The Sedona Conference® Working Group Series is the next phase in the evolution of The Sedona Conference® from a forum for advanced dialogue to an open think-tank confronting some of the most challenging issues faced by our legal system today. The Working Group Series was launched in 2002 and is designed as a bridge between our Regular Season Conferences and a pure think-tank model. Our currently formed Working Groups are described below. Click here for further information on the Working Group Series. WG1: Electronic Document Retention and Production Charge: The development of principles and best practices recommendations for electronic document retention and production. First Meeting: October, 2002 Current Projects: During 2007, The Sedona Principles and The Sedona Guidelines were updated in light of the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and case law developments, culminating in the publication of The Sedona Principles, Second Edition.  WG1 also released commentaries on Legal Holds, Email Management and Archiving, and Search and Retrieval Methods. During 2008, WG1 has released commentaries on Discovery of Electronically Stored Information Held by Non-Parties and Authentication and Admissibility of Electronic Evidence. Drafting groups are currently working on commentaries on Legacy Data, Preservation of "Not Reasonably Accessible" Electronically Stored Information, Protecting Privilege and Work Product, and E-Discovery Process and Quality Control. The Sedona Conference Collaboration Project is underway to bring together judges, trial lawyers, corporate and government counsel, technical experts, and academics to develop practical tools to reduce adversarial tension, cost, and delay in the pre-trial discovery process. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG2: Protective Orders, Confidentiality & Public Access Charge: The development of principles and best practices addressing protective orders, confidentiality issues, sealing orders and motions to vacate or modify to permit public access. First Meeting: April, 2004 Current Projects: Town Hall Meetings discussing the public comment version of WG2's Best Practices Addressing Protective Orders, Confidentiality and Public Access were held in Newark, Dallas, Denver and Birmingham. The group held a second meeting in April 2006 to discuss the public comments, and a final version of the report is now posted on our website. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG3: The Role of Economics in Antitrust Charge: To identify where economic analysis can make an important contribution to the reasoned development of the antitrust laws, and recommendations and best practices regarding same; at the same time, the Group will comment on those areas of antitrust where economics may have assumed an inappropriate role. First Meeting: May, 2004 Current Projects: The final version of The Sedona Conference® Commentary on the Role of Economics in Antitrust was issued in the first quarter of 2006 and is now posted on our website for download for personal use. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG4: Working Group on the Intersection of the Patent and Antitrust Laws First Meeting: June, 2004 Current Projects: The initial work product of this group has been subjected to dialogue at two conferences. The group had a second face-to-face meeting in March, aiming towards publication of a public comment version of their report later this year. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG5: The Markman Process and Claim Construction Charge: To develop a set of "best practices" for the courts to facilitate claim construction in patent litigation, and to maximize efficiency and minimize inconsistency in the Markman process consistent with F.R.C.P. 1. First Meeting: June, 2005 Current Projects: The initial work product of this group was the subject of dialogue at our fall, 2005 patent litigation conference, and a public comment version has been posted on the website. A public forum was held in Washington, DC in April 2006 to gather further comment. The group will be meeting again this year to review the public comments and make edits as appropriate, aiming for a final report to be issued by year's end. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG6: International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure Charge: To serve as a global forum and think tank for sharing information, developing best practices, and advising and educating on matters of national and international law and policy regarding the disclosure/discovery, management, and protection of electronically stored information. First Meeting: 15-17 July, 2005, Cambridge, England. Current Projects: The first meeting of this Group was held in Cambridge, England in July, 2005. Several sub-teams have been formed, and the group is working to finalize a Global Survey and guidelines and best practices recommendations for dealing with cross-border conflicts. A second annual meeting was held in Madrid in September 2006. The group is currently completing the global survey and the report on cross-border conflicts, to be published later this year. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG7: Sedona Canada Charge: To create forward looking Principles and Best Practices recommendations for lawyers, courts, businesses and others who regularly confront e-discovery issues in Canada. The Group will follow these Principles and Recommendations with examples and discussion to assist lawyers, courts and others involved to apply them to particular facts and situations they may encounter. Membership in the Group is limited to Canadians. First Meeting: May, 2006 Current Projects: The Sedona Canada Principles was released in January 2008, with the French language version scheduled for release in late February, 2008. Working Group members are scheduled to appear at numerous events across Canada to promote discussion of the Principles. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area About The Working Group Series Working Groups begin with the same high caliber of participants as our Regular Season conferences, but are limited to approximately 35 core participants compared to 60 at our conferences. (Membership in the Working Group Series is not limited to any particular number - see below.) Further, in lieu of finished papers being posted on the website in advance of conferences, thought pieces and other ideas are exchanged ahead of time, and the Working Group itself becomes the opportunity to create a set of recommendations, principles or other educational guidance. Working Group output is then put through a peer review process, including where possible critique at one of our Regular Season conferences, hopefully resulting in an authoritative, meaningful and balanced final paper for publication and distribution. The first Working Group (WG1) met on October 17-18, 2002, and was dedicated to the development of guidelines for electronic document retention and production. The impact of its first (draft) publication—The Sedona Principles; Best Practices Recommendations and Principles Addressing Electronic Document Production—has been immediate and substantial. The Principles was cited in the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules Discovery Subcommittee Report on Electronic Discovery less than a month after publication, and was cited in a seminal e-discovery decision of the SDNY less than a month after that. As noted in the June 2003 issue of Pike & Fischer’s Digital Discovery and E-Evidence, "The Principles...influence is already becoming evident." The rest, including enactment of the new rules on e-discovery, is, as they say, history. Working Group Membership Program The Working Group Series Membership Program was established to provide a vehicle to allow interested any jurist, attorney, academic and consultants to participate in Working Group activities. Membership is required for core team members and is open to any others who wish to follow and learn from Working Group activities. Membership provides access to advance drafts of Working Group output with the opportunity for input, and to a Bulletin Board for the posting of current news of interest. Members may also indicate their willingness to volunteer for Project Team assignment, and a Member’s Roster is included in Working Group publications. The annual cost of membership is currently only $295 per year, and includes access to the Member’s Only area for that Working Group. To join the Working Group Series Membership Program, please complete the website [downloadable] Membership Application and fax it to 928-284-4240. Upon payment of the membership fee you will be provided with passcode information to access the Members Only section of the website for the Working Group(s) you have joined. [Membership fee waived or reduced for members of the judiciary and government employees].