Pursuant to Article VI, § 28(c) of the State Constitution and section 211 of the Judiciary Law, upon consultation with the Administrative Board of the Courts, and with the approval of the Court of Appeals of the State of New York, I hereby amend, effective immediately, section 17.2 of the Rules of the Chief Judge, as follows:

17.2 Training and Education of Town and Village Justices and Court Clerks.

Training programs, under the auspices of the Chief Administrator of the Courts, shall be conducted for town and village justices at least three times per year at various locations in the State, in the following manner:

(a) The training programs shall consist of a basic and an advanced course which shall include anti-bias training. All newly selected justices, who are not members of the Bar of this State, shall attend the first available basic course, including one hour of anti-bias training, after their selection. Upon successful completion of such basic course, certification shall be issued which shall be valid until the next available advanced course. The aforesaid justices shall then be required to successfully complete such advanced course, including one hour of anti-bias training, and thereupon shall receive a certificate of completion.

(b) Every incumbent nonlawyer justice heretofore certified or certified pursuant to this section, shall be required to successfully complete an advanced course of training, including one hour of anti-bias training, once in each calendar year thereafter while holding office in order to maintain certification.

(c) Successful completion of a training program, as herein provided, shall mean attendance at no less than 80 percent of the sessions thereof including one hour of anti-bias training and a passing grade on a written examination in such course as established by the Chief Administrator.

(d) The Chief Administrator may issue temporary certificates to nonlawyer justices which shall be valid until the time of the next available course.

(e) Each newly elected or appointed justice who is a member of the Bar of this State shall attend the first available advanced course of training after his or her election or appointment. Each such justice shall attend an advanced course of training, including one hour of anti-bias training, each calendar year thereafter while holding office. Attendance at an advanced course shall mean attendance at no less than 80 percent of the sessions thereof, including one hour of anti-bias training. The Chief Administrator shall issue appropriate certificates of attendance.

(f) Each court clerk in a town or village court shall annually complete a training or continuing education program, which includes one hour of anti-bias training, approved by the Chief Administrator of the Courts.

Pursuant to the authority vested in me, and with the advice and consent of the Administrative Board of the Courts, I hereby amend Rules l, 8, 9, 11-c, 11-e, 11-g, and Appendices of section 202.70(g) of the Uniform Rules for the Supreme and County Courts (Rules of Practice for the Commercial Division), effective April 11, 2022, to read as follows:

Rule 1. Appearance by Counsel with Knowledge and Authority.

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(b) Consistent with the requirements of Rule 11-c [Rule 8(b)], counsel for all parties who appear at the preliminary conference shall be sufficiently versed in matters relating to their clients' technological systems to discuss competently all issues relating to electronic discovery. Counsel may bring a client representative or outside expert to assist in such discussions.

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Rule 8. Consultation prior to Preliminary and Compliance Conferences

(a) Counsel for all parties shall consult prior to a preliminary or compliance conference about (i) resolution of the case, in whole or in part; (ii) discovery and any other topics to be discussed at the conference, including electronic discovery, as set forth in Rule 11-c, and the timing and scope of expert disclosure under Rule 13(c); (iii) the use of alternate dispute resolution to resolve all or some issues in the litigation; and (iv) any voluntary and informal exchange of information that the parties agree would help aid early settlement of the case. Counsel shall make a good faith effort to reach agreement on these matters in advance of the conference.

[(b) Prior to the preliminary conference, counsel shall confer with regard to anticipated electronic discovery issues. Such issues shall be addressed with the court at the preliminary conference and shall include but not he limited to (i) identification of potentially relevant types or categories of electronically stored information ("ESI") and the relevant time frame; (ii) disclosure of the applications and manner in which the ESI is maintained; (iii) identification of potentially relevant sources of ESI and whether the ESI is reasonably accessible; (iv) implementation of a preservation plan for potentially relevant ESI; (v) identification of the individual(s) responsible for preservation of ESI; (vi) the scope, extent, order, and form of production; (vii) identification, redaction, labeling, and logging of privileged or confidential ESI; (viii) claw back or other provisions for privileged or protected ESI; (ix) the scope or method for searching and reviewing ESI; (x) the anticipated cost and burden of data recovery and proposed initial allocation of such costs; and (xi) designation of experts; and (xii) the need to vary the presumptive number or duration of depositions set forth in Rule 11-d.]

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Rule 9. Accelerated Adjudication Actions.

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(d) In any accelerated action, [electronic discovery shall proceed as follows unless the parties agree otherwise:]

[(i) the production of electronic documents shall normally be made in a searchable format that is usable by the party receiving the e-documents;]

[(ii)] the description of custodians [from whom electronic documents may be collected] shall be narrowly tailored to include only those individuals whose electronic documents may reasonably be expected to contain evidence that is material to the dispute. [; and] In other respects, electronic discovery shall proceed as set forth in Rule 11-c.

[(iii) where the costs and burdens of e-discovery are disproportionate to the nature of the dispute or to the amount in controversy, or to the relevance of the materials requested, the court will either deny such requests or order disclosure on condition that the requesting party advance the reasonable cost of production to the other side, subject to the allocation of costs in the final judgment.]

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Rule 11-c. Discovery of Electronically Stored Information [from Nonparties].

(a) Parties and nonparties should [adhere to] consult the Commercial Division's Guidelines for Discovery of Electronically Stored Information ("ESI") (the "ESI Guidelines") [from nonparties], which can be found in Appendix A to these Rules of the Commercial Division. The ESI Guidelines are advisory and should be applied to the extent appropriate under the circumstances.

