Women in e-Discovery, or WiE, is an educational and networking organization for women who are interested in the use of technology in the law. Since its informal beginnings in a Washington, D.C., Starbucks over six months ago, it has grown to have more than 700 members with 10 chapters and 16 additional chapters slated for 2008. ALSP Update interviewed the three WiE founders: Shawnna Childress, Margaret Havinga and Lana Schell.

ALSP: How did Women in e-Discovery get started?
Childress: We would periodically meet for coffee at Starbucks, and one Friday we were talking about technology and the law and women’s issues and we talked about a way to have other women join us. We came up with the idea to build a Web site, and send its link to other women and invite them to get together to learn, grow and network.

So I built the first Web site and we sent out the link to our personal friends who sent it to their friends and within literally a few weeks we had requests to start chapters, and they started popping up in other cities. We currently have 10 chapters including one in London, and expect at least that many new chapters in 2008. So far we’ve had inquiries not just from the U.S. and London but from Canada, Brazil and Singapore as well.

ALSP: What kind of functions does WiE provide?

Havinga: The D.C. Chapter holds monthly meetings over lunch where we invite speakers. Generally a law firm or a vendor will provide the meeting place and meal so we are able to offer membership at no cost to the members. Other locations have quarterly meetings. We have been very committed to having the meetings end on time so that our members can budget their time effectively.

We’ve been fortunate to have the support of a lot of firms and companies that have provided space and many nonmembers — including George Socha, Tom Ball and Dan Regard — have been very generous with their time and have spoken at our meetings.

ALSP: How would you compare yourself with other groups in the e-Discovery or litigation field?

Schell: We open up our membership to all women, not just managers. We have attorneys, vendors, government employees, all facets of the e-Discovery market. The WiE membership comprises general counsels, secretaries, chief operating officers and women from all walks of technology.

ALSP: What advice would you offer to male managers?

Childress: Don’t look at women like they can’t contribute on the same level as a man. Women may wear more hats, but even though they’re often very busy they give 150 percent at work. I even dream about work — I sleep with a notebook so I can write down my ideas. Women make great members of a team. They’re more apt to listen to all the discussions and not give their judgment until all due diligence is performed.

Schell: Men and women approach things differently, sort of the Mars and Venus idea. Women are often not as aggressive or as reactive as some men are; they listen more, think about the issue before coming to a conclusion. They have a different outlook and a different approach in how they analyze things. Men and women balance each other out; each adds a different dimension.

One big thing is to treat everyone alike. For example, in one organization the male employees would be taken out for drinks or dinner to celebrate birthdays, but the women were never invited. That is a big de-motivator. Fortunately this type of thing is happening less and less.

ALSP: Do you see any differences in work settings?

Havinga: I work at a law firm that has women in top positions and is very supportive of women.

Childress: Law firms do seem to be more sensitive to minorities. At some vendors, women are not appreciated or put in higher positions. We would like to see that change in our market place.

ALSP: Any advice to a woman interviewing for a new position?

Look for opportunities to grow and learn — to grow to a different level. Ask about educational or certification opportunities.

ALSP: Where do you see Women in e-Discovery in three or five years?

Schell: It’s hard to predict six months much less three or five years. We just want to continue growing, to help more women grow in their careers. We are incorporating as a nonprofit corporation after the first of the year. As we grow, we expect to have more educational content through our WiE committee, Women Learning Technology Together.

ALSP: How did each of you get into the e-Discovery industry?

Childress: My family owned a court reporting agency in Florida, and I had expected to take it over from my father. However, in the late ‘80s there were a lot of changes including new technologies and that didn’t appear to be a good idea. I knew I wanted to stay in a field that was legal-related so I became a paralegal at LexisNexis where I grew and held a variety of positions including legal research specialist and various sales and marketing roles throughout my 10 years with them. I volunteered for every technology committee I could, which kept me involved with the new technology LexisNexis was creating or bringing inhouse. In 2000, I learned about a new practice area called e-Discovery which fascinated me. I moved to Fios Inc. as one of their first legal consultants for electronic discovery. After Fios, I moved to WestLaw for a short stint as the manager of premium accounts, but I missed e-Discovery. Therefore, I co-founded a computer forensics and electronic discovery company in Orlando. After selling our company, I became a consultant with Stratify and am currently director of national accounts at Encore Legal Solutions.

Havinga: During college I came to work at Williams & Connolly in a part-time capacity. After graduation I decided to take a year while contemplating law school and applied to work in the litigation support department where I worked with InMagic, Basis and FolioViews databases. That was 15 years ago and at that time everything was paper-based. We had databases to index or summarize the documents. Then we introduced document imaging to decrease the amount of paper we had to handle. In 1995 or ‘96 I became more specialized on trial presentation and graphics. In 1999–2000 when I became the head of the department we had three people; we’ve now built up to 15 people. We like to keep things inhouse but work with a number of vendors for collection, hosting and consulting.

Schell: When I was in law school I worked for the Office of General Counsel for the Pennsylvania State Police. I became interested in technology and built a database to track defendants — what citations did they have issued to them in which offices. I moved from Harrisburg to Philadelphia and worked at Drinker Biddle and at Duane Morris in litigation support. From there I went on to a position as project manager and later senior consultant for Merrill and then went on to LECG as a consultant. I’m currently a channel manager for Syngence Corp.