Yearly Archives: 2017

5 Simply Awesome Ways to End the Year on a High Note

Here it is. We’ve reached the end of another year. But before we jump straight into 2018, here are just a few easy ways to put a bow on 2017.

Take stock of the year. Take some time to reflect on what went well and what can be improved for the coming year. Focus on lessons learned and how to use your newfound knowledge going forward. This exercise works great in both personal and professional applications. Celebrate accomplishments and make action plans to truly rock 2018.

Get organized. Finish your list of to-dos for 2017 and start planning for 2018. Buy that new planner and get it set up and ready to go for January. Another great tip- check your recurring meetings and make sure rooms are booked and any necessary changes are made early for a hassle free 2018. In your personal life, start preparing for the tax filing deadline. You’ll head into January strong.

Purge. Spending some time to toss and shred unneeded documents clears away clutter and potentially increases the security of sensitive documents. Still have that new hire training manual from 2010? Throw it out! Take a weekend and apply the same process at home. Show that packed linen closet who’s boss. A clutter free environment breeds creativity.

Start a new habit. So often New Year’s resolutions focus on negative traits we want to abolish. Why not instead focus on creating a new positive routine? Instead of a weight loss goal, start a walking group with coworkers. Want to watch less TV? Implement family game night. Need to combat negative current events? Donate your time to a charity. These things can be started right now. Why wait for January when you can do something good today?

Pay it forward. Don’t keep all these feel-good vibes to yourself. Share these tips with coworkers, friends, and family. Not only will you start off on a productive foot, you’ll be helping everyone in your circle kick off the new year right. What could be better than that?

Happy New Year from all of us at Ipro Tech!

Finalists Announced – 2018 SWAE Leadership Award

PHOENIX, AZ (December 14, 2017) – The Southwest Alliance for Excellence (SWAE) is proud to announce the 3 finalists for the 2018 Leadership Award: Laura Fucci, City of Henderson, NV, Amanda Goodson, Raytheon, Tucson, AZ and Kimothy Taylor, Ipro Tech, LLC, Tempe, AZ.

The finalists were selected by a committee of individuals with a high level of experience in organizational excellence and understanding of the SWAE core values. The SWAE Leadership Award recognizes an individual who exemplifies outstanding leadership in the pursuit of performance excellence and has furthered performance improvement beyond the boundaries of their organization.

Laura Fucci has worked in the City of Henderson, NV since 2012 and serves as the city’s Chief Information Officer. Since her first day on the job, Laura has been an active proponent of transparency in government. She’s supported multiple projects designed to provide increased transparency to city employees, citizens and other stakeholders, such as the Open Data project, which facilitated the publishing of high-value city data sets for internal and public consumption. Laura is strongly committed to excellence and continuous improvement. For several years, Laura has opened the IT department up to examination by participating in Gartner’s IT organization benchmarking program. This results in data she analyses to help turn improvement opportunities into strengths. For example, utilizing this data, she was able to garner executive support for additional funding for the cybersecurity program over a 10-year horizon. She has elevated security to IT’s #1 priority. She has formally tied security to performance evaluations for IT management in pursuit of the strategic security objectives she has set. At the executive level, Laura proactively provides leadership and ensures IT remains aligned with the city’s mission, vision, and values. Laura also collaborates with other local and state government agencies. For example, she helped pave the way for Microsoft solutions compliance with FBI Criminal Justice Information Services for multiple agencies in Nevada. Laura is the founder of the local chapter of Women in Technology, Inc. and is a member and past president of the Metropolitan Information Exchange through which she shares insights and expertise with other CIOs around the country. She is involved in local ITWorks training programs and sits on both the Nevada Digital Government Summit and the UNLV School of Computer Science Advisory Boards.

