Denise J. Talbert has more than two decades of full-time experience in managing cost-effective discovery in complex litigation, including preservation, collection, organization, review, production, privilege logging, written discovery responses and issue analysis. As co-chair of the firm’s Data and Discovery Strategies Practice Group, Denise directs a team of approximately 60 attorneys, analysts, project managers and technology experts who average more than 16 years of experience. Ranked as a top-tier group in eDiscovery by The Legal 500 United States, the team has served as national eDiscovery counsel for Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer product manufacturing. Throughout its 35-year history, the team has worked side-by-side with case counsel not only at Shook but also at leading law firms throughout the United States.
Denise is actively involved in the eDiscovery legal community and dedicates a portion of her time to tracking relevant market and technology changes to better serve her clients. She has published materials on eDiscovery law and routinely offers related CLE presentations, and she is a member of The Sedona Conference Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production. As a member of The Sedona Conference eDiscovery Case Law Update Team, she regularly contributes case law summaries for publication by The Sedona Conference.
Before attending law school, Denise was a practicing accountant working in-house at multiple companies.
Publications
Denise J. Talbert, John C. Vaglio, Jeremiah S. Wikler and Christy A. Pulis, Chapter 25: E-Discovery—Practical Considerations, Product Liability Litigation: Current Law, Strategies and Best Practices (PLI 2021).
Denise J. Talbert and Mark Cowing, Beware the Dangers of a “Hands-Off Approach” to Document Collections, 21:2 RX for the Defense, May 2013.
Denise J. Talbert (co-author), The Sedona Conference® Commentary on Ethics & Metadata (Ronald J. Hedges and Denise J. Talbert eds., March 2012).
Sarah Croft, Denise J. Talbert and Mark Cowing, E-Discovery Obligations in US Product Liability Litigation, The In-House Lawyer, December 2011/January 2012.
Denise Talbert, The Importance of Being Transparent, Pension Committee Revisited One Year Later: A Retrospective on the Impact of Judge Scheindlin's Influential Opinion (Legal Hold Pro 2011).
Denise Talbert and Christine Novak, Strategies for a Coordinated Response to Rule 45 Third-Party Subpoenas, Bloomberg Law Reports, April 26, 2010; selected for inclusion in Bloomberg Law Quarterly 2011.
Denise J. Talbert, John C. Vaglio and Marie S. Woodbury, Chapter 28: E-Discovery-Practical Considerations, Product Liability Litigation: Current Law, Strategies and Best Practices (PLI 2009).
Denise J. Talbert, How a Single Critical Document Is Handled Can Turn a Trial, Law.com, October 6, 2006.
Denise J. Talbert, Experience Plus Infrastructure Equal Success, Counsel to Counsel Magazine, November 2005.
Presentations
Guest Lecturer, Electronic Discovery Class, University of Missouri School of Law, Fall Semester 2021.
Moderator, Archaeological Digs: Alternative Pathways to Manage Old Boxes and Productions From Antiquated Systems, 2021 EDI Leadership Summit, October 14, 2021.
Moderator, Data Bounty Hunters: Collections in 2020, 2020 EDI Leadership Summit,October 13, 2020.
Auto Correct: Write Right 2.0 for the Digital Age, Client Presentation, Kansas City, Missouri (October 2017).
Minimizing the Burden of Privilege Logging in eDiscovery, National eDiscovery Leadership Institute (October 2017).
Panelist, Managing Discovery Costs for In-House and Outside Counsel, Outside Counsel Summit (June 2017).
Panelist, Drafting Records Retention Policies: Best Practices to Maximize and Enhance Legal Compliance and Efficiency, American Law Institute (June 2016).
Panelist, 21st Century Legal Paths, University of Missouri-Kansas City (March 2016).
Panelist, Attorney-Client Privilege: Update on the Law & Practical Strategies to Protect Clients’ Rights, The 5th Annual EDI Summit (October 2015).
Panelist, Develop Talent and Prove the Value of Your Internal Litigation Support, ILTACON (September 2015).
