Extract from Exterro’s article, “eDiscovery Day 2026 to Put AI on Trial with Live Debate Judged by a Sitting Federal Judge on December 3.”
Exterro, with its partners ACEDS, EDRM, eDiscovery Today, and LegalOps.com, announces the 12th annual eDiscovery Day taking place December 3, 2026.
LegalOps.com to join Exterro, ACEDS, EDRM, and eDiscovery Today as sponsors of the 12th annual celebration of eDiscovery; Launches industry’s first Rising Stars Award
Exterro, which founded eDiscovery Day in 2015, today announced that the twelfth annual observance of eDiscovery Day will be celebrated on Thursday, December 3, 2026. eDiscovery Day co-sponsors ACEDS, EDRM and eDiscovery Today will be joined for the first time by LegalOps.com and introduce the first annual Rising Stars of eDiscovery awards, presented by eDiscovery Sponsors. Registration for the keynote and nominations for the industry’s first Rising Stars of eDiscovery award are open now at eDiscoveryDay.com.
In 2025, the industry was still debating whether AI belonged in eDiscovery at all. This year’s keynote moves the industry’s AI conversation forward. On December 3, US District Judge Xavier Rodriguez will preside over this year’s keynote, “In a New AI World, Who Does the Work Now?” which will put a harder question in front of the profession: what should AI be trusted to execute, and what should stay with people. The keynote runs 75 minutes, live at 8:00 AM PT / 11:00 AM ET on December 3.
The Oral Argument
At the center of the keynote is a live Oral Argument: four practitioners arguing assigned sides on whether AI is ready to execute eDiscovery work while humans approve, questioned from the bench by Judge Rodriguez, who has served on the federal bench for the Western District of Texas since 2003 and previously sat on the Supreme Court of Texas. The audience will be polled before and after the debate to decide who wins.