Amanda Goodson is the Senior Manager, Program Management Excellence, Accelerating Talent Office for Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ. Amanda currently serves as the Senior Manager for Project and Program Leadership Development and is responsible to lead and support the growth of program leadership for emerging business. Amanda has a commitment to excellence and making a difference in the lives of people and industry in all areas of involvement, and a hallmark of her leadership is evidenced by her desire for coaching others and directing them in areas of self-improvement. She leads in-boarding efforts to develop internal employees in becoming program leaders that include the development of business acumen, business financials, emotional intelligence, situational leadership and program management strategies. Amanda is committed to diversity and has a passion to attract, place and retain top talent within Raytheon which is significant to global growth and stakeholder vision. Prior to her fourteen years with Raytheon, Amanda served as the Director of the Safety and Mission Assurance Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center at NASA. She was accountable to NASA Headquarters as an independent voice and served as the Alternate Dispute Resolution Executive for the Marshall Space Flight Center’s employees and leaders. Amanda currently serves as the Vice Chair for (AMIE), Advancing Minorities Interest in Engineering. She also participates with (HBCU), Historically Black Colleges and Universities engineering schools, of which she is a product of in Alabama. Amanda is highly involved in community service as a senior leader in her church and has led efforts that have impacted many lives within the community. Amanda has hosted and sponsored workshops for youth and women to learn leadership skills and how to live clean and productive lives.

Kimothy Taylor is CEO & President of Ipro Tech, LLC in Tempe, AZ. He is an advocate, champion, and voice for innovation within the eDiscovery space. Kim has maximized the value of technology in support of the legal profession through his unique approach to eDiscovery which provides the legal community with viable options to reduce their total legal technology spend. He co-founded a national litigation support company, Lex Solutio in 1995 which he sold to Encore in 2003 with revenue over $23M. He joined Encore and helped develop the company into one of the top providers of electronic discovery resulting in the sale of the business for $100M. Overall, he has created over $230M of owner equity in the eDiscovery industry. After 23 years in litigation services, Kim entered the software side as the CEO of Ipro Tech. He played an instrumental part in the creation of the industry’s first, fully automated workflow platform utilizing a patent-pending data streaming technology, bringing his vision of simple, affordable and automated eDiscovery to fruition. Kim and Ipro invest in our legal community by giving time and money to support industry associations, donating software to educational entities, mentoring students from local colleges and hosting industry-related events.

The recipient of the 2018 SWAE Leadership Award will be announced at the annual SWAE Performance Excellence Program Award Banquet on February 6, 2018, at the Dragon Ridge Country Club in Henderson, NV. For more information visit www.swae.org.

Established in 1990, The Southwest Alliance for Excellence is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that advances improvement and excellence in organizations, communities and individuals throughout Arizona, Nevada, and Utah by using the Baldrige Framework.

Ipro Announces the Return of The Sedona Conference Tracks for 2018 Innovations Event

the Sedona conference

Tempe, Ariz.- Ipro Tech, LLC, a worldwide leader in eDiscovery solutions, announced today that The Sedona Conference will once again be offering several new learning sessions at its signature Ipro Innovations 2018 Conference, scheduled for April 30 through May 2 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Sedona Conference sessions will be consistent with its mission to drive the reasoned and just advancement of law and policy by stimulating ongoing dialogue amongst leaders of the bench and bar to achieve consensus on tipping point issues. Jerami Kemnitz, Chair of the eDiscovery Strategy & Advocacy group at Fredrikson and Byron will be leading the panel sessions. “The eDiscovery landscape is constantly changing. We are looking forward to sparking dialogue on recent case law and rule changes, updates on international data privacy regulations and practical guidance for handling investigations.”

The Sedona Conference sessions, for which Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) accreditation will be applied, are among over 50 other informative breakouts that cover eDiscovery best practices and getting maximum use of Ipro technology. Ipro Innovations 2018 is free to attend and held at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, which also offers visitors two golf courses, a spa, several live entertainment venues and a casino.

About IPRO TECH, LLC

Founded in 1989, Ipro is a global leader in the development of advanced eDiscovery software solutions, and now includes trial preparation and presentation tools. Ipro’s ADD Automated Digital Discovery workflow platform helps users organize, review, process and produce litigation data of vast sizes and complexity, assisting customers to be more efficient and cost-effective than ever before. To learn more or to schedule a demonstration of the ADD software, visit iprotech.com.

Should Small Firms Adopt eDiscovery?