Panelist, A Team Effort: Working Together to Manage the eDiscovery Process, Women in EDiscovery (July 2015).
Panelist, Look at Data Now: Test the Story and Linking the Critical Conversations, University of Florida/EDRM Electronic Discovery for the Small and Medium Case Conference (March 2014).
Major Developments in E-Discovery, The Missouri Bar/Missouri Judicial Conference 2013 Annual Meeting (September 2013).
Panelist, Commentary on Ethics & Metadata, The Sedona Conference® Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production Webinar (August 2013).
eDiscovery: Practical Tips, University of Missouri School of Law (April 2013).
Panelist, Traditional Analysis and Budgeting, University of Florida/EDRM Electronic Discovery for the Small and Medium Case Conference (April 2013).
Going Native! A Fresh Look at Exchanging in Native Format, International Legal Technology Association (ITLA) Webinar (March 2013).
Requests for Production – Respond with Caution! How Responses to RFPs Can Greatly Reduce the Cost of Document Collection, Processing, Review and Production, SHB's Corporate Counsel Institute CLE (February 2013).
Panelist, Determining the Scope of Preservation and Documentation and When Preservation is a Real Challenge, Legal Hold Pro’s 2012 Conference on Preservation Excellence (September 2012).
At the Intersection of Ethics and Technology and Predictive Coding: Losing the Spin; Finding Practical Uses, Onsite Client CLE (September 2012).
Faculty member, Managing the Review Process and the Production of ESI, Bryan University E-Discovery Project Management Program (May 2012 & July 2012).
View from the Bench/View from the Bar Panel, Trial Judge Education Committee’s 2012 Advanced Trial Skills: Issues in Electronic Evidence (March 2012).
You Want What?, Shook, Hardy & Bacon's eDiscovery Collection from the Frontlines CLE (September 2011).
E-Discovery/ESI – Mistakes Made, Prices Paid, Lesson Learned and Advice for the Future, The Missouri Bar/Missouri Judicial Conference 2011 Annual Meeting (September 2011).
Pension Committee Revisited: Where Do We Go From Here?, Legal Hold Pro Webinar (March 2011).
KC Wired and Legal Implications: Cloud Computing, Metadata, Data Privacy and Social Media, Centurions Leadership Program of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce (January 2011).
Ethics and Metadata, The Sedona Conference Annual Meeting (October 2010).
Guest Speaker, University of Missouri School of Law E-Discovery Class (September 2010).
E-Discovery Roadmap – 2010 and Beyond, The Missouri Bar/Missouri Judicial Conference 2010 Annual Meeting (September 2010).
Considerations in Defending Corporate eDiscovery, Onsite Client CLE (April 2010).
Smart Search & Professional Responsibility in eDiscovery, Continuum Worldwide (March 2010).
Proven, But Sometimes Overlooked, Ways to Reduce eDiscovery Costs, Shook, Hardy & Bacon's Seventh Annual Corporate Counsel Institute (February 2010).
Deliberate Spoliation – What Is Fueling the Torch?: Managing preservation obligations at the workplace, Client Webinar (December 2009).
The New Face of Global Legal Services: An In-Depth Look at Legal Process Outsourcing and Related Ethical Considerations, Association of Corporate Counsel (October 2009).
School of Docs: An eDiscovery CLE, Onsite Client CLE (April 2009).
The Technology of eDiscovery, SHB eDiscovery Seminar (October 2008).
Following the Frolics and Detours of Opposing Counsel, Client eDiscovery Seminar (May 2008).
Legal Implications of eDiscovery, SHB eDiscovery Seminar (April 2008).
eDiscovery: After the Amendments, Onsite Client CLE (September 2007).
eDiscovery and Electronic Records Management for IT Directors, Records Managers & Corporate Counsel: Practical, Real-World Advice, SHB eDiscovery CLE (November 2006).
eDiscovery Amendments: So What Do We Do Now, SHB eDiscovery CLE (September 2006).