Stellar Women In E-discovery

To build a strong pipeline of leaders, organizations should invest in training and professional development opportunities, according to this month’s Stellar Women guest Kamaka Martin. Not only is it essential to provide these resources, leaders should also have an awareness of who they are as a leader and person so they can understand their strengths, and their areas for growth. In this episode, Mila and I caught up with Kamaka on practical tools for navigating difficult conversations and why it is important to lead with positivity.

For this Stellar Women episode, we spoke to Lesley Chan about the many mentors who she seeks for advice on navigating her career. As senior legal counsel at AMP Capital, Lesley discusses the transition from working in a law firm to going in-house, and how her curious nature makes her well-suited to that type of work environment. Check out this episode to see what Lesley enjoys about the corporate world and why she embraces the spillover between her work and personal life.

After chatting with Maribel Rivera, it is no surprise that she was the winner of our inaugural Inclusion Breakthrough of the Year Award. This Innovation Award celebrates an individual who is a driving force in creating a more equitable industry, organization, and/or local community where everyone feels like they belong. And, Maribel is the epitome of what this award means. In this episode, Maribel openly walked us through her life's events that led her to be the compassionate and driven leader that she is today. It was such a pleasure to learn about the strong network of people she has created for herself, as well as how to be the CEO of our own lives.

For this special episode of Stellar Women, we brought in some all-stars from Relativity’s own solutions team. Winnie Lai, Walita Jendo, Clare Longworth, and Megan Twibell may work across time zones, but these teammates are always up for helping each other out and staying in communication to foster collaboration throughout their department. Mila and I chatted with them about everything from why Winnie loves chicken to the many avenues that professionals can pursue in the e-discovery field—and plenty more in between.

For this episode of Stellar Women, we made our way around the globe—virtually, of course—to catch up with some of the women who make up the Control Risks global task force. It was enlightening to hear their unique perspectives on this profession and how to be successful. Joining us are Joanne Fung from the States, Kimlynne Olivier from South Africa, and Satinder Soni from the UK. Much like our scattered geographies, our conversation touched on an array of topics from the challenges and opportunities of working across time zones to sponsorship versus mentorship, and even what’s like to own an eco-friendly eco-lodge home to hippos.

Stellar Women is excited to sit down with the finalists for this year's Stellar Women Innovation Award. My colleague and Innovation Awards co-host, Johnathan Hill, and I caught up with Lekecia Barclay, Sarah Thompson, and Kenya Dixon on what this award meant to them. We also discussed their spirit for innovation, advice for supporting up-and-coming leaders in this field, and steps organizations can take to help make e-discovery a more gender equitable field. Be sure to tune into the Innovation Awards on Sept. 23 at 9 AM as we unveil the winner for Stellar Women and our other people categories at Relativity Fest this year!

In this second allyship-focused episode, Stellar Women in e-Discovery travels across the pond to London. While there, I had a chance to talk about mentorship and elevating women in e-discovery with Altlaw Owner Terrence Searle and Project Manager Cassie Parker. JC Steinbrunner, the brand director at Relativity, also shared his experience being a leader on our brand team and how he works to ensure his team thrives in their work, and in life. Listen to this episode to see how Altlaw creates a level play field for their employees, and why it is important for the industry to continue efforts toward diversifying.

Stellar Women chatted with Susan Wortzman from MT>3 on her journey—from starting her own business after overcoming the fear of going out on her own to handling a merger with a larger entity. We also talked about gender norms that persist today, and why we have to change the narrative about female leaders in this field.

Cobra Legal CEO Candice Corby has made it her mission to empower women—both within her company and throughout the world. Stellar Women chatted with Candice about the importance of elevating female professionals across many industries, and how her team takes the bias out of hiring top talent. Tune into this episode to learn about how Cobra’s female attorneys are succeeding against a slew of obstacles in Chennai, India, and how the company has thrived with an 80-percent female workforce.

Stellar Women caught up with BSI Group's Inés Rubio on best practices for working securely in a remote setting. Inés shares the challenges, and ultimately the opportunities, that have surfaced since shelter in place came to fruition.

Stellar Women caught up with Stephanie Clerkin, director of litigation support at Koerin Tilley, and the 2019 Stellar Women Innovation Award winner. We chatted about how she is maintaining and growing her network within the legal tech community during this uncertain time.

