Word of the week: Escalation
In legal tech last week, we saw an AI bias class action, global coalitions emerging around AI regulation, militarization of commercial supply chains, big law and big tech layoffs and scholarship regarding work product protection for attorney prompts. Survey submissions continued as EDRM and Exterro map the strategic landscape of our community’s AI practice. We are grateful for your offering your thoughts in this five minute survey.
Join us for two future forward live webinars:
Mary Mack, CEO and Chief Legal Technologist, EDRM.
22 July 2026 | 12 PM ET – From Hype to Workflow: Insights from Experts on the Impact of AI on eDiscovery with Phil Favro moderating experts Aleida Gonzalez, Cristin Traylor, Esther Birnbaum and Jim Sullivan with HaystackID.
06 August 2026 | 1 PM ET – Quantum Law: AI, Quantum Computing, and the Future of Legal Judgment, a conversation with eDiscovery, AI and quantum expert Ralph Losey.
Let’s remain united in our support for each other. For support or to assist a colleague, contact us at info@edrm.net to join our weekly Community Support Call, now in its seventh year.
On the EDRM Blog
- Stop Waiting for the Bell: What Legal AI Has Reinforced Since November 6, 2023
- Restrictions on Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools to Process Disclosure Materials
- EDRM Project and Advisory Council Leaders Author Groundbreaking Paper on GenAI Prompt Protection
- DOJ and DHS issue trade fraud guide as task force tally exceeds $1 billion
- Glass Houses Proverb—Don’t Throw Stones and Invective
Upcoming Webinars on the EDRM Global Webinar Channel
- 22 July 2026 | 12 PM ET – [HaystackID® Webcast] From Hype to Workflow: Insights from Experts on the Impact of AI on eDiscovery
- 06 August 2026 | 1 PM ET – Quantum Law: AI, Quantum Computing, and the Future of Legal Judgment
Can’t make it to a live session? Past EDRM webinars are available to watch anytime on the EDRM Global Webinar Channel.
Updates from Around the Globe
- Global Legal Tech Developments: Reed Smith* Legal Solutions, wasted no time in launching a platform for crypto. China gathered a 29 country global AI cooperation body. Apple sued OpenAI with some eye-opening allegations. Worldwide, countries are regulating youth access to social media. Resemble.AI tracked the Mitch McConnell alleged deepfake. New York State’s governor issued the first state wide moratorium on hyperscale data centers. K&L Gates’ allied professionals were hit hard with layoffs, with separation benefits. Ontario was hit with a class action bias in sentencing suit.
- International eDiscovery Trends: DISCO’s* Rian Kennedy, EDRM 2.0 co-Project Trustee offered his perspective on three changes in the public comment version of EDRM 2.0. Ralph Losey outlined what handling and evaluating quantum evidence might look like. EDRM leaders welcomed Tara Emory and Dr. Maura R. Grossman’s paper on work product protection for AI prompts. Ankura’s* Michael Huber explained the importance of off channel communications. Relativity*, elevated Chris Brown to President. Exterro* released ARMOUR for FTK, on the heels of the agentic Subpoena Manager and CEO and founder Bobby Balachandran sat down for an Illumination Zone conversation to talk about them. Mike Berman explored a case with guidance for information governance professionals regarding potentially privileged employee communications on employer platforms. eDiscovery Today* reported on Judge Xavier Rodriguez’s law review article on the need to amend Rule 34 of the US FRCP regarding employee’s personal devices published in the Journal of Technology Law & Policy in partnership with the University of Florida’s E-Discovery Conference.
- World Events Impacting Legal Tech: ComplexDiscovery* analyzed the impact of sanctioned components flowing through commercial commerce with the attacks on Russia’s Amazon.com. Hostilities restarted in the Mideast. The US and France granted Ukraine licenses to produce air defense missiles. The Vatican gathered an assembly to weigh in on nuclear weapons and AI. The US Department of State advised Americans worldwide to exercise increased caution. Celebrations ensued as the border fence was removed between Gibraltar (UK) and Spain (EU) a few days before Spain won the World Cup. Wildfires worldwide caused evacuations and unhealthy levels of smoke.
*Trusted Partner
Catch our latest syndicated EDRM Global Podcast Network episodes on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and more.
Illumination Zone Podcasts
Recent guests include:
- Episode 237 | Michael Huber, Managing Director of Legal Technology & Data Analytics, Ankura
- Episode 236 | Bobby Balachandran, Founder and CEO, Exterro
- Episode 235 | Ryan Costello, Executive Vice President of Global Advisory and Client Engagement, HaystackID
EDRM Announcements
- EDRM Invites Global Community to Shape EDRM 2.0 via Public Comment
- We’ve teamed up with our longtime Trusted Partner Exterro to survey legal professionals on AI adoption in eDiscovery. The survey is anonymous, vendor-neutral, and takes just five minutes. Share your insights here.
- EDRM has released the Information Governance Reference Model (IGRM) v4.1, the first major revision since 2012. Read the full announcement here.
Weekly Community Support Call: Join us every Tuesday at 6PM Eastern on Zoom for support and camaraderie. Email info@edrm.net for an invitation to our 335th call. For mental health care, consider these professional resources.
All are welcome,
Mary and Holley
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P.S. This update was assisted by GAI and LLM Technologies as per EDRM’s GAI and LLM Policy
