Maria Valdez a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. From 2016-2020 she was the Presiding Magistrate Judge for the district. Prior to becoming a federal magistrate judge she was the Chicago Regional Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) concentrating her trial and appellate practice in the areas of constitutional law and the federal Voting Rights Act. She began her legal career in 1988 as a federal public defender in Los Angeles, California representing indigent criminal defendants. Judge Valdez also worked as a senior associate at the law firm of Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym in Chicago where she specialized in federal civil rights litigation. Judge Valdez has participated on countless panels discussing federal civil procedure and practice.

She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Judge Valdez was appointed to the federal magistrate judge bench in May of 2005.

The Honorable Teresa J. James was appointed on January 16, 2014 as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Kansas in Kansas City.  Judge James received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas in 1981 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas in 1984.  Following graduation, Judge James engaged in private practice in Wichita until she joined the Overland Park branch of Martin, Pringle, Oliver, Wallace & Bauer, LLP in 2003.  At Martin Pringle, Judge James was a partner and specialized in Energy, Oil and Gas, Condemnation and Complex Litigation.  Prior to going on the Bench, Judge James served on the board of the Kansas Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Commission, on the Bench-Bar Committee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, and on the Kansas Appleseed Foundation Board.  She is also a Fellow of the Kansas Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation, on the board and Diversity Committee of the Federal Bar Association, K.C. Chapter (FBA), Past President of the Earl E. O’Connor Inn of Court and continues to be actively involved in the Inn of Court and FBA and to serve on the Bench-Bar Committee.  

United States Magistrate Judge William Matthewman was appointed to the federal bench in 2012 and sits in the West Palm Beach Division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. As a U.S. Magistrate Judge, he handles both civil and criminal cases, including pretrial matters and trials.

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Matthewman was a very active trial attorney who handled both criminal and civil cases, including high profile cases which were covered on live in-session Court TV, Dateline, 48 Hours, and other programs. He was Board certified by The Florida Bar in criminal trial practice before his appointment to the bench and is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell. He has been a member of The Florida Bar and a trial lawyer since 1983, handling numerous cases in state and federal courts.

Judge Matthewman received his B.S. degree and Masters degree from Florida International University in Miami, and he received his Law Degree, with Honors, from the University of Florida College of Law. While at University of Florida Law School, he was Research Editor of the University of Florida Law Review.

He has published several articles, including most recently the following law review article: William D. Matthewman, Towards A New Paradigm For E-Discovery In Civil Litigation: A Judicial Perspective, 71 Fla. L. Rev. 1261 (September, 2019). This Florida Law Review article deals with e-discovery and the 10 most important core concepts of the new e-discovery paradigm.

The Honorable Andrew J. Peck served for 23 years as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York, including a term as Chief Magistrate Judge from 2004 to 2005. Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Peck was in private practice for 17 years, focusing on commercial and entertainment litigation, including copyright and trademark matters, with extensive trial experience. At DLA Piper, Judge Peck advises on innovative and efficient solutions to the challenges of information management, both within and outside the litigation context. He frequently speaks at conferences concerning eDiscovery issues. Judge Peck also is available to serve as an arbitrator, mediator and Special Master. Judge Peck is recognized internationally for bringing electronic discovery competency to the attention of both the judiciary and bar. Indeed, he is widely described as the first judge to tackle the subject of e-discovery head on, most notably in the influential 1995 decision Anti-Monopoly v. Hasbro, in which Judge Peck found that "it is black letter law that computerized data is discoverable if relevant." Also among his legacy rulings is the 2011 employment class action Monique Da Silva Moore, et. al. v. Publicis Groupe & MSL Group, the first judicial decision approving the use of technology-assisted review. In March 2018, the New York Law Journal called Judge Peck "one of e-discovery's most influential figures. Among the honors he has received, American Lawyer named him to its list of the Top 50 Innovators of the Last 50 Years as its Judicial E-Discovery Innovator.

