Extract from Isha Marathe’s article “3 Takeaways From the UF E-Discovery Conference Annual Judges’ Panel”
At the 10th Annual University of Florida E-Discovery Conference, the Annual Judges Panel had a lot to discuss about how technology has changed court proceedings, and vice versa.
Legaltech News has reported on how U.S. state and federal courts have coped with changing tech demands, the risks associated with it and the need for more legal tech competency among judges.
As the legal industry, and courts as well, show more comfort with technology, the judges panel talked about how they are handling the various issues around e-discovery and the growing number of technology formats in 2023.
The ‘Goldilocks’ Standard for Judges’ Involvement
While the e-discovery procedures in some cases can easily be handled from start to finish by the attorneys on the case, with growing digital evidence and new forms of media, some judges said cases now demand a more active role from the bench than they did in the past. However, other judges said they should leave the entire process to the attorneys, refraining from early intervention unless and until the attorneys ask.
But most were of an opinion somewhere in the middle.
William Matthewman, magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida, said the decision to participate in the e-discovery process, and how much to participate is like the “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” story. “You don’t want [the porridge] to be too hot. You don’t want it to be too cold. You want it to be just right,” Matthewman said. “I find that about 20% of the cases engender about 80% of the discovery disputes.”