To a small law firm, perhaps one of the most anxiety-inducing aspects of eDiscovery is the uncertainty. There is a starting point and an endpoint, but the in-between can be a walk through a minefield. The most significant question of all can be, “Can we do our eDiscovery in-house?”

To help you safely navigate eDiscovery, let’s look at the most common pitfalls you’re likely to encounter and how to get past them.

You Don’t Have a Lit-Support Staff

When people think about discovery, it’s usually teams of attorneys burning the midnight oil, sifting through data to find that smoking gun. It can take an entire supporting staff to manage the technology that gets ESI in front of reviewers. These are the folks whose responsibilities include:

  • Loading data into review systems
  • Keeping the pipeline moving by batching data
  • Handling technical issues that might arise

However, the cost of maintaining or outsourcing work quickly becomes prohibitive, limiting the size of cases you can manage. Fortunately, as eDiscovery has become more common, related technology is making leaps and bounds.

For example, Ipro Tech’s Automated Digital Discovery platform lets organizations of any size implement a workflow where discovery data is automatically copied, processed, filtered and loaded with minimal human interaction. Systems like these can quickly pay for themselves; time and staffing requirements are reduced while more extensive and lucrative cases become feasible.

Your Current Solutions Can’t Scale to Your Projects

The phone rings. It’s the case of a lifetime. You eagerly agree. But fast forward a few months; megabytes become terabytes, and your eDiscovery platform is redlining trying to keep up.

It’s critical to remain aware of any thresholds your technology might have, and plan accordingly. If you’re expecting to take on bulkier cases, choose an eDiscovery platform for the future. Knowing the options for swappable and burstable licensing is a must before committing to a solution. Does the provider offer both; In the Cloud or Behind the Firewall options?

Make sure you find a veteran provider, like Ipro Tech, who offers live support, training and consulting to ensure clients are never stuck while deadlines loom. Client-focused providers often have service teams, like Ipro’s Professional Services, which are deployed to provide clients with any necessary support from implementation to project management.

Technology & Millennials: Why Your Firm Needs Both

Within the last few years, technology has gradually integrated into all aspects of the legal industry, which means it no longer relates solely to internal functions such as time and billing records. Technology is an essential part of the legal supply chain as it is used to streamline services, reduce costs, and make services accessible to smaller companies. We see technology used in every facet of legal practice, from marketing and client relations to discovery and trial presentation.

So what does this mean for litigators? They must be prepared to use available technology to make their practices more efficient and serve their clients’ needs. Otherwise, litigators risk falling behind in today’s fast-moving legal market.

But what we have seen over and over again are lawyers who don’t embrace new technology. Many live by the mantra, “Don’t fix it if it isn’t broken.” However, as these litigators hesitate to put down their padfolio in exchange for a laptop, they are limiting their effectiveness with a case.

But don’t dive headfirst into an intense study of all the possible technological solutions available. You actually don’t need to worry about understanding the ins and outs of all legal technology. Just hire some millennials.

We have been told countless times that millennials and technology go together like bread and butter. But why are young people and tech so inseparable? Millennials may have fewer walks around the block than you, but those walks have been immersed with technology. They saw the creation of AOL and the advancement of the iPhone; using technology, whether unfamiliar or well-known, comes naturally. Even their time in law school was more technology-infused compared to that of prior generations. The key to success in any industry is to allow millennials to leverage their innate technological abilities.

The best place to start is being willing to grasp new technical concepts; then quickly and efficiently apply the latest technology to the practice of law. Firms of all sizes should rely on their young millennial lawyers to insert technology into their practices wherever possible to avoid falling behind. Strive to provide opportunities for young millennial lawyers to take leadership roles on firm committees designed to bring technological advances to the business. Giving them a voice concerning technology will allow your firm the company to embrace technology for the better. Additionally, it will provide your young lawyers with a chance to take a leadership role in the firm early on in their career, giving them a vested interest in the growth and success of the company.

Working with millennials and technology can be unfamiliar and require some adjustments, but it will make all the difference for your firm, starting now.

