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Meet the Team: Dennis Roberts, Chief Operating Officer – From Law Firm to Service Provider

Everest Discovery on June 27, 2022

Meet the Team: 

Dennis Roberts, Chief Operating Officer – From Law Firm to Service Provider

As chief operating officer and co-owner of Everest Discovery, Dennis Roberts is instrumental in driving growth for the company at a time when the legal tech industry is rapidly changing and evolving. With his background and areas of expertise, Roberts is the perfect person for this role.

The Law Firm World

Roberts understands clients’ needs better than anyone as he spent the first couple decades of his career in law firms. He began his career as a paralegal and litigation support analyst at Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen where he eventually helped set up the electronic discovery department. He then moved on to Reed Smith where he served as a senior litigation technology analyst for more than a decade. However, he realized that he wanted to be more involved in making decisions that would affect clients. He wanted to have more say in efficiencies, cost savings and responsiveness. He knew moving to a vendor was what he needed if this was the role he wanted for his future.

Unmatched Technology and Service

Because Roberts came to Everest directly from the law firm environment, he understands firsthand the importance of making sure Everest has not only the best technology offerings, but also unmatched customer service for its clients. After all, he was the client for many years.

“Being at Everest means I can ensure we offer flexibility for our customers and make quicker decisions when it comes to delivering what they need. The outside-the-box thinking we have at Everest wasn’t something that worked in the law firm environment,” states Roberts.

At Everest, Roberts works with each client to determine the best technology solution for its specific needs and then helps to implement that solution. “We can provide consultation to our clients to make eDiscovery more efficient and cost-effective,” adds Roberts.

Security

Cybersecurity is an ongoing concern for all organizations, and law firms are not immune. When the company was first purchased by Roberts and Pellegrino, they immediately started working with other executives to get Everest ISO certified to make sure they are doing everything they can to protect the vast amounts of sensitive and confidential client information they work with. An ISO certification signifies a seriousness about security and that the company is dedicated to creating the safest environment for the data that goes through Everest for clients.

The Importance of Teamwork

Roberts understands the importance of having someone on the team that knows the case, knows the client and is a main point of contact for the client. That is why the company makes sure project managers are assigned to specific cases. In addition, the team holds regular scrum meetings – a 15-minute gathering of the operations team where you ask just three questions:

  • What did you do yesterday?
  • What are you doing today?
  • What obstacles are in your way?

This gives the team the opportunity to work together to ensure clients have the best process in place for their case. While each case has a dedicated project manager, it’s nice to know what everyone is working on, who can assist each other and that there is support to get out-of-the-box solutions when needed. Roberts knows the importance of having synergy between operations and sales and making sure there is constant communication taking place.

These meetings allow for quick discussion and make everyone aware of what else is happening. That way, if someone is out of the office, others can step in if needed at any point in time.

Roberts makes sure that the company partners with the best-of-breed companies and has trusted partnerships in place. “We are all at Everest because we want the best for our clients,” adds Roberts. “This is a team I am proud of. We have built a great culture and work environment.”

The 6 Steps Law Firms Need to Take to Become ISO Certified

Everest Discovery on May 10, 2022

The 6 Steps Law Firms Need to Take to Become ISO Certified

By Mihir Mistry and Sue Pellegrino

In a world where cybersecurity is a critical, ongoing concern, law firms need to be doing everything they can to protect the vast amounts of sensitive and confidential information they possess. We’ve already seen major law firms fall victim to the devastating security breaches at the hands of sophisticated hackers.

Now is the time for law firms to show their commitment to keeping their client data secure. The International Organization for Standardization currently develops and publishes the most highly respected international security standards and offers certification for law firms that want to demonstrate their commitment to security. ISO certification is a time-intensive process, but one that is worth it for the peace of mind and competitive advantage it offers.

What Is ISO Certification for Law Firms?

An ISO certification is a signal to your clients and others in the industry that you’re serious about security and dedicated to creating the safest environment for the data you handle. The relevant certification standard for law firms is ISO 27001, pertaining to Information security management.

As cybersecurity concerns continue to increase, more and more of your clients will be looking at ISO certification as a key measure in evaluating outside counsel hiring decisions. Therefore, ISO certification is not just a valuable component of security, it’s also increasingly a requirement for maintaining a competitive advantage in a tight legal market.

The Steps to ISO Certification

Obtaining your ISO certification is a process that typically takes nine months to a year. In that time, Zaviant will guide you through the following six steps to ensure that the process goes smoothly.