(b) Prior to the preliminary conference, counsel shall confer with regard to electronic discovery topics, including those set forth in the ESI Guidelines. Topics on which the parties cannot agree shall be addressed with the court at the preliminary conference.

(c) Requests for the production of ESI may specify the format in which ESI shall be produced, to which the responding party may object. In the absence of such specification, or agreement among the parties or court order, the production of electronic documents shall be in the form in which it is ordinarily maintained, or in a searchable format that is usable by the party receiving the ESI.

(d) The costs and burdens of discovery of ESI shall be proportionate to its benefits, considering the nature of the dispute, the amount in controversy, and the importance of the materials requested to resolving the dispute. A court may deny or modify disproportionate requests or order disclosure on condition that the requesting party advance the reasonable cost of production to the other side, subject to the allocation of costs in the final judgment.

(e) The requesting party shall promptly defray the reasonable expenses associated with a non­party's production of ESI, in accordance with CPLR 3111 and 3122(d).

(f) The parties are encouraged to use efficient means to identify ESI for production, which may include technology-assisted review in appropriate cases. The parties shall confer, at the outset of discovery and as needed throughout the discovery period, about technology-assisted review mechanisms they propose to use in document review and production.

(g) Inadvertent or unintentional production of ESI or documents containing information that is subject to the attorney-client privilege, work product protection, or other generally recognized privilege shall not be deemed a waiver in whole or in part of such privilege if the producing party (i) took reasonable precautions to prevent disclosure, and (ii) after learning of the inadvertent disclosure, promptly gave notice either in writing, or later confirmed in writing, to the receiving party or parties that such information was inadvertently produced and requests that the receiving party or parties return or destroy the produced ESL Upon such notice, or as otherwise required, the receiving party or parties shall promptly return or destroy all such material, including copies, except as may be necessary to bring a challenge before the Court. The parties may extend or modify the protections and duties of this provision by written agreement, as provided in Rule 11-g(c), which shall be submitted to the Court to be ordered. Nothing in this rule shall abridge a lawyer's obligations under Rule 4.4(b) of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct concerning a lawyer's receipt of documents that appear to have been inadvertently sent.

(h) Consistent with CPLR 3126, a party should take reasonable steps to preserve ESI that it has a duty to preserve.

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Rule 11-e. Responses and Objections to Document Requests

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[(f) The parties are encouraged to use the most efficient means to review documents, including electronically stored information ("ESI"), that is consistent with the parties' disclosure obligations under Article 31 of the CPLR and proportional to the needs of the case. Such means may include technology assisted review, including predictive coding, in appropriate cases. The parties are encouraged to confer, at the outset of discovery and as needed throughout the discovery period, about technology assisted review mechanisms they intend to use in document review and production.]

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Rule 11-g. Proposed Form of Confidentiality Order.

The following procedure shall apply in those parts of the Commercial Division where the justice presiding so elects:

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(c) In the event the parties wish to incorporate a privilege claw-back provision into either (i) the confidentiality order to be utilized in their commercial case, or (ii) another form of order utilized by the Justice presiding over the matter, they shall utilize the text set forth in Appendix B, Paragraph 18 [Appendix E] to these Rules of the Commercial Division. In the event the parties wish to deviate from the language in Appendix B, Paragraph 18 [Appendix E], they shall submit to the Court a red-line of the proposed changes and a written explanation of why the deviations are warranted in connection with the pending matter.

(d) In the event the parties wish to incorporate Attorney's Eyes-Only protection, the parties shall submit to the Court for signature the proposed stipulation and order that appears in Appendix F to these Rules of the Commercial Division. Appendix F provides both a clean form of order as well as a redline, which illustrates how it differs from the confidentiality order without Attorney's Eyes-Only protection and referenced in Rule 11-g(a) above. In the event the parties wish to deviate from the Attorney's Eyes-Only form set forth in Appendix F, they shall submit to the Court a redline of the proposed changes and a written explanation of why the deviations are warranted in connection with the pending matter.

(e) Nothing in this rule shall preclude a party from seeking any form of relief otherwise permitted under the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

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Appendix A of section 202.70(g) of the Uniform Rules for the Supreme and County Courts (Rules of Practice for the Commercial Division) is to be replaced by revised Appendix A.

Appendix B (model confidentiality order) of section 202.70(g) of the Uniform Rules for the Supreme and County Courts (Rules of Practice for the Commercial Division) is to be replaced by revised Appendix B.

Please see the Appendix at the end of this issue for the text of new Appendixes A and B.

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APPENDIX E.

[COMMERCIAL DIVISION PRIVILEGE CLAWBACK PROVISION (Rule 11g[e])]

[In connection with their review of electronically stored information and hard copy documents for production (the "Documents Reviewed") the Parties agree as follows:]

[a. to implement and adhere to reasonable procedures to ensure Documents Reviewed that are protected from disclosure pursuant to CPLR 3101(c), 3101(d)(2) and 4503 ("Protected Information") are identified and withheld from production.]

[b. if Protected Information is inadvertently produced, the Producing Party shall take reasonable steps to correct the error, including a request to the Receiving Party for its return.]

[c. upon request by the Producing Party for the return of Protected Information inadvertently produced the Receiving Party shall promptly return the Protected Information and destroy all copies thereof. Furthermore, the Receiving Party shall not challenge either the adequacy of the Producing Party's document review procedure or its efforts to rectify the error, and the Receiving Party shall not assert that its return of the inadvertently produced Protected Information has caused it to suffer prejudice.]