Public Information Acts and Their Application to Electronic Documents

Attorneys must interpret public records laws to determine if certain electronic documents must be disclosed. However, there is no consensus among the varying jurisdictions about which documents are subject to disclosure. Although we have some federal guidance, this guidance is not comprehensive as it does not address all aspects of electronic records. This presentation will discuss electronic records and provide guidance to local government attorneys for how to handle electronic documents.

Speaker: Hilary Ruley

Hilary Ruley is a Chief City Solicitor for Baltimore City. She has been in the General Counsel Division of the City’s Law Department for over ten years, advising agencies, reviewing city and state legislation and overseeing responses to Public Information Act requests. She was previously a litigator in private practice for several years and clerked for the Honorable Judge James Eyler on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. She obtained her J.D. and B.S. degrees from the University of Notre Dame and is licensed to practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia. She is the recipient of the Maryland Bar Association’s 2007 Alex Fee Memorial Pro Bono Service award and the International Municipal Lawyer’s 2014 William I. Thorton, Jr. Faculty Award.