Are You Ready? Experts Discuss Preserving Corporate Client’s Dynamic ESI in Litigation

Michael Simon is an attorney with XPAN Law Partners. He began his career as a trial attorney in Chicago, where he was an early innovator in using electronic evidence to win cases for his clients. Michael stepped away from the active practice of law for a number of years to focus on developing legal technology solutions. Some of these solutions included using Natural Language Processing (“NLP”) technology to recognize and remediate contract clauses that could violate GDPR requirements and to identify and categorize PII/Personal Data in legal documents for GDPR-mandated pseudonymization. He has also been heavily involved in cross-border data transfer issues, acting as technology counsel for a leading eDiscovery provider.

Michael has returned to the active practice of law in Boston, Massachusetts. He combines his technology knowledge with his legal experience to create solutions for his clients’ data privacy, cybersecurity, and cross-border data transfer issues. Michael focuses his work on performing detailed assessments and audits, reviewing and advising on contracts, and drafting policies and procedures for internal and external use.

Michael leverages his many years working with technology vendors to provide clients with unique insight and assistance in vendor requirements, proposals, assessment, selection, and auditing. Having worked with both sides of the legal and technology worlds, he often serves as a facilitator and even at times as a translator between these disciplines.

Michael is a legal technology thought leader and has made over a hundred presentations on data privacy, data transfer, eDiscovery, and other topics. He has written dozens of articles on legal technology topics. Notably, Michael is the lead co-author in an article involving artificial intelligence: Lola v. Skadden and the Automation of the Legal Profession, 20 Yale J.L. & Tech. 234 (2018). He has been an adjunct professor at Michigan State University College of Law and Boston University School of Law.

Michael is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is also certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) as an Information Privacy Professional in both the United States (CIPP/US) and Europe (CIPP/E).

Elan Hersh is a Partner in Akerman’s Litigation Practice Group and leads Akerman’s eDiscovery Services team. Elan advises clients on electronic discovery (eDiscovery), information governance, litigation readiness and response, cross-border discovery issues, and data privacy. Elan leverages his unique knowledge of the technical and legal dimensions of eDiscovery to advise clients on defensible and cost-effective strategies for data preservation, collection, review, and production, with an emphasis on controlling the scope of discovery and implementing cost-shifting strategies. Elan represents clients in all aspects of eDiscovery throughout the country in both state and federal court, and represents foreign corporations who are defending lawsuits in the United States.

Mr. Matzen was a pioneer in the international e-discovery field leading teams to over a dozen countries over the last 20 years creating and executing data collection, processing and production plans. Doing such work required the knowledge and intricacies of data transfer rules for each country. This knowledge was gained by research, live experience on the ground and developing a global network of contacts and technical experts. As a byproduct of this experience, Mr. Matzen became well-versed in global privacy and data security regulations and thereafter began to educate the legal community on the convergence of practicing law, data privacy, data security and e-discovery. It is this convergence that Mr. Matzen has dedicated his professional career to and served as the inspiration to beginning his own consulting group.

MCG strives to solve data problems and educate clients while doing so. While capable of handling traditional e-discovery matters, MCG has a team of experts to assist with small data collections, large international investigations, GDPR assessments and recommendations, data breach response, establishing Privacy by Design, IoT forensics amongst other data related consulting services.

Peter Callaghan is the Chief Revenue Officer of Pagefreezer—an organization that simplifies compliance and litigation by automatically archiving websites, social media, mobile text messages, and enterprise messaging platforms through its advanced records management software solutions.

Peter has decades of experience strategically guiding teams in the tech industry, resulting in significant market share increases and exponential revenue growth for the companies he’s served. Peter has a passion for building high-performance teams, developing value-based go-to-market strategies, and creating effective brand strategies.

Heading up the sales, marketing, and customer experience teams at Pagefreezer, Peter consults with customers in highly-litigated and highly-regulated industries on the effective implementation of information governance, eDiscovery, and compliance strategies. Many of his customers are leading global technology companies, federal agencies, and prestigious financial services firms who face a complex landscape of regulatory requirements and high-stakes legal matters.

With a history of helping to develop innovative tech products and a keen eye for trends, Peter plays a crucial role in identifying the needs of the company’s customers and communicating those needs to the research and development teams at Pagefreezer.

As the president of ACEDS, Mike leads the organization and is responsible for the overall administrative and operational oversight of the organization, including program development, training and professional development, and strategic partnerships. Considered among the top legal technologists in the US, he has spent the last 20 years leveraging the power of technology to meet the current and emerging needs of organizations throughout the legal community. He is also the author of the 2016 book Project Management in Electronic Discovery and has been successfully consulting in information governance, e-discovery, project management and legal technology for all of his career, including 10-year stints at both Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.

For much of his career Mike has been training and educating lawyers and other legal professionals in the benefits of technology to the legal profession. A graduate of the State University of New York, he is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS). He frequently speaks and writes on e-discovery, legal operations, project management and technology topics. Mike is an avid foodie and enjoys cooking and reading when he isn’t focused on developing new policy initiatives and educational offerings.

Mr. Cohen oversees all aspects of the Firm’s litigation technology, practice & client services, electronic discovery operations and document review centers. Throughout his career, Mr. Cohen has worked in a consultative capacity with law firms and corporate legal departments enabling them to effectively leverage technology in all legal practice areas. With a focus on electronic discovery, complex data analytics, and litigation readiness, Mr. Cohen advises firm lawyers and clients on a wide range of topics relating to discovery in complex litigation. Mr. Cohen is a frequent writer and speaker on a variety of subjects ranging from electronic discovery best practices and legal cost control to leadership development, performance management and staff mentoring in legal organizations.

Prior to joining Winston & Strawn, Mr. Cohen was the Practice Support Director for Proskauer Rose where he was responsible for the development and operation of the firm’s practice support department. Mr. Cohen also served as the Director of Information Technology for MetLife where he was responsible for providing general technology and litigation support services to the corporation’s large and geographically dispersed legal, records and internal audit departments.

Mr. Cohen is a member of The Sedona Conference Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production, an adjunct instructor in the Bryan University Department of Electronic Discovery, and an executive board member of the East Coast Association of Litigation Support Managers. He is also an advisory board member of the Association of Certified eDiscovery Specialists and an active member of the International Legal Technology Association Practice & Litigation Support peer group, the Association for Information and Image Management and the American Records Management Association.