|
IST interviews Sherry Godfrey, Senior Project Manager for IST's Managed Review Division, in a two-part newsletter.
How many years of document review experience do you have and can you describe your work experiences over the years? How were you introduced to IST’s Managed Review division?
I have about 20 years of document review experience working contract positions between permanent employment outside of eDiscovery, and eventually building a career in eDiscovery litigation services. After graduating from law school, I worked through legal staffing agencies on-site at various law firms reviewing documents for tobacco and OxyContin litigation. As a contract attorney, I also reviewed documents for deposition preparation, responses to discovery requests for FINRA and NASD arbitration proceedings, and due diligence investigations for government entities such as the DOJ and SEC.
In 2004, I joined Alston and Bird through a legal staffing agency. Then, the firm decided to create its own eDiscovery department with contract attorneys working directly with the firm rather than through an agency. As a Staff Attorney, I managed the review team's workflow and work product while meeting production, privilege log, and other deadlines. Second level review helped me target and rectify any misunderstanding of the issues or misapplications in document coding. While managing workflow, I also made recommendations to increase efficiency, such as modifying coding layouts, search queries to eliminate documents generating false responsive hits, and tweaking our overall approach, such as redacting text vs. withholding documents altogether.
Additionally, it was my role as a Staff Attorney to act as a liaison between the review team and client team to provide status reports, manage the exchange of questions and answers, and make recommendations or seek further guidance as needed throughout the trajectory of the project. After working as a Staff Attorney for several years, I became a Senior Staff Attorney. I assumed a leadership role of training newly hired Staff Attorneys and served as a long-term mentor. I was fortunate to build a career in eDiscovery with Alston and Bird over 17 years, and I am thankful for the relationships with my colleagues —many of whom became friends.
As with many, including myself, the recent global pandemic allowed time for reflection on career growth while fostering work/life balance. During the height of the pandemic, all firm personnel worked remotely, but eventually, every department would return to the office. I grappled with this notion because I had grown to appreciate having more control over managing my work and personal schedule, and I enjoyed the break from my one-hour commute. In my search, I discovered IST Management Services and applied for an open position. I interviewed with Greg Caraway, VP of Legal Solutions, and Nicole Fryson, who is the National Director of Managed Review, and thankfully they agreed that I was a good fit to join the IST family.
| 
