Discovery: Mastering Discovery and e-Discovery (FL) [Two-Part Webinar]

Agenda

This agenda is in the planning stages, please check back soon for updates.

Part 1: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
1:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. EST

Program Faculty: Edward Blumberg, Robert “Beau” Blumberg, Cosme Caballero, Stephanie Casey, Ligianette “Gigi” Cordova, Veronica Gordon, Jessica Kramer, Douglas McCarron, Laura Noyes, Sheila Oretsky and Melissa Softness.

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
 Overview and Considerations
Edward Blumberg and Sheila Oretsky

• Deciding What Matters to Your Case
• Determining Your Goals – What Type of Discovery Do You Want and When?
• Creating a Good Record
• Strategy Considerations for Trial
• Strategy Considerations for Settlement

2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m.
Florida State Procedural Issues
Cosme Caballero

• New FL Discovery Rules
• Potential Amendments/Changes Coming Soon
• Timelines
• Overlooked Deadlines
• Meet and Confer Requirements
• Common Mistakes

2:55 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.
BREAK

3:10 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Veronica Gordon 

• 2015 Amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure
• Scope of Discovery / Proportionality
• Timelines
• Overlooked Deadlines
• Meet and Confer Requirements
• Failure to Preserve / Sanctions and How Courts Have Interpreted Them (and How They Differ from State Rules)
• Common Mistakes
• Critical Differences Between State and Federal Procedural Issues/Rules

4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
E-discovery State and Federal
Robert “Beau” Blumberg

• Overview and Considerations
• Sources and Preservation
• Considerations When Preparing and Agreeing to an ESI Protocol
• Cost Saving Measures
• Use of Technology to Assist in Review and Production of Documents
• Authentication
• Federal Rule of Evidence 502
• Other Key Rules and Timelines
• Strategies
• Mistakes Not to Make

Part 2: Thursday, March 7, 2024
1:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. EST

1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Drafting Effective and Useful Discovery
Laura Noyes and Stephanie Softness

• Requests for Production
• Interrogatories
• Requests for Admissions

2:15p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
BREAK

2:20 p.m. – 2:35 p.m.
Ai as a Discovery Tool
Jessica Kramer

• The Future of AI in the Discovery Realm: Why law Firms Are Turning to AI
• Using AI for Document Review/Searches

2:35 p.m. – 3:05 p.m.
Subpoenas and Affidavits
Jessica Kramer

3:05 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.
BREAK

3:20 p.m. – 4:25 p.m.
Motions
Stephanie Casey and Ligiannette “Gigi” Cordova

• Motions to Compel
• Motions for Protective Orders
• Motions for Sanctions

4:25 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Dealing with Difficult Counsel
Douglas McCarron

• Meet and Confer Requirements

Date/Time/Location

Two- Part Webinar

Dates:
Part 1: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Part 2: Thursday, March 7, 2024

Times for both sessions:
1:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time

We will send your login details and handout materials about a week before your program.

Testimonials

While our discovery program is new to Florida, your speakers are not.  Below are testimonials from prior litigation programs at which all of your speakers have taught:

“I really enjoyed the step-by-step analysis from case inception to appeals. I thought all topics were relevant.” ¬– Lauren M. Allen, Esq.

“I took it last year and really enjoyed it. Great program for lawyers making transition from criminal to civil. It gives participants a great overview of civil. I liked the perspective of the judges being contrasted in real time with practitioners.” – MaryAnn Braun, Esq.

“Great first day! Very clear and concise material.” – Hillary Mesa, Esq.

“The speakers were great! I’ve been practicing for over 20 years and they were still able to keep me engaged throughout, great reminders that can be easily forgotten.” – Lisa Ann Gorshe, Esq.

“Very knowledgeable regarding the subjects and had good information.” – Fernando L. Roig, Esq.

“It’s not merely about getting in the required CLE hours. The content of the seminar I attended impressed me and sold me on your programs. It’s very easy to get the hours. Getting something of substance that is beneficial is different. I’m proud to say that this is what separates you from the competition.” – Jerry Szymanski, Esq.

“I really enjoyed the step-by-step analysis from case inception to appeals. I thought all topics were relevant.” ¬– Lauren M. Allen, Esq.

“I took it last year and really enjoyed it. Great program for lawyers making transition from criminal to civil. It gives participants a great overview of civil. I liked the perspective of the judges being contrasted in real time with practitioners.” – MaryAnn Braun, Esq.

