Please share your thoughts on the certification training, how long it took you to prepare for the exam, thoughts on the exam and how it has benefited you – both the knowledge gained from training and certification and being part of the ACEDS community as a whole. (Whole experience)
My education around eDiscovery prior to ACEDS relied upon two sources of information: 1) Independent research and 2) Training and mentorship from industry colleagues. While much of the training material for ACEDS overlapped with my prior training, it was immensely beneficial to re-educate myself on the entire process, from an academic perspective comprised of thought leadership from all key stakeholder positions involved in the discovery process. Doing so provides an objective, holistic understanding of the E-Discovery industry.
Why did you decide to get certified? Do you have any other certifications?
My company, TransPerfect Legal Solutions, provided me an opportunity to build out our eDiscovery footprint in Los Angeles from scratch. It has been a long, challenging process, but TLS invested time, patience, money, human capital, and belief in what I was putting together. I was gradually becoming an expert, and once our business yielded enough financial reward to make it official, I was happy to re-invest in myself my purchasing ACEDS. It felt like a proper way to pay it forward, for myself and my organization.
Please share your background of eDiscovery experience.
I oversee business development and sales operations for TransPerfect’s Los Angeles office. My primary focus is developing TLS’ legal business in California, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and Hawaii (maybe wishful thinking). I started out as an entry-level account manager, servicing our translation customers in the legal industry vertical. With the help of many sales mentors, innovative thinkers, hard-working litigation support professionals, an incredible business model, and ambitious colleagues we’ve built a diverse, multi-million dollar eDiscovery business in the course of my 9 years with TLS. With a commitment to solving complex business problems for our law firm and corporate/in-house clients, I manage a team of entrepreneurial-minded sales professionals that are committed to building TLS’ brand on the West Coast.
Areas of Expertise:
- Information Governance
- Forensic Technology & Consulting
- eDiscovery Management
- Managed Review & Legal Staffing
- Translation & Interpretation
- Deposition & Trial Support
- Paper Discovery & Production
Would you recommend our CEDS training/certification to other?
Absolutely! I might even invest money in it for those who work for me.
Advice to others looking to take the exam?
Don’t rely solely upon your immediate experience in lieu of reading the materials. It is inevitable your perspectives will be in a silo, based on your position on the spectrum (in-house, OC, vendor, law firm, etc.). I would also use as much of the 12 month period before taking the exam, especially if you’re currently employed in a position that deals with eDiscovery. Personally, I was able to zoom in on my active projects and clients, and apply knowledge learned while gleaning new insights with real-life applications.
Any other thoughts to share?
I’m grateful to ACEDS for creating an environment where legal industry education and collaboration can exist independent of competing/conflicting business interests. Thank you!
