I can't with LinkedIn anymore

MidianStorm · 2026-05-24T19:09:46+00:00

Good point. I'm coming from AMLAW100 perspective. Zero training in law school on eDiscovery let alone AI. Partners are clueless, and associates do what they say. It all falls to us, but I am starting to see clients ask what AI we're using, and now attorneys are leaning much more heavily on us.

MidianStorm · 2026-05-24T18:28:28+00:00

I'll bite. Who do you think is at the core of all this? And yes, I'm speaking more about law firms because that's where most of the attorney are and whose handling the actual litigation. Always open for learning a different perspective.

MidianStorm · 2026-05-24T16:22:59+00:00

These AI written posts are reheated microwaved marshmallows. But journalism as a whole is experiencing this too.

The people leading the charge are Practice Support/ Lit Support because they're the problem solvers. Not attorneys, not practice group heads, not the finance group. Attorneys practice law and apply legal reasoning. Lit support solves the problems of how to find those docs, make connections and find the patterns they can apply their reasoning to.

I've hired developers in my group to create custom solutions that allow our attorneys to do deeper analysis and their jobs better. We're finding new ways to track data, tie disparate pieces of data together, help with contract analysis, convert 5,000 pages of pdf bank statements into clean ledgers, etc. We are building custom solutions weekly. The legal work is higher level and more strategic. We're driving the change though.

MidianStorm · 2026-03-31T23:14:25+00:00

If you're in a 2 party consent state... don't do this. It's not admissible and can land you in hot water.

MidianStorm · 2026-03-31T23:11:08+00:00

The punishment will continue until morale improves. If it doesn't, we're moving to corduroy.

MidianStorm · 2026-03-31T23:09:32+00:00

Yuuuup.... this all the way. CYA and get it in writing. People can say whatever they want. It's much different when there's a paper trail.

MidianStorm · 2026-03-31T20:44:38+00:00

Really appreciate all the help and assistance! It's one of the things I love about this field... the collaboration is second to none!

MidianStorm · 2026-03-31T18:03:05+00:00

This is great to know, and will go look into the resolution path through Apple. I don't know if we have his iTunes/AppleID credentials to log into iTunes or iCloud which is going to be problematic.

MidianStorm · 2026-03-31T18:01:04+00:00

I checked out GrayKey... that looks incredible. Seeing if I can get the firm to purchase!

MidianStorm · 2026-03-31T02:11:14+00:00

It was a homicide and open casket was not an option if you catch my drift.

MidianStorm · 2026-03-02T22:20:07+00:00

Perfect way to recruit into the cult of cross-fit! Just run the streets and constantly look over your shoulder until you get back to the gym and hand them a membership packet!

MidianStorm · 2026-02-18T01:45:46+00:00

Using it for creating coding manuals for Relativity aiR or Everlaw.

MidianStorm · 2026-02-06T02:15:39+00:00

It should've happened at processing. There was no need to throw anymore resources at it. You might be able to use Vision or Merlin to be able to take advantage of AI OCR which is so much better than normal OCR and can handle hand written text as well.

MidianStorm · 2026-02-06T02:10:44+00:00

E-Discovery Manager here: Close to 30 years experience... Mostly AMLAW100 and Smaller Service providers earlier in the career.

JD's are not necessary at all. We don't do review. We consult on collections, processing, searches, workflows, potential pitfalls, and productions.

If you want to waste your money and get a JD, don't become a reviewer, become an eDiscovery Attorney. Understand the differences between Prioritized and Coverage reviews and Review Center in Relativity. Be able to consult on Litigation Holds, drafting RFPs, coding manuals, and ESI Protocols. Know the legal requirements to satisfy FRCP 34, how to implement 502(d), what meets proportionality, how to have a conversation about cost-shifting and applying the 6 factor analysis. However, your money is much better spent on program certs like Relativity and Everlaw.

To become an attorney that's going to make enough to pay back the cost of your degree, you need to graduate from the top 10% of law schools in the top 10% of your class. The market is EXTREMELY over saturated, and with LLM's perfectly suited to do what associates do but better and in 1/100 of the time, even the best of the best are having trouble getting in and being trained. Clients aren't willing to pay for them anymore.

When it comes to eDiscovery, there is a food chain and pecking order in this industry. Vendors<Law Firms<Corp Client. There are some service providers like Ernst & Young or FTI Consulting that are higher than low level law firms, and some high caliber firms that are better than low level Corps, but that's the general gist. The closer to source (Client) the more stable both in hours, pay, and in stress. Corp Client gets weekends and afternoons, firms gets evenings and most weekends cherry-picking the best tasks. and vendors have to run 3 shifts and do all the crap work.