For this episode of Stellar Women, we mixed things up. I was joined by Relativity superstars from across the globe. Guest co-host JC Steinbrunner and I had the pleasure of chatting with Karimah Campbell, Relativity’s manager of EMEA in customer success. Karimah chats with our customers daily, so she was able to share her insight into the types of conversations and adaptations being made in the international e-discovery space in response to the current COVID-19 crisis. She also gave us a sneak peek into her Relativity Fest London session, “Navigating Through Uncertain Times in e-Discovery.”

For this special edition episode of Stellar Women, we explored the theme of allyship with MT>3. Relativity Brand Director and Stellar Women guest co-host JC Steinbrunner and I chatted with Susan Wortzman, head of MT>3, a division of McCarthy Tetrault, and Michael Lalande, e-discovery counsel at the firm. The pair talked about their mentor-mentee relationship and the importance of finding a mentor who can help you successfully achieve your specific goals.

When life gives you lemons, as the saying goes, make lemonade. Here at Stellar Women, when Aer Lingus gives you a six-hour layover in Dublin, see if Inés Rubio wouldn’t like to sit for a podcast. Based in Dublin but hailing from all over, Inés is the award-winning head of information management and incident response at the consultancy BSI, where she works with clients on data concerns, from security to e-discovery to management to forensics. Brand Director JC Steinbrunner joined IInés and Stellar Women host Mary Rechtoris at Ireland’s oldest pub, the Brazen Head, as the podcast’s first male guest. Over a pint of (what else?) Guinness on a blustery day, we chatted about the lessons of travel, her work with Avocats Sans Frontières, the meaning of data resilience, the nuances of mentoring, and what, exactly, is Gaelic football.

For this episode, Mary and I got to chat to the 2019 Stellar Women Innovation Award winner, Stephanie Clerkin. Stephanie is well known for her vivacious social media presence, as well as her deep industry knowledge and experience. We loved chatting to her and we left feeling inspired by, and excited to see what she will do in 2020. Nominate a stellar woman in the field to be a part of this podcast here: https://resources.relativity.com/women-in-ediscovery-nomination.html?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=cta

We kicked off 2020 and the third season of Stellar Women by mixing things up. We brought together a group of Relativity women who we believe are “stellar.” During the episode, we hit on a variety of topics that are the crux of this podcast, including mentorship and being a successful leader. We even perfected our improv skills. You can expect to see us headlining the upcoming show at Second City. To nominate a stellar woman for the podcast and the 2020 Stellar Women Innovation Award, please click here : https://resources.relativity.com/women-in-ediscovery-nomination.html?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=cta

Stellar Women co-hosts Mila Taylor and Mary Rechtoris interviewed Amanda Fennell, chief security officer at Relativity, following her recent win of the ISE North America's People's Choice award. Together, the trio discussed Amanda's unique career path to her current role, what makes for a successful remote employee and people leader, and how bringing your whole self to the work is the most valuable asset you can offer your team.

At Relativity Fest 2019, Relativity Women of the Workplace and Women in e-Discovery sponsored a luncheon. The event included a panel comprised of this year's Stellar Women finalists: Stephanie Clerkin, Director of Litigation Support, Korein Tillery; Debora Motya-Jones, VP of Service Delivery, Lighthouse; and Lisa Waldin, Project Manager, Ryley Carlock & Applewhite. Joy Murao, the 2018 Stellar Women Innovation Award winner, moderated the panel. Stellar Women co-hosts Mary Rechtoris and Mila Taylor attended the event. In this month's mini-episode, they share their impressions of the finalists and their favorite takeaways from the panel. For more coverage of the event, visit The Relativity Blog.

Stellar Women co-hosts Mila Taylor and Mary Rechtoris had the opportunity to interview Kelly Friedman, our first-ever guest from Canada, for the podcast this month. As the national counsel of discovery services at BLG, Kelly has learned a tremendous amount about being an effective manager, taking one day at a time, and successfully juggling the balancing act of wearing many hats. So, with her expert input, our latest Stellar Women episode dives into the intricacies of what it takes to be a successful manager—and includes some tips for first-time Toronto travelers.

Every Stellar Women in e-Discovery nomination evokes a sense of inspiration. Many have nominated the mentors, colleagues, and industry friends who have made an impact on the careers of others. This episode of Stellar Women is unique in that our guest was nominated by her daughter, Desiree. When Mary Rechtoris met Desiree at the Women in e-Discovery conference, she told her about our podcast and its goal to celebrate female leaders in legal tech. She immediately nominated her mother, Khrys McKinney, to be a podcast guest. Soon after, our co-hosts met Khrys in Chicago and discussed how companies can retain top talent and create a more inclusive work environment, while also sharing some laughs about Mary's lack of technological proficiency and a potential business idea for the next big thing.