“The program was incredibly educational. Wish these were available for third year law students.” – Juliette Orozco, Esq.

“This was a very informative program with great real-life advice.” – Elika Stimpson, Esq.

“I thought it was very well done, really enjoyed the topics and information given, and the diversity of the speakers and their backgrounds.” – Katherine van Dijk, Esq.

“Very positive and informative. Good content and speakers. The materials were good and complemented the speakers.” – Dorothy G. Negrin, Esq.

“As a young lawyer, the speakers touched on subjects I would encounter and areas I am not so comfortable with. Their suggestions on how to handle certain situations were great.” – Stacey Marquez, Esq.

“Judge was great. Learned a lot about how FL will permit open ended questioning to root out prejudice. The insight from the judge and the young but experienced trial lawyers was very helpful.” Vincent Indeglia, Esq.

“The speakers were extremely knowledgeable; When there was more of a panel discussion as opposed to a single speaker talking for extended periods of time made for the best learning experience. Excellent seminar, highly recommend to anybody that wants to learn about jury selection.” – Matthew Baron, Esq.

“Great program, wouldn’t change anything.” – Glenn Danas, Esq.

“The program was very good. Very thorough.” – Thomas Anthony Trapani, Esq.

“Fantastic program. Impressed with preparation.” – Francis Carroll, Esq.

“It’s not merely about getting in the required CLE hours. The content of the seminar I attended impressed me and sold me on your programs. It’s very easy to get the hours. Getting something of substance that is beneficial is different. I’m proud to say that this is what separates you from the competition.” – Jerry Szymanski, Esq.

“I have utilized all of the service providers that I noted in the survey and truly felt I received great service from each.  My favorite continuing legal education seminar provider, Pincus Professional Education is particularly noteworthy though.  I have attended about five Pincus seminars.  Each was phenomenally packed with useful content and had presenters/speakers of the highest skill level.  I would unhesitatingly recommend Pincus to other lawyers and am already planning my next couple of seminars with this CLE provider.”  – Quote from The Recorder’s survey.

Faculty

Edward R. Blumberg, Esq.
Partner and Co-Founder
Deutsch, Blumberg, & Caballero P.A.

Edward R. Blumberg is a graduate of the University of Georgia and earned his law degree from the College of William and Mary. He has practiced continuously in Florida since 1975. He has served as President of the Florida Bar, as a member of the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar and as a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. He has chaired and served on countless professional committees and groups and provides continuing legal education lectures to lawyers. Since 1983 he has been continuously certified and re-certified in civil trial law by The Florida Bar and The National Board of Trial Advocacy.

 Robert (Beau) Blumberg was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He is a Partner with Deutsch, Blumberg & Caballero P.A., where he practices personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability law. Mr. Blumberg is admitted to practice in Florida and before the United States District Court for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.

Mr. Caballero is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law where he served as Articles & Comments Editor of the University of Miami Law Review, where he published an article titled Curbing Corporate Abuse from Jurisprudential Off-Sites: Problematic Paradigms in United States v. Textron Inc. Following graduation, Mr. Caballero was admitted to practice law in Florida.  He was also admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Dade County Bar Association and is a Florida Bar  Grievance Committee Member for the 11th Judicial Circuit.

Stephanie A. Casey is a committed litigator who has dedicated her career to achieving justice for her clients in a commercial, class action, False Claims Act, and personal injury cases. Stephanie represents clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts in Florida, New York and Washington, DC. As a native of Brazil, she speaks Portuguese fluently.

Stephanie joined Colson Hicks Eidson after completing a judicial clerkship with United States District Judge Marcia G. Cooke. Prior to her clerkship, Stephanie worked for several years at a large corporate law firm in Washington DC, where she represented the U.S. and international clients in a wide range of antitrust, securities, and commercial litigations as well as white collar defense matters.

 Ligianette “Gigi” Cordova focuses her practice on casualty litigation.  She represents clients in negligence claims involving personal injury.

Prior to entering private practice, Gigi served as a law clerk for the Honorable Migna Sanchez-Llorens of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court and also as an assistant general counsel for the Office of the General Counsel for the Eleventh Circuit.

Veronica is an associate in the Firm’s Commercial Litigation Group whose practice focuses on complex litigation and appeals. She has served clients in commercial, constitutional, and bankruptcy disputes, and in statutory interpretation and white-collar matters, among others.

Before joining the Firm, Veronica served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert N. Scola, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and as a law clerk and staff attorney to the Honorable Adalberto Jordan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. As a former federal law clerk and a fluent Spanish speaker, Veronica is uniquely suited to assist clients across different industries in a variety of cases.

