The Sedona Conference Working Group 1 Annual Meeting 2021

On October 20th, Jeannine Kenney, Partner in Philadelphia, served as a Dialogue Leader during the Sedona Conference's Working Group 1 (WG1) Annual Meeting. The mission of WG1 is to develop principles, guidance and best practice recommendations for information governance and electronic discovery in the context of litigation, dispute resolution and investigation.

Jeannine led the dialogue during Session 3: The Effective Use of Discovery-Related Sanctions. The Sedona Conference WG1 Sanctions Brainstorming Group performed a holistic analysis on the application and effectiveness of discovery-related sanctions available under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Panelists from the Brainstorming Group discussed their findings on how sanctions are being used in discovery, the impact of the inconsistent application of sanctions, and the interplay between sanctions available under the Rules and the court’s inherent authority. The panel provided guidance on what more can be done to resolve or navigate inconsistencies in the law and how sanctions can be effectively used to facilitate good faith participation in discovery.