Privilege Log Objections Are Rising: How to Survive Rule 26(f)(3)(D) Challenges and Defend Your Entries

John Davis | Crowell & Moring LLP

John Davis has over 20 years of experience representing companies in complex investigations and litigations and advising clients on information law issues, including discovery, spoliation, data privacy, cross-border transfers, cybersecurity, information governance, artificial intelligence, and emergent technology. He leads teams responding to governmental inquiries, conducts international investigations of fraud and abuse, trade secrets theft, sanctions violations, and security incidents, and counsels companies on compliant practices across a broad range of disciplines. John is an award-winning author and frequent lecturer on investigations, data protection, and information law.

• Education & Credentials

Davis earned his J.D., magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as senior articles editor of the American Criminal Law Review. He earned his B.A., with distinction, from the University of Illinois.

• Recognition & Leadership

Davis is co-chair of Crowell & Moring’s E-Discovery and Information Management Practice and a member of the Litigation Group. He was named to Relativity’s 2022 AI Visionaries list, which recognizes early adopters of artificial intelligence in areas where managing risk is a top priority and the approach to technology adoption has traditionally been more conservative. stood up the firm’s first generative AI review of documents in an active litigation and has architected and defended AI discovery workflows and validation before regulators, courts, and tribunals.

• Professional Involvement

Davis is a member of the New York City Bar Association Committee on Professional Responsibility. He is active in multiple Sedona Conference working groups, including Working Group 6 on International Electronic Information Management, Discovery, and Disclosure; Working Group 11 on Data Security and Privacy Liability, where he serves as Dialogue Leader; Working Group 12 on Trade Secrets; and Working Group 1 on Electronic Document Retention and Production. He is also a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

• Experience

Before joining Crowell, Davis served as executive director at UBS in the Legal and Investigations groups, where he headed up the Americas region and its Global Complex Cases — eDiscovery unit His pro bono practice includes representing individuals on Alabama’s death row and in federal prison challenging their convictions, sentencing, and conditions of incarceration. Notable representations include serving as trial counsel for a global manufacturing corporation in litigation against a former employee for theft of confidential and proprietary information, involving international discovery, forensic investigation, and evidentiary hearings, resulting in a favorable settlement. He also represented an inmate on Alabama’s death row in a Rule 32 petition for a new trial, from initial investigation through a weeklong evidentiary hearing, appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court, and federal habeas corpus proceedings.

Genevieve Moreland | Crowell & Moring LLP

Genevieve Moreland is Counsel at Crowell & Moring LLP, where she focuses her practice on helping clients navigate discovery issues in complex litigation and government investigations, as well as in transactional matters such as mergers and acquisitions. She brings more than 20 years of experience managing all phases of discovery, including leveraging technology to handle large volumes of documents, overseeing collection processes, and directing large-scale document reviews and productions. Alongside her client work, she maintains an active pro bono practice and volunteers with organizations dedicated to civil legal access and civic participation.

• Recognition & Leadership

Moreland was included in the 2025 Chambers USA rankings for E-Discovery and Information Governance. She was also named to Relativity’s 2025 AI Visionaries list, recognized among industry peers for her contributions to advancing artificial intelligence in the legal field. She was among the Crowell & Moring associates promoted to Counsel in the Washington office, as part of a firm-wide advancement announcement.

• Professional Involvement

Moreland volunteers regularly for the Catholic Charities Legal Network, which provides free legal services on a variety of matters to low-income residents of the District of Columbia and Maryland. She has also volunteered over several election cycles with the Election Protection hotline, providing non-partisan voter assistance. She presented remarks at the investiture of Associate Judge Catherine H. McQueen to the Montgomery County, Maryland Circuit Court.

• Experience

Moreland has led a wide range of document reviews, including directing teams of several hundred reviewers, and has experience in workflow planning and execution for first- and second-level review, quality control, and privilege logs. She also advises clients on contract attorney vendor selection and budgeting. Her pro bono work includes successfully representing clients seeking asylum. Prior to her current role, she served as a Staff Attorney at Rhode Island Legal Services and as a Delegate and Executive Board Member of District 1199 SEIU.