Holland and Knight

Jessica Kramer is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight’s Tampa office. Ms. Kramer has extensive experience assisting individuals and businesses with contract disputes, class action lawsuits, appeals, and other complex litigation.

Since joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Kramer has gained significant experience representing companies in data privacy litigation, and has defended dozens of companies in high-stakes lawsuits arising from data breaches, a company’s use of technology on company websites, and other privacy issues. Ms. Kramer also advises clients on data privacy-related issues, including responses to data breaches and updates to customer-facing privacy policies and other terms. Ms. Kramer has experience litigating cases in arbitration proceedings as well as jury trials and bench trials throughout the State of Florida.

Ms. Kramer is passionate about community service and pro bono work. She regularly volunteers for pro bono cases through Bay Area Legal Services and other legal aid entities in Florida. Ms. Kramer is also an active member of The Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section’s Pro Bono Committee.

Ms. Kramer currently serves on the Hillsborough Education Foundation’s Governance Committee, and she recently completed a four-year mentorship of a local high school student through the foundation’s Take Stock in Children Program. Ms. Kramer mentors young women lawyers and law students through the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers’ mentoring program, and she also mentors law students through Holland & Knight’s 1L Mentoring Program. Each year, Ms. Kramer volunteers to coach law students preparing for upcoming moot court competitions across the country. In 2020 and 2021, Ms. Kramer helped coordinate the 9/11 National Day of Service for Holland & Knight’s Tampa office.

In 2017, Ms. Kramer founded the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Bar Prep Mentoring Program, which provided support to University of Florida law school graduates studying for the Florida Bar examination. She actively participates in University of Florida student and alumni efforts as a member of the University of Florida’s Law Alumni Council and Florida Blue Key. In law school, Ms. Kramer received the Helen Gibel Blechman Memorial Award for earning the most community service hours in her graduating class.

Douglas J. McCarron is an accomplished trial lawyer with significant experience handling a wide variety of cases including negligent security, pool drowning, dram shop, and construction and auto accidents. 

Doug served as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County for four years. While there, Doug was a member of the Career Criminal Unit where he distinguished himself in over 50 trials prosecuting violent crime. Upon leaving the State Attorney’s Office in 2000, Doug began to focus on representing victims of serious and catastrophic injury. 

Doug joined The Haggard Law Firm in 2006 and became a partner in 2007. Since joining the firm, he has recovered over 150 million in verdicts and settlements for his clients. In Garcia v. Arbors Apartments, Doug successfully obtained a million jury verdict on behalf of the Garcia family. This negligent security/wrongful death case found the owners and managers of the apartment complex guilty of failing to provide adequate security on their property. Doug has been able to recover similar results in cases throughout Florida. Doug served as President of the Miami-Dade Trial Lawyers Association in 2013 and was recently appointed by the Florida Supreme Court to serve on the Civil Standard Jury Instructions Committee. Doug is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Florida Justice Association. 

Outside the office, Doug enjoys spending time with his wife Becky and their three boys, Jack, Finn and William Andrew (Drew). Doug and Becky are extremely active in a number of local charities and truly believe in giving back to the community. Doug was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey but moved to Miami as a young boy. He graduated from Miami Archbishop Curley Notre Dame High School. Doug received his Bachelors of Science in 1993 and his Juris Doctorate in 1995, both with Honors, from Florida State University.

 Laura Noyes is a Shareholder in the Tampa office of Kass Shuler where she focuses her practice on real estate litigation with an emphasis on representation of lenders, loan servicers, investors and debt collectors in the consumer finance industry. Ms. Noyes manages a portfolio of highly-litigated state court cases focused in the areas of consumer banking and real estate litigation, where she: collaborates with in clients to develop and implement litigation, settlement and trial strategies to minimize risk and future exposure; drafts pleadings, discovery, memos, motions, settlement agreements, and other legal documents necessary to achieve favorable resolutions; and conducts legal research to obtain answers to complex issues of law or facts.

Ms. Noyes started with the Firm in 2010. Prior to joining, Ms. Noyes worked for a Tampa defense firm in the areas of consumer litigation and foreclosure defense. In 2008, Ms. Noyes earned her Juris Doctor from the Florida State University College of Law. While attending law school, Ms. Noyes interned for the Honorable Lewis M. Killian Jr at the Northern District of Florida Bankruptcy Court. 

