Who Should Attend
Public and private attorneys who litigate cases involving public agencies; public officials responsible for conducting meetings and managing public records
Why You Should Attend
2017 brought significant changes to the Public Records Act ("PRA") for the first time in years because the Legislature has heeded pleas from agencies and requesters to "do something" to modernize this critical Act. HR 1594 will assist local agencies on PRA compliance through a new Attorney General consultation program and competitive grant program to fund new PRA technologies. It also orders a study of actual PRA compliance costs and the feasibility of a state open records portal. HR 1595 modernizes the means for producing and charging for electronic records and prohibits "bot" requests and those for "all records." As a result of this new legislation, new Model Attorney General Rules will roll out in the near future. In addition to covering these changes, this seminar will explore new ways to respond to PRA requests through technology. It will also address increasingly complex issues about public records that contain personal and commercially sensitive information. FOIA presents another area for discussion because changes have occurred at the federal level as well. The seminar will wrap up with a discussion of PRA ethical issues, not the least of which involves sensitive investigations into sexual harassment claims within the government. For practitioners in this area this seminar provides an invaluable update, practical solutions and an opportunity to delve into more sophisticated issues that merit thoughtful discussion.
~ P. Stephen DiJulio, Esq. of Foster Pepper PLLC and Judith A. Endejan, Esq. of Garvey Schubert Barer, Program Co-Chairs
What You Will Learn
- ~ State legislative changes: HB 1595 and HB 1594
- ~ Collecting documents, what to ask for, strategies and processes, specific tools
- ~ Document management tools to protect confidential information
- ~ Recent cases addressing exemption of proprietary information from the PRA
- ~ Recent Freedom Foundation decision on PRA disclosure vs. public employee privacy rights
- ~ Criteria and procedures for protecting trade secrets
- ~ FOIA: New developments at the federal level
For more information and to register, visit Law Seminars International's website.