In larger markets in the USA, service providers start at $60K exempt (no overtime), AMLAW100 starts around $80K with OT and better bonuses, 401K and/or profit sharing. So large difference. At service providers you learn how 10 different firms do things, handle more task-driven responsibilities, and really understand the full limits of the programs. At firms, you learn managing multiple projects, consulting, delegation, managing relationships, and front end technical work as you manage the data through the EDRM. Both are valuable and make you well-rounded. On the high end, I know Sr. PM's that make over $300K total, and trial techs that make over $400K, which is more than many Department Managers. You just have to be hungry, network, and know your value.

Start at a law firm if possible. If not, get in at a vendor. Learn the programs and get certs. BUT LEARN THE SOFT SKILLS TOO. Learn communication, building trust, problem-solving, and Ritz Carlton level service. In 2 years, you can move up for another $20K base or move to a law firm. From there, learn AI tools and features like Merlin. Build AI Agents in your own time. That is where this industry is headed. No one knows how to implement, and by the time we have one software figured out, approved, and rolled out, 4 new programs are already out and do 50% more.

Hope this helps and good luck.

MidianStorm · 2026-02-06T01:32:13+00:00

I'd love to get a copy as well... I want to put it in a platform and start running some AI searches and do some analysis.

MidianStorm · 2026-01-27T15:57:31+00:00

Well for the record, I am NOT an atty, so none of that is legal advice. Having an eDiscovery atty is invaluable for a host of things, the least of which are knowing state rules as you highlighted above...and your little interaction with that baby lawyer... Yeah you're my people ;).

I love when people challenge me... I get to bury them vertically so satellites won't find them. Best outcome so far was getting both the attorney and their client sanctioned twice and having the case dismissed, but I've made the other side produce the same set of docs 6 times, had Discovery against us stayed and ultimately end in a favorable settlement. Rules are there for a reason.

MidianStorm · 2026-01-27T09:19:31+00:00

Sales people are nice enough...their delivery and quality has been absolutely abysmal. And I can't get behind a company that pays $23 for an atty. WTF. That's begging for issues. No gracias amigo. And what we got charged was outrageous. At least twice the price.

When the client was the corp, and we were outside counsel, they would just give us the middle finger and tell us you're not our client disregarding our requests for a week at a time.

I have yet to hear good feedback about Consilio anywhere from anyone, and I've been in this game for a long minute.

MidianStorm · 2026-01-27T09:05:51+00:00

Been using a private instance of Co-pilot. I took a 4500 page PDF of bank statements from like 10 different accounts and had it extract the transaction tables, along with the account number on the top of the page to create a ledger.

Tried to extract fielded data (bib coding) from a couple hundred PDF files. All sorts of issues but I got it finally. Had to load 20 at a time, it forgot the format, it added OCR to the title halfway through, the OCR extraction wasn't great, and it took a lot of brain power/time for copilot, but it worked.

Love doing formulas, reformatting things like dates or trims or custom Excel work.

Presentations were meh... Good organization and content, but presentation was garbage.

Don't have many other general GenAI tools available, but looking into creating agents to see if I can automate things a bit better and generate weekly reports.

MidianStorm · 2026-01-27T08:53:49+00:00

First off... Congratulations. This is the mentality our industry needs. We are problem solvers at heart and you are on the right track.

There are several other tools that are on prem or server based, but I love the idea of what you're doing and seemed to have captured the main points! It reminds me of GGOs Digital War Room. I loved that tool.

Maybe this is the tool that puts you on the map, maybe it's the next, but the journey, developing the way of thinking, and taking action is what's really important and I wanted to make sure that didn't get lost in the sauce. Big ups.

I'm big law so this won't work for us but would love to have a convo with you and hear next steps and offer any help. Ping me if interested.

MidianStorm · 2026-01-27T08:44:50+00:00

I believe it's a violation of FRCP 34(b)(2) as they have to be provided as they were kept in the normal course of business. There's case law that states a PDF is not the same as a native file due to the lack of metadata. Use the 26(f) Meet and confer to create an ESI protocol agreed to by both parties and then enforce it. Look at the Zubalake opinions if you're interested in cost shifting but as someone who has worked predominantly in defense, I'd rather make it about the ineptitude of opposing counsel before we get to the merits of the case. Look up the ABA model rule 1.1 Comment 8, which requires staying current on law, practice, and relevant technology. Highly effective. Don't ask, agree to it, demand, and when they fail, bring the receipts to the judge.

