About Us

Aaref Hilaly

As the CEO of Clearwell, I speak to corporate counsels, lawyers, analysts, and IT executives every day about e-discovery. Conversations range from the growth of electronically stored information, to different ways of improving their e-discovery processes, to the impact of various cases or regulatory changes. My main interests are understanding how the e-discovery industry will evolve, and its broader impact on business, the economy and the law.

Allison Walton, Esq.

With professional experience spanning a wide spectrum of legal support businesses, I develop strategies to address the concerns corporations are facing with regard to ESI and its explosive and unorganized nature in relation to the FRCP. I consult with corporate legal departments and outside counsel to develop efficient, scalable processes and cost-saving strategies for the archiving, collection, review and storage of electronic data. I am also an active member of the 7th Circuit Pilot eDiscovery Pilot Program.

Brandon D’Agostino, Esq.

I am a former practicing attorney and worked specifically on electronic discovery and information management issues in-house at a large corporation. With over ten years of direct IT experience, e-discovery has proven to be a perfect blend of technical, legal, and business elements. I have spoken at both continuing legal education seminars and e-discovery conferences, and I try to focus on the more practical, day-to-day issues facing e-discovery practitioners that are sometimes overlooked. I am also currently teaching e-discovery as an adjunct professor of law at the Charleston School of Law.

Dean A. Gonsowski, Esq.

I’m a former practicing attorney and General Counsel and I’ve spent the last decade helping corporations and law firms proactively and reactively manage the discovery of electronically stored information. I teach a series of continuing legal education courses on electronic discovery topics and am a member of The Sedona Conference Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production (WG1). I’m interested in bridging the often sizable gap between the quickly evolving (yet divergent) Legal and IT disciplines.

Hilary McQuaide

As a marketing, communications and PR specialist, I focus on emerging trends as well as the impact of e-discovery upon businesses and the way they operate. I bring a layman’s take on the e-discovery industry, gleaned from speaking with industry analysts, journalists, and enterprise customers. I’ve previously worked in market analysis of early- and late-stage technology companies at a top venture capital firm.

Kurt Leafstrand

I am currently the working group lead for the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) XML schema definition project and have spent a lot of time with some of the great minds of e-discovery. I’m continually blown away by the pace of change and innovation in the space — and that’s speaking from 25 years of experience in the software industry. My particular focus areas include the design of electronic discovery solutions that can adapt to the rapidly-evolving information landscape (both in terms of volume and types of information), and the role of simplicity and ease of use in streamlining the electronic discovery process.

Matthew Nelson, Esq.

I learned to deal with the challenges of complex litigation and massive paper discovery requests as an insurance coverage litigation attorney early in my career. Since then, I have helped hundreds of lawyers and information technology managers address new discovery, records retention, and regulatory compliance challenges resulting from the explosive growth of electronic information. My blogging objective is to simplify challenging legal and technology issues by bringing a unique perspective to pressing new legal problems presented by today’s e-discovery problems.

Philip Favro

For more than a decade, I advised technology companies, whistleblowers and other clients regarding discovery matters in high stakes litigation. My discovery practice was enhanced by my legal scholarship, which addresses the changes and challenges that electronically stored information has introduced into the information governance process. I also educate organizations on the importance of using technology to store, manage and discover their information efficiently, cost effectively and in a defensible manner.

Venkat Rangan

As founder and CTO of Clearwell, I have led technology innovation in the areas of search and e-discovery and am currently a member of several Sedona Conference working groups and hold leadership roles in the EDRM Project. I have also led innovation in information retrieval technology through my participation in TREC Legal Track, a research community responsible for advances in information retrieval as it pertains to legal community.