Ipro Announces Platinum ADD Partnership with doeLEGAL

TEMPE, Arizona – Ipro Tech, LLC, a worldwide leader in eDiscovery solutions, announced today its Platinum ADD Partnership with doeLEGAL, a Delaware-based company that was established 46 years ago and has been serving the litigation and eDiscovery community for 19 years. Ipro and doeLEGAL have enjoyed 12 years of business together, and both companies see this partnership as a positive next step.

President and CEO Tom Russo explained, “Our goal for this new partnership is to develop a strong working relationship with Ipro to ensure we build the best tools for our clients’ needs. By working collaboratively with Ipro, we can stay ahead of the rapid changes that affect our industry. We see our eDiscovery technology providers as trusted partners who help us stay on the cutting edge of advanced legal technology.”

When asked about their decision to use Ipro products, Russo stated, “Offering the industry’s best tools to our global client base is part of our continuing commitment to provide superior value at every stage of the EDRM lifecycle. Ipro is a recognized leader in providing users with the powerful tools they need to accurately and effectively manage their eDiscovery. Our business models of putting clients’ success first make our companies a great fit.”

The Ipro Partner Program is designed to help companies offer the products and solutions that customers want, gain differentiation in provided services, build credibility in the industry, and grow the business. Kim Taylor, CEO/President of Ipro Tech, claimed, “doeLEGAL is a trusted partner who we have enjoyed working with over the years. They are committed to offering the very best to their clients, and we look forward to many more years of our combined service in the eDiscovery industry.”

In addition to being a Platinum ADD Partner, doeLEGAL leverages a full team of certified Ipro software experts to assist their customers in the eDiscovery process. Among their employees are three ADD Sales Experts, one eCapture Administrator, two ADD Administrators, one ADD Trainer, two Eclipse Administrators, and an Eclipse Sales Expert.

For more information about becoming an Ipro Partner, email [email protected] or visit the Partner Program page. To learn more about ADD certifications, visit the Training page.

 

ABOUT IPRO TECH, LLC

Founded in 1989, Ipro is a global leader in the development of advanced software solutions used by legal professionals to streamline the discovery process. Ipro’s worldwide network of corporations, law firms, government agencies, and legal service providers rely on Ipro’s Enterprise platform to organize, review, process, and produce litigation data of vast sizes and complexity levels more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before. For more information on Ipro, visit www.iprotech.com.

 

ABOUT doeLEGAL

Based in Delaware, doeLEGAL provides leading-edge collaborative legal innovations to legal departments and law firms for both eDiscovery & Enterprise Legal Management. Dedicated to earning clients’ business every day, they focus on client satisfaction, efficiency, and cost control.  Their corporate culture is shaped by a 5-Tenet Service Model including the predictable cost of ownership of distinctly superior technology & software. doeLEGAL’s eDiscovery and Data Hosting services handle litigations of any size and complexity while ensuring full security, control, and data management. For more information on doeLEGAL, visit www.doelegal.com.

How to Have a Work/Life Balance in a 24/7 Working World

We hear it all the time:

“I can’t have lunch; I’m slammed.”

“I would, but I’m wrapped around the axle.”

“I can’t train the new guy; I’m too busy.”

“I can’t make the game because I have a deadline.”

And the list of excuses about work goes on and on.

Let’s face it, eDiscovery is hard. We all know the challenges of working within and servicing the litigation profession and yet, we are still here. Times are tough, data is growing, and finding the people we need on our staff is like searching for a pink unicorn.

I have learned the hard way just how demanding our industry can be. I put in the long hours, skipped time with family, worked through every vacation and just about reached my breaking point. Fortunately, I learned a few things along the way that had I known 15 years ago, my life would have been much more in balance. As a leader, I try to leverage my experience to help my team and colleagues work smarter, not harder.

My secret formula? Process + Workflow + Technology + People = Balance

First, inefficient processes are the broken foundation that creates chaos in a business such as ours. Starts and stops, single-points of failure, and relying on that one person who remembers everything is a recipe for disaster. Evaluate the processes, find the waste, eliminate unnecessary steps, and create a system that works for you. Document and distribute processes and procedures to all staff, and make sure they understand those methods. Accountability will become much easier.

