2017 Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award Winners Honored
Zapproved, Inc. announced the five winners for e-discovery excellence and honored Michael Arkfeld for lifetime achievement at the Corporate E-Discovery Hero Awards Celebration, presented by Zapproved at the New World Stages in New York.
The winners were:
- Strategy – Brett Tarr, Caesar’s Entertainment, Inc.
- Technology – Michael Chung, S&P Global
- Process – Charlotte Riser Harris, Hess Corporation
- Teams (tie) – GE’s Discovery Center of Excellence (COE) and McDonald’s Corporation’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group
- Lifetime Achievement – Michael Arkfeld
More than 300 legal and e-discovery professionals attended the inaugural awards celebration. The winners were selected from more than 60 nominations which had been narrowed to 13 finalists. An esteemed panel of federal judges, top in-house e-discovery practitioners and national e-discovery experts used an online survey to vote on candidates by category.
“It was a special evening during which we honored some of the best work by in-house e-discovery professionals. They have made great contributions to their companies for which they deserve recognition, but also are beacons for others to follow. From the sell-out crowd to the luminaries who joined us we couldn’t have hoped for a better start for this event that we hope becomes an anchor on the annual calendar,” said Brad Harris, Vice President of Product Strategy at Zapproved.
During the awards segment, Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin (Ret.) presented Michael Arkfeld with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his work advancing electronic discovery. Arkfeld, author of the comprehensive treatise Arkfeld on Electronic Discovery and Evidence, is Founder and Director of Education for the eDiscovery Education Center and Director of the Arkfeld eDiscovery and Digital Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
The celebration featured a keynote chat via satellite with NPR’s award-winning legal affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg, moderated by Craig Ball. Totenberg described history-making events that shaped her career, including those involving Anita Hill and Justice Clarence Thomas, J. Edgar Hoover, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stradivarius. She also shared insights about President Trump’s nomination for the open position on the Supreme Court.
Event sponsorship included key support from Apttus, BRG, D4, Microsystems, Smarsh and SRR and affiliate-level contribution from Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) and International Legal Technology Association (ILTA).
About the awards
The Corporate E-Discovery Hero Awards, presented by Zapproved, honor e-discovery experts and corporate legal professionals who demonstrate excellence in e-discovery strategy, technology, process, teamwork and overall influence and achievement. An esteemed panel of federal judges, top in-house e-discovery practitioners, and national e-discovery experts will review and choose winners who will be announced at the awards presentation event. Finalists in these five categories represent a range of e-discovery expertise:
Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Lifetime Achievement
Winner:
- Michael Arkfeld, Founder and Director of Education for the eDiscovery Education Center and Director of the Arkfeld eDiscovery and Digital Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University
Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Strategy
Finalists:
- Ron Harry, Honeywell International, Inc.
- Dawn Radcliffe, Transcanada Pipelines Ltd.
- Brett Tarr, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (winner)
Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Technology
Finalists:
- Michael Chung, S&P Global (winner)
- Michael Knight, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Cortney Starble, CBRE Group, Inc.
Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Process
Finalists:
- Laura Curran, Comcast Corporation
- Alexandra Desmond, Sykes Enterprises Incorporated
- Charlotte Riser Harris, Hess Corporation (winner)
Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Teams
Finalists:
- Information Management Team, CSX Transportation, Inc.
- Discovery Center of Excellence (COE), GE (winner)
- Commercial Litigation Practice Group, McDonald’s Corporation (winner)
- E-Discovery Team, Southern California Edison