Main Conference Day One: Thursday, October 15, 2009

8:30 Co-Chair's Opening Remarks

David A. Speringo, JD,C.C.E
ACE Senior Consultant
ACCESSDATA

8:45 The Looming Changes In Energy And Utilities Litigation In 2009 And Beyond

Any relevant discussion of eDiscovery must focus on the specific issues that it is intended to address - and these are very industry-specific. Energy and utilities companies face a variety of legal challenges, from environmental lawsuits to evolving government regulations. Investigations and litigation create electronic discovery requests that can impact the entire organization and involve hundreds of custodians and data sources across multiple locations.

What are these challenges in the energy and utilities sector? And how can eDiscovery be tailored to address them? In this session, featuring a highly prominent in-house counsel and an experienced legal consultant, you will learn about the most important issues facing the sector in the coming years, including:

• The ongoing difficulty in product liability and mass toxic tort litigation
• The increased scrutiny to comply with environmental, financial and business practice regulations
• Energy industry consolidation through mergers and acquisitions
• Antitrust investigations
• The factors driving a greater volume of litigation
• How the historic risks are now overshadowed by more modern risks
• The changes in economic and political conditions leading to increased litigation and regulation
• The ever on-going problem with FCPA investigations

9:30 The Enormous New Challenges Of EDiscovery For The Energy And Utilities Market

Most studies now indicate that the eDiscovery market in the energy and utilities sector will grow at the rate of 15-20% each year for the next several years. The volatile economic climate is challenging these industries to do less with more; budgets are shrinking with data proliferation and the threat of sanctions due to improper ESI handling is on the rise. In this session, hear leading eDiscovery experts discuss:

• The primary challenges facing the sectors in documentation and eDiscovery
• The various options for meeting them
• Identifying the dangers of adopting a "one size fits all" approach
• Assessing the different needs of the sectors
• Unraveling the talk and predictions on where eDiscovery is going
• Getting ESI under control
• Highlighting the new options becoming available and how they can be influenced by you
• Tools and techniques to provide a more predictable eDiscovery environment
• How to realize a short-term return on investment in management capital outlay

11:15 How Every Oil And Gas Company Can Streamline EDiscovery And Minimize Risk With Better Communications

Among Corporate Counsel, Outside Counsel and IT Successful eDiscovery management requires teamwork among in-house counsel, outside counsel, IT personnel and vendors. What steps can you take to make sure the responsibility is clearly distributed and that the team works on an integrated basis to achieve the legal goals as well as financial objectives? And, how have successful energy companies worked to achieve these communications? Join this panel to discover:

• Strategies outside counsel should employ form the outset in order to familiarize themselves with their client's systems and procedures:
• Asking the right questions
• Evaluating the responses
• The best practices for in-house counsel to work with outside counsel to establish the proper parameters for selecting appropriate vendors
• How to reduce miscommunications and redundancies
• What are the normal barriers between lawyers and IT personnel - and how can they be overcome?
• Understanding the inner workings of the IT department so that you can obtain information faster and more reliably
• What is the essential IT information that in-house and outside counsel must know?
• Architecture
• Master data
• Accessibility of back-up media
• IT policies
• What sites are systems accessed from - corporate sites, globally, remotely?

Moderator and Speaker:

Daniel Lim
Senior Director and Assistant General Counsel
GUIDANCE SOFTWARE INC.

Panel:

12:15 A Critical Factor For Containing Costs: Proven Strategies For Creating Long-Term Record And Data Management Cost Benefits

It's no secret that energy and utilities companies are under extreme economic pressure to minimize the cost of document review while not sacrificing quality. As a direct result, law firms are increasingly being asked to improve their review efficiencies and reduce costs. Companies, in turn, need to know more about their data and how it will impact their decisions earlier in the process than ever before. Join our panel of experienced litigation support managers and eDiscovery experts for insightful strategies and specific technologies than can make an immediate impact in overall cost reduction while accelerating the review process. You will learn about:

• How to gain a commitment at the executive level for the appropriate program
• Designing appropriate governance for implementation
• Putting programs in place for reducing risk right away
• Establishing a long term compliance program
• Controlling the increasing costs related to e-disclosure and discovery
• How to design effective searches using various search technology methods
• Techniques to ensure that your document production is organized, timely and within budget

Moderator

Jason Robman
Corporate Counsel and Director
RECOMMIND

2:15 Case Study: Building An FRCP Compliant, In-House EDiscovery Process In-House To Reduce Cost And Mitigate Risk

More and more, organizations are seeking to build out an internal, end-toend eDiscovery process. Relying on both in-house technology and preferred provider partners, organizations are seeking to reduce cost and mitigate risk.

The oil & gas industry is no exception, and the increased regulatory burdens and governmental scrutiny have combined with a rise in litigation and an eye towards reducing costs to make these internal projects a necessity as opposed to a luxury. With legacy technology failing to meet the demands of a modern organization, organizations are seeking advanced technology and stable partners to meet these new challenges.

Learn how one organization has grappled with the challenge of creating a process that reduces costs and mitigates risks by bringing eDiscovery in-house and creating strong partnerships with both vendors and outside counsel.

3:00 A Critical EDiscovery Concern: Identifying And Avoiding The Weak Links In The Chain Of Custody In Oil And Gas Litigation

Chain of custody has, until recently, been a foreign concept to civil litigators. That is because the evidentiary chain of custody was rarely ever an issue. The coming of the digital age has made it a major issue because the actual nature of evidence has changed from paper to electronic data. In highly contentious litigation, parties will hire computer forensic specialists to locate and seize information - and that is where problems can arise. In this presentation, you will learn:

• How to establish a proper chain of custody for non-forensic acquisition
• Why the proper foundation will assist in the admission of evidence
• Keeping the chain intact to ensure admissibility
• How certain software technology, while convenient and less expensive, can be fraught with complications
• Understanding the "hash" value - and how it works
• Why the admissibility of ESI will rely upon the sophistication of the collection methodology
• The exact steps that are required to preserve the chain
• Should chain of custody management be outsourced?

4:45 The Challenges Faced By The Oil And Gas Industry With Data Security And Privacy In EDiscovery

Any energy or utilities company that does business outside of the U.S. must be aware of the thorny issues surrounding data security and privacy laws, especially those in Europe. In lawsuits or investigations involving e-discovery, there may be serious consequences if those laws are violated. In this session, hear leading experts discuss:

• An overview of data privacy and security laws for the energy and utility sector
• How international privacy laws impact e-discovery
• Overview of the European data protection laws and US privacy requirements and emerging standards in other regions and countries
• Reviewing strategies for cross-border data transfers