Corporate Legal in Control: eDiscovery Benchmarks

Adam Kuhn is a Principal Solutions Consultant at OpenText Discovery and an eDiscovery lawyer in San Francisco, California. Adam works with some of the world’s largest enterprises, law firms, and regulators on their legal technology programs and practices with a focus on the innovative application of AI to legal services. He holds an advanced certification for OpenText Axcelerate and received the Rossman award from the USPTO Society for his contributions to legal scholarship. Adam’s projects at OpenText have included drafting an amicus brief on the use of automated redactions, partnering with a law firm to design and promote new AI applications, and curating a case law database of all published court orders impacting the use of machine learning in eDiscovery (available at www.predictivecoding.com). In 2017, Adam was featured on Legaltech News’ list of 18 millennials changing the face of legal technology.

Adam joined Recommind in 2014 prior to its acquisition by OpenText in 2016. Before that, Adam was an eDiscovery analyst at a Fortune 500 company and an associate consultant focused on complex trademark and patent disputes and damages.

Adam received his JD and MBA from the University of San Francisco, his BA from New York University, and is CIPP/US certified. Adam is also a Senior McCarthy Institute Research Fellow at Golden Gate University where he helps law students research, write, and publish original scholarship. Reach him at [email protected]

Ari Kaplan, an attorney and legal industry analyst, is an inaugural Fastcase 50 honoree, a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, and a finalist for the International Legal Technology Association’s Thought Leader of the Year award. He is the author of Reinventing Professional Services: Building Your Business in the Digital Marketplace (Wiley, 2011) and The Opportunity Maker: Strategies for Inspiring Your Legal Career Through Creative Networking and Business Development (West Academic, 2nd Ed. 2016). Kaplan serves as the principal researcher for a variety of widely distributed benchmarking reports, has been the keynote speaker for events worldwide, and is the founder of the Lawcountability? business development software platform and iPhone app. He is an avid swimmer, a self-taught, beginner-level python coder, and a two-time Ironman triathlon finisher.

As Executive Vice President of Policy, Sam Castor, Esq., manages regulatory, intellectual property and litigation matters and policy. As a member of the Sustainability Team, he provides legal and policy insight to ensure Switch is 100% renewably powered, world-wide, and drives thoughtful sustainability policy throughout the company’s operations, energy procurement, and government and legislative policy.

Sam joined the company as Vice President and Associate General Counsel, assisting Switch with transactional, telecom, legislative, regulatory and litigation matters, and continues to aid the legal team in these matters when needed.

Sam’s professional path includes service in all branches of federal government assisting with technology policy, including time under President Obama and President Bush.

He received his undergraduate degree in Communications from Brigham Young University and his law degree from Catholic University of America, with a certificate in Communications Law from the Communications Law Institute. Sam speaks fluent Romanian and Moldavian after providing two years of service in Eastern Europe.

Laura Roman is a Legal Operations Manager for the Market Regulation unit of the New York Stock Exchange. Her focus is on managing and supporting the Market Regulation team’s day-to-day processes and practices to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Her role involves strategic planning, leading and supporting technology initiatives, budget management, vendor management, metrics and reporting, knowledge management, and eDiscovery management.

Prior to joining NYSE, Laura worked as a Staff Attorney specializing in electronic discovery for large-scale, complex litigations and investigations at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.

Laura earned her Bachelor's degree in Government & Legal Studies from Bowdoin College, and her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. She is a member of the New York Bar as well as a graduate of The eDiscovery Training Academy at Georgetown Law School.

Sharika de Freitas is a legal technology executive with over 18 years' experience spanning both law firms and in-house work. Currently, she serves as the head of Paramount Global's Information Governance and eDiscovery group and her focus remains on managing and advancing technology to best support legal needs.