Sheila Oretsky is ranked by Chambers USA for her work in commercial litigation and is a Martindale Hubbell AV rated litigator and trial attorney. Prior to joining GT, Sheila served as the co-chair of the Class Action Committee at a national law firm. Sheila represents domestic and international clients in complex commercial litigation matters across a range of industries and she is often called upon to litigate high-profile matters and issues of first impression all the way through an appeal. She regularly advises on highly contentious complex matters related to defamation, fiduciary claims, director and officer liability, non-competes and trade secrets, partnership disputes, business divorces, breach of contract, civil RICO, EB-5 related litigation, professional malpractice, commercial landlord/tenant disputes, insurance, andbusiness torts such as fraud. She is also experienced in class action defense of a variety of claims and often serves as an outside general counsel for her clients advising family offices and private equity firms on litigation and other risks. Her experience includes representations related to disputes stemming from international mergers and acquisitions and real estate disputes with publicly traded retail tenants and multibillion-dollar landlords. Sheila also has significant experience in the payments and credit card processing industry. Sheila is licensed in Florida and New York and litigates matters in federal and state courts across the country as well as in arbitrations including international arbitrations before the ICC. Her practice also regularly includes serving as a testifying attorneys’ fees expert and a judicially appointed special master.

Melissa Softness focuses her practice in the areas of product, employment and casualty litigation.  She represents clients in the manufacturing, distribution, retail, automotive, boating, marine and personal watercraft industries throughout Florida against negligence and product defect claims. Melissa also represents employers against claims of employment discrimination and retaliation such as religion, national origin, race, gender, age, and political patronage, asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Chapter 760, Florida Statutes; Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871; the American Disabilities Act (ADA); and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA.)

While working at the Office of the State Attorney for Miami-Dade County, Melissa gained extensive trial experience, trying 18 jury trials and more than 50 bench trials. In addition, she conducted several highly contested evidentiary and Daubert hearings and successfully defended a First Amendment Appeal.

Before joining RumbergerKirk, she worked in civil practice gaining further trial experience in both state and federal courts.

Drawing on her trial experience, Melissa teaches trial skills to law students by serving as a faculty member at the Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques at Emory Law. This week-long, required course for students includes a series of workshops that culminates with a simulated jury trial. The program integrates second-year students’ knowledge of substantive evidence law with practical skills in a “learning-by-doing” format, all under the watchful eye of renowned trial lawyers, judges, and trial skills teachers who travel in from all over the country to teach Emory’s students.

Fees

Register by January 18th and save $25 on each registration
with the Early Bird rate.

Your discount is automatically applied at checkout – no coupon needed.

Registration fees are per person.

Individual: $429
Early Bird registration: $404

Group: $404 per person for 2 or more from the same company pre-registering at the same time.
Early Bird registration: $379

Government employee/Legal Aid* Rate: $380
Early Bird registration: $355

Law Student*/Paralegal Rate: $240
Early Bird registration: $215

*Your discount is automatically applied at checkout.

Add the Recorded Package of this program for only $89 (download) or $95 + tax in CA (DVD/CD)

Your access information and course handout will be sent out a few days before the program.

Program materials:

Registration includes an electronic copy (.pdf) of your seminar handbook.  This will be emailed to you about a week before the program.  Be sure to check your spam folder if you don’t see it by then.  Please put info@pincusproed.com in your address book to make sure you receive your pdf of the program handbook.

* Law Student Rate is for current law students only.  Please submit your law school information in the comments box when you register.

** Legal Aid attorneys are those attorneys employed by Legal Aid/non-profit firms.  It does not include attorneys who have their own practice, or are employed by law firms, that volunteer their time for non-profit causes or take on pro-bono cases. It also does not include attorneys who serve on non-profit boards.

Full and partial scholarships are available for Legal Aid attorneys, based upon registration. Please call (877) 858-3848 to discuss or email your request to info@pincusproed.com.

CLE Credits

FL General: This program is pending approval in Florida.

CA General:  This program is approved for 6.75 units of general CLE in California.

NY General: This course is eligible for approval, under New York’s CLE Approved Jurisdiction policy, for 6.75 CLE units. Pincus Professional Education is a CA Accredited Provider, which is a NY approved jurisdiction. See Section 6 of the New York State CLE Board Regulations and Guidelines for further information.

This program is approved for CLE in the states listed above.  Upon request, Pincus Pro Ed will provide any information an attorney needs to support their application for CLE approval in other states other than what is listed above. Many attorneys ask for this and are approved in other states.