You have documented processes, but what is the workflow? How many people are touching, editing, and approving a given project? Where are all the places that the project sits and waits? Automate as much as possible to ensure that the ball keeps moving even when key staff are unavailable or working on other projects. Be sure to build in reliable tracking mechanisms throughout the process to ensure that all necessary information is available to everyone.

When it comes to tracking and workflow, it is important to leverage technology solutions to keep everyone in the loop and make information available universally. Transparency in projects creates a better and stronger working environment and reduces emails and phone calls trying to figure out what is going on. A centralized system is critical to reliable processes and smart workflow.

Finally, empower the people on your team to make appropriate decisions rather than create a bottleneck by making everything go through you. Allow your employees or teammates to take full responsibility for their job and be available to help when necessary. Also, cross-train other staff or junior members of the team to create a dependable bench. Scalability is challenging to do when only a couple of people have the skills and understanding to do a specific task. Be prepared by having a diverse team that can cover for each other in the event of vacations, illness, and turnover.

Is every day going to be a perfect balance of productivity and time at home? Probably not. But by creating an environment with the right technology, efficient processes, fluid workflows, and dependable people, you’ll be capable of accomplishing so much more while still enjoying the great little moments that life will bring you.

Ipro Announces Expanding Partnership with ProFile Discovery

TEMPE, Arizona – Ipro Tech, LLC, a worldwide leader in eDiscovery solutions, announced today the expansion of its ADD Partnership with ProFile Discovery, an Ohio-based company that has been committed to solving client challenges for over 15 years. The combined commitment of these two companies to helping their customers has naturally led to a strong business relationship that started in 2006.

Originally known as Profile Imaging, this company began as a document scanning and copy shop. When Andrew Keck, CTO, joined the team, he chose to launch the eDiscovery services for the company by purchasing and using Ipro’s eCapture software. Electronic Discovery became the dominating service for this business, resulting in the ProFile Discovery we know today.

Since that initial purchase of one eCapture license, ProFile grew from three workers to five, then ten, and so on, which eliminated the need to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars upfront. Now, they also enjoy the benefits of the Ipro’s Eclipse and ADD platform. Linda Wong, Director of ESI at ProFile Discovery, explained, “Ipro ADD has greatly reduced the time spent discovering, processing, and loading [data] into Eclipse, allowing for a quicker turn around while increasing productivity.”

However, the growth is far from over for ProFile Discovery. Andrew Keck expressed his excitement about ADD and using the Early Case Assessment feature to put together Intel reports on data. The company has goals to use their Ipro Partnership to grow business and continue to move data to the security of the Cloud.

The Ipro Partner Program is designed to help companies offer the products and solutions desired by customers, gain differentiation in provided services, build credibility in the industry, and grow the business. Kim Taylor, CEO/President of Ipro Tech, stated, “We have enjoyed working with ProFile throughout the years, but our momentum as a team hasn’t stopped. Together, we will continue to bring solutions the eDiscovery industry has never seen before.”

For more information about becoming an Ipro Partner, email [email protected] or visit their Partner Program page

ABOUT IPRO TECH, LLC

Founded in 1989, Ipro is a global leader in the development of advanced software solutions used by legal professionals to streamline the discovery process. Ipro’s worldwide network of corporations, law firms, government agencies, and legal service providers rely on Ipro’s Enterprise platform to organize, review, process, and produce litigation data of vast sizes and complexity levels more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before. For more information on Ipro, visit www.iprotech.com

ABOUT PROFILE DISCOVERY

Founded in 2001 and based in Columbus, Ohio, ProFile Discovery leverages a team of seasoned professionals to provide effective solutions throughout the life cycle of digital evidence. ProFile offers a variety of services, including data hosting, forensic services and project management. This company understands the entire EDRM model, and its employees work hard to assist and advise customers throughout the process. For more information on ProFile Discovery, visit www.profilediscovery.com

Ipro Announces Platinum ADD Partnership with Avalon

TEMPE, Arizona – Ipro Tech, LLC, a worldwide leader in eDiscovery solutions, announced today its Platinum ADD Partnership with Avalon, a New York-based company that has been committed to solving client challenges since May 2000. The combined commitment of these two companies to helping their customers has naturally led to a partnership.

