He’s written the book, he probably has the eDisclosure t-shirt, and after nearly 20 years of consultancy at Allvision Computing Andrew Haslam has now moved into a permanent in-house role as the UK eDisclosure project manager at Squire Patton Boggs.
Haslam, who enters the global law firm in a fee-earning capacity, will become the first London member of a now eight-strong international eDisclosure litigation support team.
Whereas in the United States dedicated in-house eDiscovery support is a highly developed concept, in the UK it is still in its relative infancy.
Haslam, who for the first 18 years of his consultancy worked part-time at Hogan Lovells, running an IT litigation support group, told Legal IT Insider: “In the US there are around 2,000 in-house litigation support functions whereas in the UK there are 20.
“Squire Patton Boggs is a leading user of eDiscovery in the States with their own in-house software and they have been using technology-assisted review forever; they get it. We’re seeing a gradual increase in this over in the UK. Firms in the US can’t deliver in the morning in the UK and people are following the sun.” Squire Patton Boggs uses web-based legal review software Eclipse from Ipro.
Haslam’s will be a technical role and will include giving the client professional advice and attending case management conferences on behalf of the client.
His LinkedIn profile says: “After nearly 20 years of consultancy, I thought it was time to try the other side of the fence and deliver on some of the many things I’ve been preaching about. The role I’m taking on at Squire Patton Boggs will mean I can provide frontline support to the varied eDisclosure needs of the firm, whilst building on existing processes to create a centre of eDisclosure excellence. I look forward to challenges of the new role and working with the US litigation team to provide the level of service a firm like Squire’s deserves.”
He told Legal IT Insider: “After 20 years of consultancy at Allvision I’ve stopped borrowing other people’s watches and have bought my own by taking on a permanent role at Squire Patton Boggs.”
Other UK in-house, fee-earning eDisclosure heads include Loren Harper, the highly successful head of eDiscovery solutions at Simmons & Simmons,
In March, Mishcon de Reya signed a three-year fixed price deal with kCura to support and reduce the costs of its own eDiscovery consultancy, Mishcon Discover.