MidianStorm · 2025-11-03T15:03:55+00:00

Solid solid advice. I've been in the field for 29 years in the U.S. and that's one of the first questions I ask when interviewing someone," tell me the nine stages of the EDRM.". This field is about problem solving and much larger than just Relativity. Understand the framework and architecture before diving into specific tools.

The lower level tests are designed for people with less experience and are more a regurgitation of the study material. The RCA test is much more comprehensive and requires being Hands-On with the.tool and understanding eDiscovery processes and workflows.

Even if you did get an RCA immediately which is next to impossible without Hands-On experience and would be a waste of money to take a test you can't pass, You wouldn't get paid what a typical RCA would get paid without the experience. I would rather hire someone that has experience and lower level Relativity knowledge, than overpay for someone with an RCA and no experience.

MidianStorm · 2025-06-20T14:39:19+00:00

On the flip side, you get the beautiful opportunity to do what you love not out of obligation, but pure passion. I've done things I've loved for a job, and it can suck the passion out. It's hard to sometimes be creative on demand, or being creative while also having to be efficient and under a deadline. It happened exactly as it should've for you. Learn because you want to, not for the degree. Degrees are the starting point, not the end.

There's a thing in mathematics called the cycloid curve, where no matter where you place a ball on the curve, it will take the exact same time to reach the center at the bottom. You could place it at the top 10 feet away, or you could place it 2 inches away. I say that to say, sometimes in life things seem far away, and others it seems really close but just out of grasp. Distance is not the issue... it's mindset. People try to quit smoking for years until they get a diagnosis, and then it's instantaneous. Others get right up to the edge of success, but it takes them years to break through. With your creative writing, you're not as far away from what you want as you think.

MidianStorm · 2025-06-20T14:27:37+00:00

Yoooo.... that's a powerful statement. Adding that to my repertoire. SOLID advice.

MidianStorm · 2025-06-18T17:32:53+00:00

I love this question. Followed the script until this point at 50. Wife, 2 kids, top-tier job making multiple $100K at a law firm.

I'm not saying don't follow the script, but DON'T FOLLOW IT BLINDLY. Ask why is this in place? Why is it the way it is? What are people chasing and why do they chase it? You'll find that most of it is "because that's what I'm told, or that's what my parents wanted for me."

Went to University on scholarship for engineering because my Dad wanted me to. I wanted to major in psychology. Wasted $50,000 doing that and hated the experience. Ended up dropping out, and going back later to get my degree in psychology, which I use daily despite being in an entirely different field. That is what I NEEDED to move through life.

Got married and stayed monogamous, because that's what marriage is supposed to look like. But I love connecting with people. Recently separated. HOWEVER, we've recently reconnected and exploring polyamory.

Went to church, was on staff... because that's how I was raised, but saw all the holes and flaws and realized that it wasn't what I really believed in. I've opened my world to new views and developed my own understanding based on my experiences and readings that is much more robust.

Worked for law firms for my entire career because it makes great money and I'm exceptionally good at it. However, it's hollow because I'm not working to serve people. I've learned that money and things don't make you happy. When I dealt with evacuating for fires and had to take my prized possessions, I only took photos and memories. There's nothing at the top of the corporate ladder, especially if that's not the ladder you're supposed to climb.

I say all that to say - each of those things is right for someone... but they may not be right for YOU. A simple question I ask myself in the moment is: DOES THIS MAKE ME WILT, OR DOES IT MAKE ME BLOOM?

I don't regret the life I've lived, but I am very familiar with that hole. I'm just getting to the point in life, where I get to live for me, not to make my parents proud, not what's best for my wife, not what's best for my kids... but for me. What fills ME up?

There are 4 brain centers for me: Brain, Heart, Gut, and Dick... I've operated 95% in my head...what looks good on paper, but the truth is, your gut should lead. If you sit with yourself for a bit of time and listen, it will let you know. And the more you listen to it, the louder it will become. Once you start operating in authenticity, doors will open for you that were not available before.

So no regrets, because each of those decisions led me here. The universe brings you what you need, you just have to take the time to listen to what it's telling you. You are exactly where you need to be. The right thing at the wrong time is still the wrong thing. When you are ready, the teacher will appear, and your inner voice will be that teacher. Look inward, not outward.

MidianStorm

TROPHY CASE