George D. Carry | Crowell & Moring LLP

George D. Carry is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office, where his practice focuses exclusively on electronic discovery law and data management in complex commercial disputes, mergers and acquisitions, and government investigations. His experience includes counseling and representing clients in both domestic and cross-border matters on all aspects of e-discovery, including strategizing on litigation readiness, large-scale data collections, document review management, technology-assisted review methods, and litigation support systems. George has particular experience at the intersection of law and technology and delivers practical, efficient, and cost-effective discovery results for his clients.

• Education & Credentials

George Carry completed his legal studies at the University of Illinois College of Law, graduating with the class of 2005, and passed the bar in 2006. He is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia.

• Recognition & Leadership

Carry was recognized by Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” and “Top-Rated E-Discovery Attorney” in Washington. He was selected to the Rising Stars list from 2016 through 2020 a designation awarded through an independent, multi-factor selection process that includes peer nominations, evaluations, and professional achievement in legal practice.

• Professional Involvement

George helps develop e-discovery training seminars for attorneys as part of Crowell’s new-hire and internal continuing legal education programs. He has also contributed legal analysis and commentary through Crowell’s Data Law Insights platform, with published writing on topics including technology-assisted review workflows and the evolving e-discovery landscape around mobile device usage and personal privacy.

• Experience

Prior to joining Crowell, Carry served as lead e-discovery counsel and an associate in the litigation, construction law, and energy and power groups at a Washington-based law firm, where he worked closely with litigation and trial teams advising commercial clients on litigation and e-discovery readiness, document collection and review spend management, electronically stored information governance, and new developments in e-discovery case law and review tools.

Turkessa L. Brown | Crowell & Moring LLP

Turkessa Brown is a discovery attorney in Crowell & Moring’s E-Discovery and Information Management Practice, where her practice focuses on managing and counseling regarding discovery issues in civil litigation and government investigations. She is a highly skilled attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in all phases of the electronic discovery life cycle. She has particular experience managing document collection, review, and production in complex commercial and corporate matters, including product liability, antitrust, and contract disputes.

• Education & Credentials

Turkessa earned her B.A. from Mississippi State University and her J.D. from the Howard University School of Law, where she was a merit scholar, an active member of student government, and a student mediator with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic.

• Professional Involvement

Brown is active in pro bono matters, working primarily with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights as a protest observer, and volunteers with the Election Protection Hotline.

• Experience

Brown practices within Crowell & Moring’s E-Discovery and Information Management practice group in the Washington, D.C. office, where she manages all phases of the electronic discovery life cycle. Her work encompasses document collection, review, and production across complex commercial and corporate matters spanning product liability, antitrust, and contract disputes.

Session 1 – Setting the stage: The role of privilege logs in modern discovery | 2:00pm – 2:20pm

Privilege logs serve as the front line of protection in civil litigation. This session establishes their strategic function, the expectations courts now impose, and the foundational principles every litigator must master before a dispute arises.

Session 2 – Rules 26 and 502 and the governing framework | 2:20pm – 2:40pm

This session breaks down the specific requirements of FRCP 26 and FRE 502, covering how these rules interact, what they mandate for adequate log entries, and the compliance standards courts apply when logs are challenged.

Session 3 – Negotiating scope and reducing burden | 2:40pm – 3:00pm

Effective privilege log management starts before production. Attorneys will learn how to negotiate log scope at the Rule 26(f) conference, craft proportional agreements, and reduce the burden of privilege review without compromising protection or waiving rights.

BREAK | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

Session 4 – Quality control and risk mitigation | 3:10pm – 3:30pm

A deficient log entry can cost a client critical protections. This session covers review workflow planning, quality control protocols for large-scale productions, and the specific steps attorneys must take to prevent privilege waiver and avoid sanctions exposure.

Session 5 – Ethically leveraging advanced technology (like GenAI) | 3:30pm – 3:50pm

Generative AI is transforming privilege log construction, but its use demands ethical care. Attorneys will examine how GenAI tools identify privilege patterns, generate preliminary log entries, and where professional responsibility obligations apply to technology-assisted review decisions.

Session 6 – Recent case law and enforcement trends | 3:50pm – 4:10pm

Courts are drawing harder lines on privilege log compliance. This session analyzes recent decisions on waiver, sanctions, and judicial scrutiny of log adequacy, equipping attorneys with current precedents to defend their entries and anticipate enforcement risk.