ABA Section of Litigation and Center for Professional Responsibility - Webinar: Ethics and E-Discovery: "Reasonable Inquiry" in the Wake of Qualcomm v. Broadcom

The circumstances underlying Judge Major’s decision in Qualcomm v. Broadcom, sanctioning Qualcomm and its counsel for failing to adequately search for or produce certain electronically stored information (ESI), highlight the various ethical conflicts that can arise in the course of litigation and e-discovery. Rule 26(g) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that every disclosure or discovery response “be signed by at least one attorney of record…after a reasonable inquiry.” Judge Major considered sanctions against all “attorneys who signed discovery responses, signed pleadings and pretrial motions, and/or appeared at trial,” including junior associates.

In this teleconference and live audio webcast, Chief Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm (D. Md.) will join a panel of litigators with extensive e-discovery experience to discuss ethical and practical considerations arising from the “reasonable inquiry” requirement of Rule 26(g) in the context of e-discovery. The discussion will address the sometimes delicate and difficult balance between complying with counsel’s ethical obligations and managing client concerns in an area where discovery often is voluminous, complicated, and costly.

David Cross will be the moderator of this event.