Rebecca Callahan has been invited to join the American College of E-Neutrals as a Fellow.
In November 2017, the American College of e-Neutrals selected Rebecca to join the college as one of its distinguished Fellows. To be included in ACESIN’s roster of e-Neutrals, the neutral must first meet the highest national standards for competence in both alternative dispute resolution and e-discovery.
Both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the California Code of Civil Procedure have been amended to allow one party in a lawsuit to discover electronically stored information (ESI) of another party. Commonly referred to as “e-discovery,” the amendments added a new dimension to lawsuits that is extremely and costly if not handled properly. Disputes about e-discovery have placed a strain on limited judicial resources and increased the amount of discovery motion practice (e.g., motions to compel, motions for protective orders, motions for sanctions or evidence preclusion orders). The courts and parties need help navigating e-discovery issues in a cost-effective manner. An “e-neutral” is a neutral third-party referee who resolves discovery disputes involving ESI and helps to resolve e-discovery disputes in a timely and efficient manner while promoting party cooperation. An “e-neutral” can also serve in the capacity as a mediator, so as to provide the parties with the benefit of privacy and confidentiality concerning the discussion and negotiation about the e-discovery matters in dispute.
Rebecca has had experience with e-discovery as both a litigator (before becoming a full-time neutral) and as an arbitrator. Additionally, she has engaged in a course of study regarding the 2015 amendments to the FRCP and the evolving notion of what constitutes “best practices” concerning preservation, collection, search, review and proportionality as being defined by the courts, the Sedona Conference and other groups dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of this area of practice.
Rebecca is a recognized expert in the field of dispute resolution. She teaches Arbitration and Mediation as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine School of Law / Straus Institute, from which she received an LLM in dispute resolution in 2007. She is also on the Faculty of the American Arbitration Association University where she presents skills training courses on a variety of arbitration and mediation topics, including e-discovery in arbitration.