Step 1: Discover

The first step is to develop your organizational content. This starts with a current state analysis, where you assess everything in your security environment – including your people, process and technology. The goal is to get a realistic picture of how secure you are now and where you can stand to make improvements.

Step 2: Plan

After you know where you stand, you need to establish a clear plan for where you need to get in order to be ready for certification. This includes defining the scope of your activities and creating a Statement of Applicability that makes clear how you’ll treat any risks you’ve perceived in your security, including the processes, systems and stakeholders involved. It’s critical to have your leadership on board if your plan is to succeed.

Step 3: Do

A few months of your certification process will involve implementing the measures and procedures necessary to meet ISO 27001 standards. This includes developing a clear security manual for your firm, training your workforce on that manual and reviewing their activities. You’ll also be implementing a vulnerability and penetration testing program designed to internally spot and exploit any security vulnerabilities that still exist, which mimics formal vulnerability and penetration testing that will be later performed as part of the ISO 27001 certification process.

Step 4: Check

After you’ve implemented and reviewed your new security measures, it’s time to truly put them to the test. ISO 27001 is designed to certify that your firm’s information security management system is effective for your firm’s purposes and potential risks. Therefore, you need to conduct an official ISMS review to make sure your objectives remain appropriate and that you’re meeting them. We conduct this review by monitoring and analyzing key KPIs in a sophisticated metrics dashboard.

Step 5: Act

The final step before you turn things over to an external auditor is to conduct a strict internal audit to confirm that you’re properly following your new policies and procedures and that you have an organizationwide understanding of the ramifications for failing to do so. If anything fails your audit, now is the time to take care of any leftover remediation steps.

Step 6: Certify

The last step is to undergo an official audit led by an external auditor. The Stage 1 Audit reviews your management system documentation, and auditors will evaluate your security conditions, KPIs, processes, procedures and more. If you pass Stage 1, the Stage 2 Audit evaluates whether your processes are in compliance with your management systems. If errors are found, you’ll have a chance to correct them. Once you successfully pass the Stage 2 Audit, you’ll obtain ISO certification.

Showing a serious commitment to security, and specifically obtaining ISO certification, is critical to remaining competitive in today’s legal market.

Check out an article from the May 2022 issue of Cybersecurity Law & Strategy on this topic – The Importance of ISO Certification for Law Firms.

About the Authors:

Mihir Mistry is the vice president of security and operations at Zaviant Consulting, a leader in cybersecurity, data privacy and compliance consulting.

Sue Pellegrino is the owner, president and CFO of Everest Discovery, a leading national litigation support and eDiscovery provider.

Why Paper Discovery Is Still Critical in Today’s Digital Legal Industry

Everest Discovery on May 4, 2022

Why Paper Discovery Is Still  Critical in Today’s Digital Legal Industry

Technology has irrevocably ingrained itself in the world of discovery. If you’re like most litigants, you probably engage in more eDiscovery than paper discovery these days.

The reality, though, is that paper isn’t going away anytime soon, if ever. That means you need a discovery partner that has full capabilities to handle both electronic and paper files under one roof. This way, you can be confident that you’re always meeting your discovery obligations in the most cost-effective, efficient and secure way possible.

The Progression from Paper to eDiscovery

From our personal lives to our work lives, there’s no question that we’ve seen paper gradually give way to electronic documents, email, payment apps and other technologies. The same is true of discovery. While eDiscovery was once a novel new area in litigation, today it’s the norm.

As a result of this shrinking amount of paper, many discovery vendors have stopped handling paper altogether, choosing instead to focus solely on eDiscovery. The problem with this approach, though, is that the world isn’t as “paperless” as many people like to think.

Paper is still prevalent in the business world, even if it might be at smaller volumes than it once was. You’d be hard-pressed to find a case today that doesn’t involve some paper discovery files. Whether it’s because even the most technologically advanced companies still have file cabinets on-site for certain kinds of documents, some people still just prefer to work on paper, current litigations can involve older matters when paper was the norm or any number of other reasons, paper is still critical. In all these instances, these paper files need to be scanned in and hosted on an eDiscovery platform to fully meet your discovery obligations.

The Realities of Paper Discovery Today

So what happens when an eDiscovery-only company must deal with paper? There’s only one solution: outsourcing.

No matter how efficient an eDiscovery vendor is, if it no longer has the scanning, copying and other capabilities necessary to handle paper discovery, it will need to work with another vendor – like Everest – that does.

