Scott Wandstrat. Photo by John Disney/Daily Report.

Scott Wandstrat is taking the e-discovery expertise he developed and honed as a litigation partner at Arnall Golden Gregory in-house.

Wandstrat has joined Kindred at Home as the home health and hospice provider's first chief litigation officer. In the wake of Kindred Healthcare's acquisition last summer by health insurance giant Humana and two private equity funds, a deal that resulted in the spinout of Kindred at Home, the business is setting up a new legal department in Atlanta. And being in on the ground floor of that work is an exciting opportunity for Wandstrat, he said in an interview.

“We don't have this notion of 'this is the way it's always been done,'” he said, adding that this gives department leaders the ability to develop it “the way we think is best.”

Wandstrat is joining a company and legal department he knows well since he represented Kindred in a variety of capacities for several years during his nearly 15-year tenure at Arnall Golden Gregory. He said he was so impressed with the in-house team that he accepted an offer that he would not have accepted from just any company.

“This is not a legal team that is a gatekeeper function for outside counsel,” he said. “They are hands-on. Whenever we were doing a matter with them, you could always expect them to be very involved and extraordinarily helpful.”

He continued: “I had been at AGG for 15 years, and I wasn't planning on leaving.”

That feeling is mutual, according to Wandstrat's new boss, Kindred at Home general counsel Ron Lazas Jr.

“Scott has done work for Kindred in the past and provided extraordinary services for our company,” he said in an interview. “In setting up a new law department in Atlanta, he is a great addition to our litigation efforts.”

In his new role, Wandstrat will oversee litigation, continuing to work closely with outside counsel, as well as government investigations, another role he held at Arnall Golden Gregory. Right now, the Kindred at Home legal department is still being built out, but includes Lazas, Wandstrat, as well as several other attorneys and paralegals, he said.

In Atlanta Big Law world, Wandstrat is arguably best known for starting Arnall Golden Gregory's e-discovery practice, standardizing the firm's approach to e-discovery and making it more targeted and efficient, according to a 2015 profile of Wandstrat, who was named that year as a member of the Daily Report's “On the Rise” class.

The firm's e-discovery expertise saved clients money, became a profit source and even brought in new clients after it became national e-discovery counsel for several companies. In addition to his e-discovery practice, Wandstrat also served as counsel for numerous health care and pharmaceutical companies facing government investigations.

One of Wandstrat's goals in his new gig, he said, is to bring more of the e-discovery function in-house.

“Every litigator will claim to understand e-discovery, but the truth of the matter is that precious, precious few truly do,” he said. “I'm hoping to take advantage of the fact that I've been focused on this area so we can look at ways to cut costs and handle matters more efficiently. Pairing that with my litigation background and experience representing health care companies going through investigations, I'm hoping it's a great fit.”

He continued: “I really loved AGG, but, in the end, I couldn't pass up this unique opportunity. I think going to Kindred at Home will make me a better lawyer. I've been giving this advice from the outside for years, but to be able to fully join the team so that I can oversee and implement it will be an amazing challenge.”