Vice President, Enterprise Sales, Seth Wiersma explained, “More and more of our clients are looking for other hosting and review options that provide alternative workflows and different pricing options that best suit the needs of their particular case. Ipro’s continued development in their product and a like-minded approach to creative and flexible solutions for their customers very much appealed to us.”

When asked about their decision to use Ipro’s ADD platform, Wiersma stated, “Our primary goal was to position Avalon with options to bring to our customers. No single platform can suit the needs of every matter, and no single platform will appeal to every user. The addition of Ipro enables us to appeal to a wider customer audience with a broader solution set.”

The Ipro Partner Program is designed to help companies offer the products and solutions that customers want, gain differentiation in provided services, build credibility in the industry, and grow the business. Kim Taylor, CEO/President of Ipro Tech, claimed, “Avalon is an exceptional company, and we have enjoyed working with them. We look forward to the future as our teams work together to change the legal tech industry.”

In addition to being a Platinum ADD Partner, Avalon has successfully achieved the highest level of ADD certifications to be able to administer and train on the full ADD solution. Among their employees are three ADD Sales Experts, two ADD Administrators, and an ADD Trainer.

For more information about becoming an Ipro Partner, email [email protected] or visit their Partner Program page. To learn more about ADD certifications, visit the Training page.

 

ABOUT IPRO TECH, LLC

Founded in 1989, Ipro is a global leader in the development of advanced software solutions used by legal professionals to streamline the discovery process. Ipro’s worldwide network of corporations, law firms, government agencies, and legal service providers rely on Ipro’s Enterprise platform to organize, review, process, and produce litigation data of vast sizes and complexity levels more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before. For more information on Ipro, visit www.iprotech.com.

 

ABOUT AVALON

Founded in 2000 and based in Syracuse, New York, Avalon is a national leader in document services and has experienced steady growth since its creation. Avalon provides eDiscovery, digital forensics, cyber security, managed eDiscovery, and traditional litigation support services to law firms and corporations across the United States. At its core, Avalon is a problem solver. They work hard to find solutions to clients’ challenges and strive to prove that no one can out-service their team. For more information on Avalon, visit www.teamavalon.com.

The Anatomy of Troubleshooting

While technology can be beneficial and efficient, sometimes things just don’t work (as we have all experienced). And, it always seems to stop working at the worst possible moment. You try everything you can to fix the issue, but with the stress of preparing a case and trying to stick to a strict timeline, it’s easy to become frustrated. You finally decide to call technical support with the hope that someone can help you out.

When any customer or client calls in for help, we want to make sure they have the best experience possible.

There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes for our support team while we are on the phone with you; we review past calls, research your company and software, and try to diagnose your current issue. Understanding the process can help your experience go more smoothly.

With all support calls, we use the “Dig DEEP” methodology, which stands for Data, End User, Environment, and Program. By identifying the symptoms of your problem and linking it to one of these four categories, we can fully solve the issue, instead of giving you a temporary fix.

When a customer calls in, we listen first. We may ask follow-up questions to get a better understanding of the issue, such as:

  • Are the results consistent?
  • Does this happen to other users or computers?
  • Does it happen with particular file types?

Because this industry involves time-sensitive projects with very short deadlines, we will ask about the level of severity for the issue:

  • Is there a time constraint we are working against?
  • Is this causing a work stoppage and preventing further work and deliverables?

At this point during the call, we categorize the issue with DEEP. Typically, problems that are Data or End User related can be solved rather quickly, while issues with Environment and/or Program are more challenging to fix. When we classify a problem as Data or End User, we test the issue by repeating the steps taken by the user or checking our dataset with the software.

If the issue hasn’t been solved at this point, we then check the Environment. Based on the information we gather, we come up with a possible explanation for what may be the cause. Once we know the nature of the problem, we apply a possible ‘fix’ to see if the issue is solved, and if it is, we then create a plan of action that best fits the time constraint and needs of the customer.

We would love for technology to always work correctly, but we also know not everything functions perfectly all the time. So we are here, ready to help you get back on track with your litigation process as quickly as possible.