There is a growing insistence among the judiciary for "cooperation" among counsel at all stages of litigation. In the Western District of Pennsylvania in particular, some judges have placed a strong emphasis on cooperation as it relates to e-discovery and counsel's meet-and-confer obligations under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) and Local Civil Rule 16.1A and its Appendix. These views have been expressed to practitioners both in the context of court conferences and in public pronouncements at continuing legal education programs and e-discovery group meetings.

Now more than ever, it is critical that lawyers establish and maintain their own, as well as their client's, credibility with the Court throughout litigation, and that may require significant attention at the outset of litigation to e-discovery issues even before the initial Rule 26(f) Conference takes place.

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