Last week at ABA TECHSHOW, John had the pleasure of lecturing with Magistrate Judge David Waxse, Judge James Rosenbaum and noted litigator Bruce Olson on "E-discovery in Small Cases."
The entire session was educational and engaging, but I realized, as I heard Judge Waxse repeat a story he has told before, that I had never incorporated it in a blog post. Clearly a wise man, Judge Waxse noted that he was less than patient with the endless e-discovery squabbling among counsel. He therefore devised a plan to tamp down the combat.
As he told the audience, he generally hears one side say, "Your Honor, I was being perfectly reasonable in our e-discovery negotiations, but that other guy was behaving like an a******." Forgive the language, but it is a quote. Judge Waxse's way of dealing with this situation is to say, essentially: "I want you two to video your next meeting - next time, you either bring me an agreement as to how you're going to deal with e-discovery or you bring me the video.
As he notes wryly, he has yet to watch a video.
As a student commented to the judge, "lawyers are like particles in physics - they change when observed."
Nifty tactic Judge Waxse - and most effective.
E-mail: snelson@senseient.com Phone: 703-359-0700
