This post was originally published on High Performance Counsel and has been republished here with permission.
Jessica Lockett, Director of Legal Solutions at Commonwealth Legal, a division of Ricoh Canada, shares her professional journey and expert insight into the future of our industry for High Performance Counsel's "Baker's Dozen" Interview.
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND HOW YOU CAME TO BE IN (OR A CUSTOMER OF) THE LEGAL BUSINESS SERVICES FIELD?
I am a lawyer by training. Having completed both an undergraduate and graduate degree in Criminology prior to law school, I initially thought I should take the logical step and become a criminal lawyer; I even spent one semester working with a legal aid clinic through my school’s Criminal Law Clinic. However, I took a sharp turn from initial intentions and ended up in working with a large transactional law firm in Toronto, and then practiced for a few years in the wealth management arena as counsel for one of Canada’s largest banks. I made another turn about five years ago, when I entered the world of eDiscovery and legal document review to manage and oversee complex review projects for litigation and regulatory matters for law firms, corporations, and government agencies.
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING RIGHT NOW?
I am the Director, Legal Solutions for Commonwealth Legal, a division of Ricoh Canada, where I am responsible for the strategic leadership and design of our unique, analytics-based Intelligent Review solutions. The main goal of Intelligent Review is to customize, design, and carry out the most effective, defensible, and cost-efficient review possible.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST TRIUMPH/SUCCESS IN THE LEGAL SERVICES FIELD AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM IT?
"So far, my greatest triumph/success in my career has been developing and implementing Intelligent Review – an analytics-based review solution that is truly unique for a legal outsource review provider… and successfully getting clients on board to try something new! When working through legal review projects and workflows in the past, I would often ask myself: “there must be a more efficient way to do this?” – and now I have the opportunity to take some action and bring real efficiency to the review process.
What I have discovered is that if you align yourself with people you can learn from, who are also creative, supportive, and share your vision, so much can be accomplished".
DO YOU THINK THE LEGAL INDUSTRY IS HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, THE WRONG DIRECTION – OR WHICH DIRECTION?
My interpretation of the “right” direction, is one toward resourcefulness, efficiency, client-centeredness, and cost-effectiveness. In my view, the legal services industry (including those in the legal profession) is moving in this direction. Clients are also driving the adoption of technology because they are more sophisticated and knowledgeable, and demand these qualities in their legal service providers.
Read the full interview at highperformancecounsel.com
Jessica will be speaking at Technology in Practice 2017. Register today and don't miss the opportunity to hear first-hand about the future of analytics and Technology-Assisted Review during the following sessions:
- Hands On, Eyes Off: The New Standard for Document Review
- Through the Looking Glass: Today's Analytics Standards at a Glance
