PROFILE - An experienced, enthusiastic electronic discovery expert, technical ESI project manager and former trial attorney, with a thorough understanding of the litigation and trial processes and their support requirements. - A record of achievement and stellar client support in the legal and information technology fields. - A skilled public speaker, trainer and promoter who works successfully with corporate clients, attorneys and support staff. - CT Summation Certified Trainer (iBlaze and WebBlaze), Ringtail Certified Service Bureau Technician, and discover-e Certified Operator. Expert in LAW eCapture. Proficient in LAW, Concordance, Extractiva, Trial Director and Sanction II. - Oracle Certified Professional Database Administrator. Proficient in database concepts and design, data manipulation, and data conversion and integration.
eDISCOVERY EXPERIENCE Autonomy, an HP company, Houston, Texas (HQ: San Francisco, CA) Lead eDiscovery Instructor - 5/2010 - present Authored and maintained Autonomy’s training materials for their eDiscovery software courses. Provided subject matter expertise in eDiscovery to Autonomy’s clients, software developers, and sales executives. Promoted Autonomy’s meaning-based coding and conceptual search solutions via technology evangelism, software training, and published articles.
Liquid Litigation Management, Inc., San Antonio, Texas Director of Litigation Services - 6/2007 - 8/2009 Subject matter expert and technical project manager for very busy electronic litigation support service provider. Primary point of contact for attorney and paralegal clients regarding all facets of their ESI productions. Personally managed ESI productions in excess of 475 gigabytes, 1.2 million native files and over 15 million page images. Managed a staff of six full-time employees and several part-timers. Supervised operation of company's computer infrastructure, plus storage arrays and software installations.
Summit Document Services, Houston, Texas Digital Litigation Specialist - 6/2006 - 3/2007 Managed our clients' electronic litigation document management and trial projects. Consulted with clients to successfully resolve their EDD requirements and troubleshoot their software-based issues. Negotiated on Summit's behalf with vendors and business partners to provide maximum value-added services for our clients. Launched client newsletter, "The Peak", focusing on developing issues in electronic discovery practice and procedure.
RELATED EXPERIENCE Data Junction Corporation, Austin, Texas Integration Specialist - 2002 - 2003 Supported the company's highest-volume software clients with technical questions and expertise. Shattered company record for fastest time to promotion to Level 2 technical support. Successfully promoted company's software, support products, and training programs to new and existing customers.
Self-Employed, Houston-Austin, Texas Web Design Consultant - 2000 - 2006 Generated original ideas and implemented web-based solutions based on client requirements using Dreamweaver, Fireworks, FrontPage and handwritten HTML. Planned and maintained operating budgets and work deadlines. Negotiated contracts with clients and vendors to achieve cost-effective business solutions.
Hirsch, Sheiness & Garcia, Houston, Texas Associate Attorney - 1996 - 1998 Managed heavy insurance defense trial caseload. Prioritized and juggled dozens of simultaneous case management responsibilities under extreme time pressure. Investigated and analyzed facts and evidence, and managed and conducted oral and written discovery.
Private Law Practice, Austin, Texas Attorney at Law - 1991 - 1996
EDUCATION The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX Doctor of Jurisprudence - 1990 Areas of Concentration: Litigation, Appellate Advocacy, Legal Theory Interscholastic Director, Board of Advocates Organized, coordinated and directed interscholastic litigation competitions hosted by the University of Texas; provided logistical support for the University's interscholastic competition teams. Tournament Director, ABA Moot Court Regional Competition
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX Bachelor of Journalism - 1985 Areas of Concentration: Broadcast Journalism, English Editorial staff, The Daily Texan
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS State Bar of Texas - 1990-present Member, Bar Journal Committee 1991-1992 College of the State Bar of Texas
Houston Bar Association - 2010-present Member, Editorial Board, The Houston Lawyer
American Bar Association - 1987-1994 Vice-Chair, Labor & Employment Law Cmte., Young Lawyers Div. 1992 - 1993
Travis County Bar Assn. / Austin Young Lawyers Assn. - 1990-1994 Member, Board of Directors 1992 - 1993
Admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Texas and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
PUBLICATIONS, PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS “Technology-Assisted Review: What Is It and Why Should You Care?” (working title) The Houston Lawyer, July/August 2012
“The Ethical Minefield of E-Discovery” The Houston Lawyer, November/December 2011
“Predictive Coding: Ready for Prime Time?” Presented to Women in E-Discovery, Houston Chapter, October 2011
“Destruction of Electronic Evidence: What is the Standard for an Adverse Inference Jury Instruction?” The Houston Lawyer, November/December 2010
“Advanced Technology Solutions for Litigation” (contributing author) InfoPAK, Association of Corporate Counsel, September 2010
"Computer Infections Are Bad Enough, But the Cure Can Kill" (with Fabio J. Celeita) National Law Journal, August 24, 2009
"Creating Effective Search Queries for Foreign Language Documents" DESI III Global E-Discovery/E-Disclosure Workshop, June 2009
"The False Economy of In-House ESI Processing" Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, April 2009
"An In-House Review of Outside Review" Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, February 2009
"Building Effective Foreign-Language Search Queries" Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, December 2008
"Creating Effective Search Queries for Foreign Language Documents" LLM White Paper, November 2008
"Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire: An Attorney's Struggle to Break Into the Lit Support Industry" Presented to ALSP Fall Forum, November 2008
"Creating Effective Search Queries for Foreign Language Documents" Presented to ALSP Fall Forum, November 2008
"Globalization Gone Wild: Making Sense of Managing Foreign Language Documents" Peer to Peer Magazine, International Legal Technology Association, August 2008
"Creating Effective Search Queries for Foreign Language Documents" Guest speaker to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Washington, DC, April 2008
"E-Discovery, Ready or Not: Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Their Impending Effect on Texas Practice" Presented to Houston Northwest Bar Association, February 2007
"E-Discovery, Ready or Not" The Peak, December 2006
Program Director, Second Annual Employment Law Seminar Travis County Bar Association, August 1993
"The Americans With Disabilities Act" Presented to Travis County Bar Association, August 1992
Founder and Program Director, First Annual Employment Law Seminar Travis County Bar Association, August 1992
"Absence of Malice: The New ‘Objective Reasonableness' Standard in Excessive Force Cases" Legal Insight, September 1989
COMPUTER CERTIFICATIONS AND SKILLS Autonomy eDiscovery Trainer - May 2010-present Autonomy Legal Hold, Supervisor, Investigator & ECA, Introspect CT Summation Certified Trainer (iBlaze and WebBlaze) - January 2007 discover-e Certified Operator - November 2006 Ringtail Certified Service Bureau Technician - September 2006 Oracle Certified Professional Database Administrator - March 2001 Unix Systems Administrator - March 2001
- Proficient with litigation document and project management software; document imaging systems, including LAW, IPRO and Adobe Acrobat; and distributed software environments, including Citrix, iConect, NetMeeting and WebEx - Certified in Microsoft Office suite (Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access) - Proficient in the following OS's: Windows (Vista, XP, 2000, NT), MS-DOS, Macintosh, Unix and SUN Solaris - Proficient in Oracle 8, 8i and 9i, and in PL/SQL - Familiar with trial presentation software, including Sanction II and Trial Director
