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2012 Speakers

2011 Themes

Project Management: How do you meet the considerable challenges posed by eDiscovery? Effective use of project management skills throughout the entire EDRM cycle can greatly enhance your prospects of success. This track will explore the use of project management skills at each stage of the process to insure a timely and cost effective outcome.

The Inside/Outside/Provider Triangle: eDiscovery activities frequently call for close coordination between three distinct groups: the client, its outside counsel, and the eDiscovery providers assisting those organizations. This track will cover who those groups are; what interests they cater to and what concerns they care about; the different roles they can play in the eDiscovery process; the differing and overlapping ethical issues they face; and how they can work together more effectively.

Legal Holds: High profile cases such as Victor Stanley and Pension Committee put legal hold and preservation in the limelight. Managing the legal hold process can be daunting. From notification to custodian self-collection to automated content lock-down, complexity abounds. This track will cover approaches to preservation and collection with a focus on defensibility. We will explore roles and responsibilities of various constituents, legal hold solutions, and the pros and cons of new tactics like in-place preservation. Participants in this track will walk away with the fundamentals necessary to implement defensible preservation and collection programs.

Using eDiscovery Technologies: The increasing size and diversity of electronic collections and productions drive continual innovation in the eDiscovery marketplace. This track will identify breaking new trends; define the actual new functionality provided; explore the potential risks vs. benefits; discuss how these new technologies apply to different players; and delve into more actual usage practices. Example trends include predictive coding, search optimization, auto redaction, data mapping and ESI visualizations.

Blog

Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat Announces Craig Ball as a 2012 Keynote Speaker

Tuesday, 10 January 2012 23:38 Written by Chris La Cour

Chris La Cour, Founder & Executive Director of the Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat (CVEDR), announced today that Craig Ball will deliver a keynote address for the July 2012 Retreat. Mr. Ball, an Austin, Texas-based trial law technologist and computer forensics expert, is a world-renowned thought leader in eDiscovery. He will address one of the most critical issues facing today’s legal profession: Persuading attorneys to learn information technology skills to uphold standards of advocacy and better serve their clients.

“Effective, affordable eDiscovery is no harder than learning to try a lawsuit ... and no easier,” said Mr. Ball. Attorneys know it takes years of effort to learn courtroom skills, yet many expect to master eDiscovery in a few hours. Mr. Ball hopes to encourage them to “get their hands dirty with data,” noting that events like the Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat (CVEDR) are needed to allow the exchange of ideas amongst eDiscovery professionals. He adds, “I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones in a setting that is one of America's loveliest places.”

2011 CVEDR Recap

Wednesday, 04 January 2012 02:09 Written by Chris La Cour

It was a success and hope you made it!

The July 2011 Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat was a great success, drawing 160 attendees from across the country and abroad. It was a bold first step in carrying out Chris La Cour’s vision of a robust eDiscovery community on the West Coast. It proved, to skeptics who wondered whether he could pull it off, that he could.

With its rugged grandeur and frontier mystique, California’s Central Coast region has long been a magnet for creative thinkers, truth seekers, and people who simply want to escape from the urban rat race. The CVEDR has brought the eDiscovery community into that tradition. The program, with its pure focus on eDiscovery, featured the industry’s most highly respected thought leaders, key strategists, and experts. It was designed to be interactive and engage the audience, with plenty of time to network, brainstorm, meet new friends, and reconnect with old ones.

Chris and the Retreat Committee planned the CVEDR holistically, and with care for optimizing the attendee experience. The retreat took place at the Carmel Valley Ranch, a secluded mountain resort known for its sumptuous hospitality and family-friendly amenities. Guests at the retreat spent three and-a-half days enjoying the rejuvenating atmosphere, the perfect Mediterranean climate, and the gorgeous scenery.

Sasha Hefler has been appointed to the 2012 Advisory Committee for the Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat

Sunday, 25 December 2011 17:33 Written by Chris La Cour

Sasha Hefler, Founder of the legal public relations firm Strategic Brands on Fire and the former President of the Masters Conference, was appointed today as an advisory committee member of the Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat being held July 22 – 24, 2012 at Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, California.

“Sasha Hefler is a proven asset to CVEDR. Her participation was very instrumental to the success of the first annual eDiscovery retreat that took place several months back in July. She has a vast number of relationships in the eDiscovery industry and an overall tenure in successful brand marketing of educational forums and start-ups in the eDiscovery space.” said Chris La Cour Founder & Executive Director of CVEDR.