federal courts

Notre Dame Law School’s Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion has announced that rising third-year student Marilyn “Mary” Mancusi is the winner of the 2022 Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition.

Mancusi’s paper, “Attorneys, E-Discovery, and the Case for 37(g),” addresses the concern that federal courts do not have a reliable and uniform system that allows them to impose sanctions on attorneys who violate e-discovery obligations.

Addressing the fact that much more evidence and information is now found through various electronic forms, and that attorneys play such a major role in the discovery process, Mancusi’s paper proposes a new rule be added to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The rule defines a uniform, reliable system for federal courts to impose sanctions on attorneys who participate in e-discovery misconduct. 

Her paper also discusses the rise of e-discovery as digital technology became more prevalent, the ethical and common-law expectations that attorneys currently have in e-discovery, and the ways that federal courts have previously sanctioned attorneys for their role in e-discovery abuse.

Professor Veronica Root Martinez, director of the Law School’s Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion, said, “Mary’s submission stood out for its timely topic, analytical rigor, and reasoned proposal. I am