Blog | Women in Technology

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series. The Project Services team’s mission is to coordinate with the clients and stakeholders to implement and execute routine processes to achieve the highest and best use of time and talent.  Along with the other Directors, Clarise focuses on mentoring the team to fulfill that mission with accuracy and efficiency. Additionally, she analyzes trends and processes to identify places for efficiency and scalability improvements and works with stakeholders to implement and develop new workflows. Clarise has been in the Ediscovery space since 2001 and draws upon her experience as a Paralegal at law firms and as a Project Manager for various vendors to analyze situations in order to develop processes and tools to bring value and satisfaction to clients and employees alike. She enjoys the supportive role the PS Team has offered and looks forward to continued growth with Consilio. How did you get into this industry? I started my career as a Paralegal and had an internship at the Oakland City Attorney's office. In that role, I discovered I liked litigation – the pace and energy, the interesting cases and the people. It was great! During that time, I became a Concordance Administrator which introduced me to the wonderful world of eDiscovery and I have never looked back. What were some pivotal moments in your career that helped to get you to where you are today? My first pivotal moment was being exposed to and learning about

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series. Danielle V. Brooks is a Director in Consilio’s Global Revenue Organization supporting the Financial Services Vertical. In her role as the vertical’s chief of staff, she coordinates and helps drive multiple knowledge sharing initiatives to include exclusive client-centered events and monthly communications that keep our clients informed on the latest developments in both their industry and ours. She also provides relationship management and team coordination across thousands of eDiscovery and document review matters. In addition to her main responsibilities, Danielle is an active member of the Client Experience and Diversity and Inclusion leadership committees. She also serves as a co-chair of Consilio’s first established affinity group, The Black Responsiveness Affinity Group (B.R.A.G.) and participates in the company’s summer internship program. Prior to her current role, Danielle was the Director of Global Learning at Consilio where she helped implement the company’s online university and established the internal employee review process, in addition to creating the universal onboarding program for new hires. Before this role, Danielle was the Manager of Sales Performance and Education where she designed and delivered a world-class onboarding program for Consilio’s Global Revenue Organization. A paralegal by trade, Danielle began her career in Los Angeles and has lived and worked for an Am LAW 10 law firm in Silicon Valley and New York City. Danielle currently resides with her husband and daughter in the Atlanta metropolitan area. How did you get into this industry? Early

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series. Vaishnavi Prasad has been a technology leader for 20+ years with extensive experience in engineering, business operations, and strategy. She has worked with multinationals across various business domains such as consulting services, digital marketing, financial services, and Legal tech. Vaishnavi is the Vice President of Operations for India with a track record in establishing global in-house centers for large multinational companies. As the India operations leader for Consilio, she is responsible for setting up the organizational structure that supports the company’s long-range growth strategy, operating framework, and global delivery model. She is also responsible for setting up new capabilities/skill sets that are core to the business, growing the capabilities in-depth, and establishing the India center as a key location for the organization. Vaishnavi works closely with Recruitment and Marketing to develop a talent brand for Consilio in India and support our international recruitment strategies to attract a diverse mix of talent and critical skillsets needed to deliver on business demands. How did you get into this industry? After graduating with a master's in computer science I joined Intel as a software engineer. I really wanted to apply my background in math and CS to a new role focusing on software applications. I moved to India during my time at Intel when outsourcing and consulting jobs were the hottest. I wanted to expand my skill set and I had the opportunity to join Accenture and learn about various

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series. With 10+ years of experience in the Legal Services industry, Sarah Surwit serves as a client advocate connecting both inside and outside counsel with the best tools, technologies, and expert resources. Sarah takes a truly consultative approach with each individual client to better understand their needs and ultimately help implement effective solutions that will not only minimize costs but also maximize efficiencies across all phases of the EDRM, including Information Governance, Compliance and Legal Operations. How did you get into this industry? From an early age, I was set on pursuing a career in law. While obtaining my undergraduate business degree at the University of Miami, I accepted a part-time job as a Legal Assistant at a local plaintiffs’ firm. This was my first hands-on experience working in a law firm and ultimately swayed my decision to postpone applying for law school in exchange for a more “real-world” work experience. In 2012, I took on my first business development role in the legal technology space, working for a regional court reporting firm in DC. In 2015, I transitioned to a role in eDiscovery when John Finlay and the leadership team at Evolve Discovery took a chance on an industry-neophyte to help them expand into the DC market. I haven’t looked back since. What were some pivotal moments in your career that helped to get you to where you are today? I wouldn’t be where I am today

