Legal Project Management: Navigating Trends and Overcoming Challenges in the Legal Landscape

Kate Jansons Johns is the Manager of Knowledge & Practice Support Services at Nutter. In this role, Kate is responsible for the day-to-day operation of Nutter’s eDiscovery and practice support initiatives, trainings, infrastructure, applications, and resources. She provides direct consultation and technical solutions to the firm’s attorneys, senior management, and clients in a wide range of practice areas. Kate’s deep knowledge and utilization of emerging technology and workflow processes enhance the firm’s efficiency and reduce costs.

Kate is a Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS) with the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS). She is also a member of the New England Litigation Technology Professionals (NELTP), the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), and Women in eDiscovery.

Kate earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Ben Legatt is co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of Agility Blue, and has over twenty years of extensive litigation and trial experience. Throughout his career, he has developed an active electronic discovery consulting practice, and is a certified instructor in several leading eDiscovery software platforms. Ben also has managed litigation and discovery projects for law firm and corporate clients, and is passionate about using technology to maximize teams’ effectiveness and collaboration. Actively involved with the evolution of Agility Blue since its inception, Ben heads Sadie Blue Software’s customer experience team, and focuses on ensuring that Sadie Blue Software’s products and solutions meet and exceed the needs of its customers.

Martha K. Louks manages the Firm’s discovery technology team and consults on a wide array of discovery issues, providing high-value, efficiency-driven solutions to complex data challenges. Martha collaborates with legal teams to develop technology and workflow solutions that align with the overall discovery strategy, prepares discovery plans that reduce costs and improve efficiency, and participates in negotiations regarding ESI protocols.

Martha has extensive experience developing preservation plans capable of withstanding intense scrutiny while simultaneously addressing the flexibility necessary for clients to meet their business obligations. She advises on electronic evidence considerations, working closely with legal teams to incorporate the results of the forensic investigation into legal analysis.

Martha is highly skilled in Technology Assisted Review (predictive coding) and advises clients on the defensibility and effectiveness of varied workflow approaches, as well as strategic considerations related to the disclosure of predictive coding processes and metrics. Clients look to McDermott’s strong experience with leveraging predictive coding and other advanced technologies to get discovery done more efficiently and with more cost savings.

In particular, Martha was instrumental in the AB InBev-Grupo Modelo merger where she worked directly with the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division in developing a predictive coding protocol to limit review to only those documents most relevant and responsive to the DOJ’s requests.

Martha is a Certified Relativity Expert, having three concurrent certifications: Relativity Certified Administrator, Relativity Analytics Specialist, and Relativity Assisted Review Specialist.

Ruth Hauswirth joined Cooley in 1995 and is a senior attorney in the Firm's Litigation Department. She currently oversees Cooley's Litigation and Electronic Discovery Services department and counsels on electronic discovery. She developed and now manages Cooley's electronic discovery resources and focuses on the strategic use of technology solutions for complex litigation matters - including document retention, management, preservation, collection, review and production in compliance with a variety of regulatory and jurisdictional areas. She serves on the firm's Risk Management Committee where she is involved in creating and implementing risk management policies, training and compliance programs for Cooley. She is a member of the State Bar of California and received a J.D. summa cum laude in 1994 from the Santa Clara University School of Law. From 1999-2000, Ms. Hauswirth served as the Assistant Dean for Law and Technology at Santa Clara University School of Law and in 2000, she was named one of the Bay Area's Top Lawyers under Forty by the San Francisco Daily Journal.