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 The mission of Working Group 1 is to develop principles and best practice recommendations for electronic document retention and production in civil litigation. The group released the first public comment draft of The Sedona Principles in March 2003, and the impact was immediate and substantial. Within a few weeks, The Sedona Principles was cited by the Civil Rules Advisory Committee Discovery Subcommittee as one of the reasons to focus on possible amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and it was cited in the seminal Zubulake case in the Southern District of New York. Since then, WG1 has published updated editions of The Sedona Principles and several companion works, including guidelines for electronic document management, an authoritative glossary of e-discovery and electronic records management terms, several commentaries on e-discovery related topics, and cooperation guidance for trial lawyers, in-house counsel, and the Judiciary. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG2: Protective Orders, Confidentiality & Public Access This mission of Working Group 2 was to develop principles and best practices addressing protective orders, confidentiality issues, sealing orders, and motions to vacate or modify orders to permit public access. The Working Group issued its draft report May of 2005. The report was the subject of a series of "town hall" meetings held in Newark, Dallas, Denver, and Birmingham, and extensive public comment. The Working Group reconvened in April 2006 to work on the "final" report, which was published in early 2007. The report has been incorporated into the curriculum of several judicial education conferences and cited favorably by members of the United States Judicial Conference in their negotiations with Congress on rules reform in this area. A discussion forum on this topic is available for members of the Working Group Series. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG3: The Role of Economics in Antitrust The mission of Working Group 4 was to identify where economic analysis can make an important contribution to the reasoned development of the antitrust laws, and create recommendations and best practices regarding evidence from economic experts. The Working Group developed a commentary on the role of economics in antitrust that was released for public comment in August of 2005 and was the subject of extensive dialogue at the fall 2005 Sedona Antitrust Conference. The group finalized this commentary in 2006. The commentary was presented to the Civil Rules Advisory Committee Discovery Sub-Committee on the issue of disclosure of expert reports in 2007. A discussion forum on this topic is available for members of the Working Group Series. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG4: Working Group on the Intersection of the Patent and Antitrust Laws The mission of Working Group 4 is to create guidelines to help courts resolve disputes on the intersection of the patent and antitrust laws. Extensive dialogue about the initial draft work product was conducted at the fall 2005 Sedona Antitrust Conference, the 2006 Sedona Patent Litigation Conference, and during subsequent meetings of the Working Group. A public comment version of the Introduction was published in 2007. The final Commentary will be published in early 2010, after which a discussion forum on the topic will continue for members of the Working Group Series. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG5: The Markman Process and Claim Construction The mission of Working Group 5 is 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. The Working Group issued a public comment version of its recommendations in June 2006. A final version is set for publication in the first quarter of 2010, after which a discussion forum on the topic will continue for members of the Working Group Series. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG6: International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure The mission of Working Group 6 is to address issues that arise in the context of e-information management and e-disclosure for organizations subject to litigation and regulatory oversight in multiple jurisdictions with potentially conflicting internal laws. The group serves as a global forum and think-tank for sharing information, developing best practices, and educating on matters of national and international law and policy regarding the discovery, management, disclosure, and protection of electronically stored information. Working Group 6's first publication, the Framework for Analysis of Cross-Border Conflicts, was released in 2008 and cited shortly thereafter by the European Commission's Article 29 Working Party as a important contribution to the emerging international dialogue on disclosure and privacy. Working Group 6 also hosts an online International Overview of Discovery Data Privacy and Disclosure Requirements and has held meetings and educational programs in England, Spain, and Bermuda. Publications from or related to this Working Group. Enter Member's area WG7: Sedona Canada The mission of Working Group 7 - Sedona Canada - is to create forward-looking principles and best practice recommendations for lawyers, courts, businesses, and others who regularly confront e-discovery issues in Canada. The Sedona Canada Principles was released in early 2008 (in both English and French) and was immediately recognized by federal and provincial courts as an authoritative source of guidance for Canadian practitioners. It was explicitly referenced in the Ontario court rules and practice directives that went into effect in January 2010. Working Group 7 provides materials and speakers for Sedona Conference Institute program and bar association conferences across the country. Membership in Working Group 7 is restricted to Canadian residents. 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].