Everest Discovery: An eDiscovery Company with Paper Roots

At Everest Discovery, our core services today revolve around technology and litigation support, including eDiscovery, but our roots are in paper discovery. Because of this, we are able to offer both options to our clients and have the expertise and knowledge for insight and guidance on what’s best for specific cases.

Everest Discovery began handling paper discovery at the company’s inception in 2005, and we didn’t stop our paper offering when others did. As a result, we serve as a partner to many of the largest eDiscovery vendors which no longer have these capabilities in-house. We take care of collecting the paper files, scanning them (whether in our facilities or on-site), returning the files and then delivering the new electronic versions to be hosted in an eDiscovery platform of the clients choosing.

Management Roots Run Deep in Paper

In 2018, Tom Pellegrino joined Everest as CEO, seeking to guide the company with his perspectives on management, sales and business development in the litigation support world. He brought with him over 30 years of litigation support experience across many facets of the legal industry.

Prior to joining Everest, Tom was co-owner of Copy Secure from 2001 to 2015 which established itself as a leading paper discovery vendor in the Philadelphia region and grew very quickly in an incredibly competitive industry. In 2015, Copy Secure had become so successful that it attracted the attention of a prominent global eDiscovery company, leading to an acquisition later that year. Tom stayed on after the acquisition as general manager and director of business development and headed up the paper discovery division for the entire region.

His expertise, along with others at Everest, has made the company thrive in all aspects of discovery.

Discovery All Under One Roof

In addition, we offer several other traditional, paper-based services, including oversize printing and preparing trial binders. Because we understand that paper in the legal industry isn’t fully going away anytime soon, we’re committed to continuing to handle paper – just as we did when we opened our doors.

Everest Discovery continues to handle both paper and electronic discovery under one roof. With something as important as meeting discovery obligations on the line, you want the most efficient, secure and streamlined approach. Everest understands your critical discovery needs and is truly a one-stop discovery shop.

Contact us today to learn more about how Everest Discovery can help with all your discovery and litigation support needs.

As Seen in Cybersecurity Law & Strategy…

Everest Discovery on May 2, 2022

An article by Sue Pellegrino, The Importance of ISO Certification for Law Firms, was published in the May 2022 issue of Cybersecurity Law & Strategy. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, check it out! Read below for the full article:

___________________________________________

The Importance of ISO Certification for Law Firms

Cybersecurity is one of the most critical issues in the business world today. Security breaches continue to grab headlines, and law firms have not been spared from the relentless efforts of hackers. Due to the massive amounts of sensitive and confidential data that law firms have in their possession, it is important to have the right security measures in place to thwart such breaches and remain successful in today’s busy, data-driven legal market.

The International Organization for Standardization develops and publishes widely recognized global security standards and offers security certification for businesses in nearly all sectors, including the law. ISO certification is not just a critical way to ensure your firm’s security; it’s increasingly important for any firm that wants to maintain a competitive advantage in today’s legal market.

What ISO Certification Means and How to Obtain It

Deciding to get your ISO certification is a move that demonstrates an undeniable commitment to security. It shows your clients and others in the industry that you’re serious about making sure you have the most secure atmosphere for the data you handle. It’s also a sign that you’re willing to take the necessary measures to have robust systems and security policies and procedures in place and also that you’ve implemented companywide training on them.

Getting certified is a time-intensive process – typically taking nine months to a year if you’re focused and committed. The first step is assessing your current atmosphere, data, systems and protocols to determine how secure you currently are and where there might be loopholes in your security that you’ve missed. It’s a good idea to work with a consultant from the beginning of the certification process, because outside eyes typically have a better ability to see the realities of your current security posture.

Once you have determined your current posture and the issues you might want to address, it’s critical to get your leadership on board. Your C-suite and partners will be crucial to successfully rolling your new security initiatives out to the rest of the firm. Next comes the meat of the work, where you plan and then implement your new security policies and procedures and train your workforce, ideally again with the help of your consultant, who will then rigorously test the measures you’ve implemented to ensure that they work and are achieving your desired results.

Testing is crucial, because it’s the only way to know that you’re properly following your policies and procedures and all your users understand the ramifications if they don’t adhere to necessary security steps. If anything fails during your internal testing, now is the time to go back and fix it.

The goal is to have everything in line before you’re formally audited to receive your ISO certification. If the ISO auditor does find either minor or major infractions – which is common – you must implement a corrective action plan. Only when you prove that you’ve corrected the infractions can you finally obtain ISO certification. The relevant certification standard for law firms is ISO 27001, pertaining to information security management, and your consultant can guide you through all the certification requirements for that particular standard in minute detail.