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series. Rosa Guido is a highly accomplished eDiscovery professional with 20+ years of repeated success meeting and exceeding corporate and client objectives within team driven and self-guided roles. Prior to coming to Consilio, Rosa was the Regional Director of Client Services at a legal and business services organization. She has extensive experience in successfully managing high profile, large corporate programs, and has developed programs to improve service delivery and implement best practices in the industry. Rosa Guido’s long tenure in the industry, gives her a great understanding of client needs and expectations, and her familiarity and direct experience with project management, managing hundreds of projects of her own, vendor processing requirements, design and focus on process improvement has led to her success in the various management roles she has held. How did you get into this industry? A friend of mine was working for a scanning and coding company, one of the original eDiscovery companies and a pioneer in the industry. This company was growing very quickly and hiring. Being fresh out of college and in the hunt to find my career, he suggested I submit my resume, even for part time work while I was trying to land something permanent. I had no idea what eDiscovery was but I figured this could hold me over until the next big opportunity came my way. I was hired to work part time in the scanning department, little did I

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series. Kamaka Martin, Esq. is the Senior Vice President of US Client Services at Consilio. Kamaka has over 18 years of legal consultation experience and has worked with several Fortune 500 corporations advising on best practices when using software as a service, artificial intelligence and bespoke managed services offerings to manage complex litigation. Kamaka has expertise in Technology Assisted Review, advanced analytics and has been instrumental in the development of workflows that utilize core predictive analytics features. Kamaka also speaks regularly about inclusion and diversity in the legal industry and the importance of fostering an equitable environment for professionals and clients to thrive. Kamaka graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lafayette College with a B.A. in History and Government and Law with Honors in 2004. She also received her J.D. from the University of Melbourne while living abroad in Australia. How did you get into this industry? I got into the industry based on where I was assigned during my initial rotation at my first job after graduating college. I worked as a Case Assistant at Goodwin Procter in New York City where I was assigned to work in the Labor and Employment division. At the time, the Zublake v. UBS Warburg matter which is a gender discrimination case was a central focus for the team because there were five recent decisions, Zublake I through V that are known as the cornerstone for the discovery of electronic data. It was a

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series. Christina is a Director within the Strategic Client Solutions team at Consilio. She began her eDiscovery career in 1997 and has acted as a Project Manager, Product Launch Manager, and Account Manager before taking her current role as Director. Christina has over 20 years of experience in the legal industry with a focus on litigation support and eDiscovery. Christina has served as the primary point of contact for clients on hundreds of eDiscovery engagements, and has guided them through the eDiscovery process, including initial project scoping, project size, and cost estimation. How did you get into this industry? In College, I was temping for Ibis Consulting (if you have been in eD for 20+ years, you remember it!) and it was supposed to be a just temporary. I majored in Legal Studies and worked at a law firm for a few years after graduation, but found my way back to Ibis. From there, the rest is history! What were some pivotal moments in your career that helped to get you to where you are today? Being comfortable with saying “no”. This can be really hard, especially for women. At the beginning of my career, I would be the “yes” person. I wanted to prove that I could take on everything and anything. However, saying “no” does not mean you don’t use your skills to multi-task or take on demanding projects - you have to focus on what

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series. Stacy Wilson is a legal technology and data analytics enthusiast! Over the past 14 years, Stacy has held positions of responsibility across every node of the EDRM including data governance, legal holds, collections, analytics, review, and trial work. Her current focus at Consilio is Project Management and Consulting. Stacy is a Portfolio Lead within Client Services, specifically our Financial Services Vertical, overseeing a team of Project Managers responsible for day-to-day eDiscovery matter management for banking clients, domestic and abroad. Stacy enjoys consulting clients in all areas of eDiscovery, as well as coaching those new to eDiscovery through mentoring and training initiatives. When she is not working, Stacy fosters rescue and stray dogs through to adoption, she is a big fan of her kids’ sports, music and acting endeavors, and she enjoys supporting a local, nationally placed high school mock trial team as an occasional guest competition judge. How did you get into this industry? By accident. I was in between college and returning to grad school thinking a year or so of work experience would make the most life and financial sense for me at that time. I landed in document review work because it gave me flexibility in my work hours and schedule. I was a new mom, my husband was deployed overseas with zero contact allowed due to nationwide heightened security, post 9/11. It just so happened the document review work gave me hands-on experience

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series. Manjiri brings to Consilio 15 years of experience in review management, staff administration and review operations. In her past roles, she had the unique privilege of setting up the infrastructure and staff for review centers and comes to Consilio after doing the same for Conduent LCA (erstwhile Xerox Litigation Services) – where she was responsible for overseeing India review deliveries and managing review operations. A long time participant in India’s unique legal support space, she has also worked as a Senior Manager at UnitedLex and as a Project Director for Global Colleague (a boutique e-discovery supporter for select Fortune 500 clientele). Manjiri has an LLM in International Law from the University of Pune. When not at work, she is a busy mother to a daughter and a notorious Labrador pup. How did you get into this industry? I started my career at a law firm, but I was quite intrigued by the eDiscovery industry which was just taking roots in India at that time. It was great to suddenly have options available outside of traditional law career roles. I grabbed the first opportunity that came my way to join this industry and I have enjoyed every day of it. What were some pivotal moments in your career that helped to get you to where you are today? I was fortunate to have great mentors who helped shape my career. I was also lucky to get a chance