Robin Perkins is the founder and Chair of Kutak Rock's eDiscovery Practice Group and she maintains an active litigation practice where she regularly appears in state and federal courts across the country. The National eDiscovery Leadership Institute was the brainchild of Ms. Perkins, who sought to create a forum for the scholarly discussion and debate of electronic discovery issues and to foster cooperation among the bench and bar. Ms. Perkins is also an active member of the Sedona Conference Working Group 1, which is the leading "think-tank" on eDiscovery and she serves on the ESI Rules Committee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Ms. Perkins regularly counsels clients in all aspects of eDiscovery ranging from data retention to collection, review and production, including outsourcing options, early case assessment and vendor selection. In her capacity as eDiscovery counsel, Ms. Perkins manages projects for clients involving terabytes of data and she has a wealth of experience managing document review projects through the utilization of both onshore and offshore contract attorneys and through the use of cutting edge technologies, such as predictive coding. Ms. Perkins is widely known and respected in the national eDiscovery community as a thought leader through her numerous articles, alerts and speaking engagements on the all aspects of eDiscovery. Ms. Perkins’s greatest asset to clients, however, is her common sense approach to eDiscovery matters, which is derived from her thriving commercial litigation practice encompassing the financial services, life sciences and technology industries, including defense of product liability matters, ADA and TCPA litigation. In her own practice, Ms. Perkins "walks the walk" by implementing the very eDiscovery approaches about which she speaks and writes.

Tessa has been practicing law at Husch Blackwell for 28 ½ years where she is a partner and co-chair of the firm’s eDiscovery Solutions group. Tessa has a strong understanding of the legal, technical, and strategic aspects of eDiscovery. Tessa has served as lead eDiscovery counsel in numerous class actions and has led eDiscovery efforts for numerous companies that were the target of investigations by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  Her practice focuses on discovery and related motion practice.  She has vast experience with large volume litigation and works in the trenches handling preservation, collection, and managing review teams.  Tessa also has tremendous expertise in using data mining tools and technology-assisted review.  A part of Tessa’s practice also includes working with clients to evaluate and create efficient, repeatable, scalable legal hold processes. Tessa frequently speaks on issues related to eDiscovery and is on the advisory boards for National eDiscovery Leadership Institute, Arkfeld-ASU eDiscovery Conference, and the University of Florida eDiscovery Conference. She was recently appointed to the Sedona Conference Working Group 1 Steering Committee for a three-year term. Prior to that, Tessa was the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Sedona Conference, Commentary on Rule 45 Subpoenas to Non-Parties, Second Edition, 22 SEDONA CONF. J. 1 (2020).  She is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law where she teaches a semester-long upper-level eDiscovery course. Tessa also founded and runs Husch Blackwell’s unique Diversity Liaison Program, a one-on-one mentoring and coaching program for120 plus racially diverse and LGBTQ+ associates.

Lea Malani Bays is Of Counsel at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd in San Diego.  Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd specializes in complex securities litigation on behalf of investors.  Lea currently focuses on the firm’s electronic discovery issues from preservation through production and provides counsel to the firm’s multi-disciplinary e-discovery team.  She is familiar with the various stages of electronic discovery, including identification of relevant electronically stored information, data culling, predictive coding protocols, privilege and responsiveness reviews.  Lea also has also has experience in post-production discovery through trial preparation for a wide range of litigation.

Edward Rippey is a partner who litigates complex cases in numerous fields -- with a focus on patent litigation. In addition to patent law, these matters have included such fields as antitrust, consumer, transportation, energy, sports, pharmaceutical, copyright, communications, and securities law. Mr. Rippey also is Chair of the firm's E-Discovery Practice - and represents and advises enormous multinational corporations in this arena. He is ranked in Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Who~ Who Legal, and Super Lawyers. The Chambers rankings note that Mr. Rippey is a "savvy and forward-thinking" litigator who "understands not just the technical a-discovery pieces but also the implications for active litigation.11

Martin T. Tully is a partner at Redgrave LLP in Chicago. He is a veteran trial lawyer with over 30 years of national experience representing companies and individuals in complex commercial litigation concerning a broad array of fields and industries. Empowered by his commercial litigation practice, Martin is nationally recognized for his knowledge and experience in the fields of electronic discovery, information governance, and data security/data privacy. His expertise helps clients to stay ahead of the curve in each of these fields with respect to developing law, technology, and best practices, whether in the context of active litigation and regulatory matters, or in seeking to avoid them. Martin is also adept at leveraging both technology and strategic partnerships with technologists to achieve client objectives.

Martin advances thought-leadership in data law as the Chair of the Steering Committee of the Sedona Conference Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production (WG-1), as an active member of the Sedona Conference Working Group on Data Security and Privacy Liability (WG-11), the 7th Circuit Council on eDiscovery and Digital Information, the ABA Section of Litigation, Privacy and Data Security Committee, and the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), as well as the Chicago Chapter of the Association of Certified E-Discovery Professionals (ACEDS). In addition, Martin has published and presented extensively on the topics of e-discovery, information governance, cybersecurity, data privacy, and legal technology; is among a select group of lawyers in the world ranked in multiple years for Litigation: E-Discovery & Information Governance by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers® and Chambers & Partners Global®; and he has been acknowledged by Who’s Who Legal® as being “steps ahead of his competitors” and “widely regarded for his ‘superior knowledge’ of electronic discovery and information governance.”

