Program Details
2026-08-26 12:00:00
Over 1,000+ webinars
Course Overview
2026-08-26 12:00:00
2h CLE Credits
Intermediate
2
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ESTDiscovery disputes can significantly impact the trajectory, cost, and outcome of litigation. Drawing on the perspectives of two retired judges and experienced arbitrators, this program will explore practical strategies for managing aggressive and burdensome discovery requests, responding effectively to written discovery, and minimizing costly disputes. Panelists will also discuss techniques for reducing the likelihood of motions to compel, while preserving your client’s rights and positioning the case for trial or resolution.
Hon. Elizabeth D. Laporte
Hon. Lynn O’Malley Taylor 1:10 pm - 2:10 pm ESTCourts often mandate the appointment of referees or special masters when their dockets cannot accommodate numerous discovery disputes. But under certain circumstances, lawyers should consider requesting the appointment of a discovery referee. This webinar will discuss four indications that you could save money, expedite the discovery process, and improve the results of your case by appointing a referee. The webinar will also describe the process of using discovery referees in either courts or arbitrations and will suggest best practices to ensure that your time with a referee is well spent.
Janet Lee MillerJudge Laporte joined JAMS in 2019 as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed neutral after more than two decades as a United States magistrate judge for the Northern District of California, where she also served as chief magistrate judge. On the bench she resolved hundreds of discovery disputes, conducted hundreds of settlement conferences, and presided by consent of the parties over one of the nation’s largest civil caseloads, spanning patent, trademark, copyright, business, class action, employment, insurance, environmental, antitrust and civil rights litigation. Since joining JAMS she has handled complex, high-stakes matters in technology, software and pharmaceuticals, and has served as discovery referee and special master in disputes involving pharmaceutical product liability, internet privacy and multi-patent cybersecurity technology.
Judge Taylor is a full-time JAMS neutral with over 35 years of experience as a trial court judge. In 1982 she became the first woman elected to the court in Marin County, and she served three times as presiding judge. She has also sat in Contra Costa, Sonoma, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento and Orange counties, and for seven years in the San Francisco Superior Court through the Judicial Council’s Assigned Judges Program. As supervising civil law judge in Marin County she eliminated the court’s civil backlog by settling old cases and managing the remaining docket on realistic schedules, and she has settled hundreds of cases in partnership with mediation-trained attorneys and experts.
Ms. Miller joined JAMS after serving 15 years as the staff attorney for the Complex Litigation Department of the San Francisco Superior Court, where she worked on all phases of civil litigation, including court mediations, across hundreds of matters. Before becoming a neutral, she collaborated with JAMS’ top arbitrators and mediators, writing awards, consulting on motion practice and case management issues, and assisting with settlement allocations and neutral evaluations. She is known for grasping complex and nuanced legal issues and for devising cost-effective, pragmatic case management solutions, with the goals of treating every party fairly, resolving disputes fully and finally, and avoiding unnecessary costs.
Judge Laporte joined JAMS in 2019 as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed neutral after more than two decades as a United States magistrate judge for the Northern District of California, where she also served as chief magistrate judge. On the bench she resolved hundreds of discovery disputes, conducted hundreds of settlement conferences, and presided by consent of the parties over one of the nation’s largest civil caseloads, spanning patent, trademark, copyright, business, class action, employment, insurance, environmental, antitrust and civil rights litigation. Since joining JAMS she has handled complex, high-stakes matters in technology, software and pharmaceuticals, and has served as discovery referee and special master in disputes involving pharmaceutical product liability, internet privacy and multi-patent cybersecurity technology.
Judge Taylor is a full-time JAMS neutral with over 35 years of experience as a trial court judge. In 1982 she became the first woman elected to the court in Marin County, and she served three times as presiding judge. She has also sat in Contra Costa, Sonoma, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento and Orange counties, and for seven years in the San Francisco Superior Court through the Judicial Council’s Assigned Judges Program. As supervising civil law judge in Marin County she eliminated the court’s civil backlog by settling old cases and managing the remaining docket on realistic schedules, and she has settled hundreds of cases in partnership with mediation-trained attorneys and experts.
Ms. Miller joined JAMS after serving 15 years as the staff attorney for the Complex Litigation Department of the San Francisco Superior Court, where she worked on all phases of civil litigation, including court mediations, across hundreds of matters. Before becoming a neutral, she collaborated with JAMS’ top arbitrators and mediators, writing awards, consulting on motion practice and case management issues, and assisting with settlement allocations and neutral evaluations. She is known for grasping complex and nuanced legal issues and for devising cost-effective, pragmatic case management solutions, with the goals of treating every party fairly, resolving disputes fully and finally, and avoiding unnecessary costs.
Requirements
The Alabama State Bar MCLE Commission requires attorneys to complete 12 credits, including 1 ethics, by December 31 of each year. All credits must be reported by February 15 of the following year. A maximum of 12 credits, including 1 ethics credit, may be carried over for 1 year only.
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