The Risks of Not Getting ISO Certified

Given the financial and time commitments involved in obtaining ISO certification, many firms might question whether it’s truly worth it. The short answer? It is. As a company that has gone through the rigorous work of becoming ISO certified, we can definitively say that it’s an important, and even crucial, step for law firms to be taking now.

For starters, as cybersecurity continues to be front and center in the legal industry and its importance only increases year to year, law firms will eventually have no choice but to be certified. If they haven’t already, your corporate clients will be highly stressing security and demanding that you show a concrete commitment to it. In fact, many companies are now using security as a key measure in evaluating outside counsel while making hiring decisions.

“The value of ISO 27001 certification for a law firm cannot be overstated,” explains John C. Brooks, chief information officer at Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP in Wilmington, Delaware. “The policies, processes and procedures help the firm, and our clients, to ensure the security of the data managed. ISO provides numerous benefits in terms of the ability to respond to security questionnaires from our clients, and it inspires confidence in the firm’s commitment to information security, which is a competitive advantage.”

Of course, ISO certification is not the only way to show a commitment to security, but it’s widely recognized across industries as the standard. When potential clients are analyzing your security, it’s a specific factor that they’re likely to look for. They want to know that their data will be safe with you because you not only have the necessary internal controls, but those internal controls have been rigorously tested and audited by today’s gold standard security organization.

Therefore, making sure your security is buttoned up is crucial to the success of your business and a major factor in maintaining a competitive advantage. As the security landscape continues to evolve, certification will only become even more important.

Cybersecurity is one of the biggest trends in law and business today, and it won’t be going away anytime soon. The time to start the ISO certification process is now, so you can show your commitment to not just your own data and processes, but those of your clients. Increased security measures are no longer a luxury; they’re a necessity for everything from your IT function to achieving your business development goals.

About the Author:

Sue Pellegrino is the owner and president of Everest Discovery, a leading national litigation support and eDiscovery provider, and ISO 27001 certified company.

Reprinted with permission from the May 2022 edition of the Cybersecurity Law & Strategy © 2022 ALM Global Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-257-3382 or [email protected].

 

Check out the recent blog post on this topic – The Six Steps Law Firms Need to Take to Become ISO Certified.

 

March – Bring on the Events!

Everest Discovery on March 30, 2022

March – Bring on the Events!

March has been a busy one for our team at Everest! We sponsored the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) Driving Diversity & Leadership Conference that took place in San Antonio, Texas, and we attended Legalweek in New York City – both in the first week of the month!

Everest owner and president Sue Pellegrino and managing director John Trickey attended NAMWOLF’s annual conference. NAMWOLF is a nonprofit trade association comprised of minority and women-owned law firms and other interested parties throughout the United States. As a first-time member and sponsor, we were very impressed by the generosity and warm reception shown by the organization along with all the members and business partners we had the pleasure of meeting. Everyone at this event – from the organizers to the members to the other business partners – were so incredible to be around. “We really enjoyed all the conversations that were had and look forward to working with many contacts we made as a result of being at this event. As a WBENC Women’s Business Enterprise, we found this event a perfect fit for us, and we look forward to many years working with this organization and its members,” states Pellegrino.

A few days later, Trickey, along with VP of sales Jim Corcoran and senior project manager Jesus Gainza, attended Legalweek in New York! This event brings together thousands of legal professionals every year to network, attend sessions, learn about the latest legal technology and more. We were thrilled to be part of this event. After attending this show for many years, the team enjoyed seeing old friends and clients and networking with others at the show. We also had the opportunity to meet with editors from some of the top legal publications and enjoyed the conversations about hot topics facing this industry today. Things like capturing and effectively working with data from social media platforms, Slack and other chat-type solutions when it comes to e-discovery were what we heard discussed a lot at this event. Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence were also big topics, and there was even a session that focused on the metaverse and the many questions that come along with this technology and the law.

As this was the first Legalweek held in person post-COVID, attendance was substantial but a bit lower than in past years. Those who did attend seemed truly happy to be back in person after two years of chatting via Zoom or Teams. “It was noticeably refreshing. You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief at every turn,” says Corcoran.

Being able to communicate and network in person was such a great feeling, and our team was so grateful to be able to take advantage of these events and the opportunities that they offer. After a long two years of no in-person events, this week was a great way to get back to a more normal way of doing business. We can’t wait to attend the next event!

Everest Discovery provides comprehensive, secure, and cost-effective eDiscovery and litigation support services, tailored to meet the unique needs of law firms and legal teams.

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