Michael Quartararo named president, ACEDS & professional development; Ari Kaplan named Chair of Global Advisory Board
EAGAN, Minn., Oct. 9, 2019 — Leading global eDiscovery education and certification provider, the Association of Certified e-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), part of BARBRI, announced it has filled key senior leadership positions with renowned eDiscovery and legal experts.
Michael Quartararo, long-time ACEDS member, former law firm director, author and eDiscovery community leader joins as president, ACEDS & professional development, and leading legal industry analyst and author, Ari Kaplan has been named chair of the ACEDS Global Advisory Board.
In his new role, Quartararo will continue to build and foster the global eDiscovery community, growing and supporting the local chapters, and reinforce the reputation of the CEDS certification as the best-in-class eDiscovery certification. Additionally, he will work across BARBRI to leverage the company’s diverse suite of professional development resources to create new education solutions and certificate programs that meet the expanding needs of the ACEDS community.
Quartararo brings 20 years of legal technology and eDiscovery experience to ACEDS. For the past two years he has been consulting with law firms and corporate legal departments. Previously, he was the Director of Litigation Support for Stroock, and prior to that he led eDiscovery projects at Skadden Arps. He was instrumental in building the eDiscovery project management program at Bryan University. Quartararo is also the author of Project Management in Electronic Discovery, which merges project management principles with best practices in electronic discovery. Quartararo is a graduate of the State University of New York, a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS).
The addition of Kaplan marks a new era for the ACEDS Global Advisory Board, with a goal of growing this panel of experts to help guide the direction of and continue creating relevant solutions for the ACEDS community. Additionally, under Kaplan’s leadership, the Board will maintain its focus on ACEDS’ robust diversity and inclusion efforts.
Kaplan brings a reputation as a leading legal analyst and thought leader. Principal of Ari Kaplan Advisors, he is an attorney and an author of several books on the business of law. He is the principal researcher for several well-known and widely distributed benchmarking reports, is a frequent writer and speaker, and is the founder of Lawcountability, a business development platform for lawyers and law firms.
“I’m extremely pleased that the ACEDS leadership transition will be a smooth one,” BARBRI CEO Stephen Fredette said. “The organization has been well-served by our executive director, Mary Mack, and I look forward to Mike taking the organization to its logical next phase, leveraging the resources of BARBRI and continuing to serve our global members and community. We’re also committed to a resurgence of an active Global Advisory Board and I am confident that Ari’s leadership will be invaluable as we move forward.”
About ACEDS
The Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists, part of leading legal education provider The BARBRI Group, is a global membership association committed to promoting and verifying e-discovery skills and competence for organizations and individuals through training and certification, and is supported by ACEDS chapters around the world. The association’s goal is to help professionals and organizations reduce the costs and risks associated with eDiscovery, and realize the advantages of performing it effectively. ACEDS awards the Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS) credential, which is held by practitioners at Am Law 200 firms, government agencies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and United Nations, and some of the largest multinational corporations in the world.
