Golf Course.
There is still time to register for the ACEDS Annual Conference on March 23-25 at the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, FL. An additional benefit will be the presence of more than 25 top-rated vendors of technology and consulting services in the conference Exhibition Hall. Learn more about the conference, panels and speakers, and register today.