John Sanchez is Senior Director, Product Strategy at DISCO, where he leads teams that build and implement legal technology solutions that optimize operations of global legal departments. John is a recognized authority on legal outsourcing and compliance automation. Prior to DISCO, he was head of legal technology at Congruity360.

Jesse Murray has spent the last seven years building teams at fast-growth start-ups dedicated to customer safety, litigation readiness and regulatory compliance. He currently leads the Trust and Safety team at Lime, creating processes to mitigate risk and develop business forward solutions using data-driven methods.

Prior to Lime, Jesse designed the eDiscovery and information governance practice at Uber. He also led the development of Uber's legal engineering team, specifically created to support technical solutions for the legal function. Additionally, Jesse served in the Peace Corps in Central Africa.

Maura R. Grossman, J.D., Ph.D., is a Research Professor and Director of Women in Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, as well as an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. She also is Principal at Maura Grossman Law, an eDiscovery law and consulting firm in Buffalo, New York. Previously, Maura was Of Counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where, for 17 years, she advised the firm’s lawyers and clients on legal, technical, and strategic issues involving eDiscovery and information governance, both domestically and abroad.
Maura’s scholarly work on TAR, most notably, Technology-Assisted Review in E-Discovery Can Be More Effective and More Efficient Than Exhaustive Manual Review, published in the RICHMOND JOURNAL OF LAW AND TECHNOLOGY in 2011, has been widely cited in the case law, both in the U.S. and elsewhere. Her longstanding contributions to eDiscovery technology and process were featured in the February 2016 issue of THE AMERICAN LAWYER and the September 2016 issue of the ABA JOURNAL, where she was recognized as a “Legal Rebel.” Maura has served as a court-appointed special master, mediator, and eDiscovery expert to the court in many high-profile cases, and has also taught courses in eDiscovery at Columbia, Georgetown, Pace, and Rutgers–Newark law schools. In addition to her J.D. from Georgetown, Maura also holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Psychology from the Derner Institute at Adelphi University.

As Director of Advisory Services, John focuses on the intersection of technology with compliance, legal, records management, and data privacy.  With more than 19 years of experience advising attorneys, technologists, and data and information governance managers, John is responsible for providing information governance, litigation/eDiscovery readiness, and data privacy advisory services to Lighthouse clients worldwide. 

Prior to joining Lighthouse, John led the information governance program for Options Clearing Corporation, the world’s largest equity derivatives clearing organization.  In this role, John was responsible for ensuring compliance with SEC Recordkeeping requirements, as well as electronic discovery and all other record and information management (RIM) initiatives—including responding to SEC examination requests pertaining to recordkeeping practices; overhauling and streamlining the record retention schedule; creating a comprehensive systems inventory/data map to support data privacy, compliance, legal, and information governance requirements.    

Prior to working in-house, John spent 12 years providing eDiscovery and information governance advisory services to multinational organizations and Fortune 500 companies.  John founded and operated The Ingersoll Firm, a boutique eDiscovery consultancy focused on data mapping.  John conducted dozens of large-scale data mapping projects and was responsible for all aspects of service delivery.  In addition to his data mapping work, John personally delivered a full range of eDiscovery and information governance services, including legal hold process development, eDiscovery tool implementation, and Clearwell hosting, processing, and review management.  Before founding The Ingersoll Firm, John led the Information Governance and Office 365 consulting practice at an international legal services provider, and during his tenure created and launched a leading and award-winning Office 365 eDiscovery and Information consulting practice.

John has a diverse and unique background, with strong information technology, eDiscovery, records management, and information governance credentials.  John’s experience includes leading a team of technology consultants to deliver software and technology services to law firms; creating legal hold and litigation readiness programs for Fortune 500 companies; managing the eDiscovery program for a major health services company; and providing Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, and Office 365 expert consulting services to several of the nation’s leading law firms.  

John has a degree in English Literature from Nazareth College and received his law degree from Concord Law School at Purdue University Global.  John is also a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US).

Tom is a prominent eDiscovery lawyer and one of the nation's leading authorities on the use of technology-assisted review (TAR) in litigation. Tom advises corporations and law firms on best practices for applying technology to reduce the time and cost of discovery. He has more than 30 years’ experience as a trial lawyer and in-house counsel, most recently with the law firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, where he was a partner and chair of the eDiscovery Practice Group.

For the past 30 years, Steve Davis has performed and supervised hundreds of investigations on behalf of governmental agencies, corporations, individuals and law firms involving civil and criminal matters. He has been a Principal at Digital Discovery for the past 14 years and serves as the director of Business Development as well as the Manager of the company’s Forensic Lab. Steve is a Licensed Private Investigator in the State of Texas and a Private Security Company Manager as regulated by the Texas Department of Public Safety.  He has testified on behalf of his clients on over 50 occasions relating to investigative findings on both causation and damages.

John Tredennick is the founder and CEO of Merlin Search Technologies, which develops AI-powered search software for investigations, discovery and regulatory compliance. Prior to that he was founder and CEO of Catalyst Repository Systems, which he sold to OpenText in early 2019. For the first 20 years of his career, he was a trial lawyer and litigation partner at Holland & Hart, a national law firm based in the Rocky Mountains.

Over the past four decades Tredennick has written or edited eight books and countless articles on legal technology topics, spoken on five continents and served as Chair of the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section. In his spare time, Tredennick competes in equestrian show jumping around the country and plays drums in his basement.

Emily Collins is an attorney for Southwest Airlines, responsible for all things eDiscovery. She also provides guidance in the information governance arena. Emily has been working in eDiscovery since 2007, when she was introduced to the exciting world of document review while involved in pharmaceutical litigation as outside counsel. During her career, Emily has approached eDiscovery issues from a law firm, service provider, and corporate perspective, giving her a well-rounded and unique approach to tackling eDiscovery issues. She understands what is necessary to foster successful collaboration between in-house counsel, outside counsel, and eDiscovery vendors to achieve optimal results. Emily earned both her law degree and bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in Bloomington and will not be convinced that a better college town exists. She still lives in Kansas City, Missouri, though splits her weekdays between KC and Dallas. Emily has never lived in Kansas.

Amy Moore Harris is currently the Chief Legal Officer at UMB Financial Corporation, where she manages the corporate legal team and function. Before joining UMB, Amy worked in private practice as a commercial litigator and clerked for the Jackson County Circuit Court. Amy serves on the boards of the Children’s Services Fund of Jackson County and Lazarus Ministries KC. In 2021, Amy was named as one of Ingram’s 40 Under 40. She was also honored that same year as a Women’s Justice Award Recipient by the Missouri Lawyers Weekly. When she isn’t working, Amy enjoys gardening, hiking and traveling with her husband Nate and two dogs.

Carrie Barbee is Assistant General Counsel for Heico Companies, a parent holding company with a diverse portfolio of over 50 businesses involved in manufacturing, construction and industrial services. She supports the Construction platform which consists of eight construction companies. In addition to her generalist role work for the Construction group, Carrie specializes in data privacy for the Heico Companies legal department, including compliance with data privacy laws. Prior to her position at Heico, she served as Group Counsel – Litigation and later as Senior Compliance Counsel at Johnson Controls, a Fortune 100 company.

Before going in house at Johnson Controls, Carrie practiced in the areas of construction and general litigation. She graduated from Wake Forest University with a BS in Business and earned her legal degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Becky Schwartz is a Kansas-City based partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP. Becky has specialized in both products liability complex litigation and privacy-related consumer class actions and since joining Shook in 1999. She represents clients in dozens of state and federal courts, including many federal MDL and state court coordinated proceedings. After Becky’s practice became increasingly focused on discovery-related negotiations, disputes, and motion practice, Becky chose to join Shook’s Data & Discovery Strategies Practice Group in 2021. Becky earned her BS at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, and her law degree at UMKC (#roosdo). She had the privilege of serving as a law clerk to Hon. Fernando J. Gaitan Jr. (W.D. Mo.) before putting down roots at Shook. Becky has two grown sons of whom she is incredibly proud. She and her husband Jeff live in Lee’s Summit with their big black dog, and in their free time love to play at their farm, a very spontaneous pandemic-purchase located near Warrensburg.

Scott Aripoli is Senior Corporate Counsel at H&R Block, the worlds largest consumer tax services provider. At H&R Block, he manages all aspects of litigation. Prior to joining H&R Block, Scott practiced in the commercial litigation section of a law firm in Kansas City, Missouri, where he litigated class action, business tort, employment and general commercial cases. Scott earned a BS in Journalism from the University of Kansas and earned his law degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City. Scott serves on the Law Foundation Board at UMKC and on a volunteer committee for Operation Breakthrough. Outside of work, Scott enjoys spending time with his two small children, golfing, and watching KU basketball.