Sarah Bell – TIMG eDiscovery Strategic Business Consultant

TIMG  – You’re the newest addition to TIMG’s eDiscovery team. Can you share with us your background and how you came to eDiscovery?

SEB – eDiscovery is one of those fields that you fall in to! I studied law at university, however had always worked in Sales and Account Management roles, predominantly in publishing and media –Construction and Oil and Gas magazines, and news websites. In 2016 I took on a Business Development role at a litigation support provider in Melbourne and I haven’t looked back. I’ve had the opportunity to work in a range of eDiscovery and legal tech roles across APAC and have met some fantastic people along the way. Now I’m settled back in Melbourne and love working with the TIMG eDiscovery team to expand our client base down here.

TIMG  – What do you like most about your role?

What I like most about being a client-facing eDiscovery professional is the opportunity to educate and share knowledge. The majority of our clients don’t have the time to be keep up-to-date with the latest technology, tools, processes and practice notes and guidelines in eDiscovery and legal tech, and many law degrees are still lacking a legal tech focus. I work with our law firm, corporate, and government clients day-in, day-out, which gives me the opportunity to hear about their requirements and challenges and work with our team to craft solutions. I can then share these solutions and knowledge with others who are facing similar challenges.

TIMG  – You’re often meeting clients and hearing about how they approach discovery. Are there any common challenges our clients are facing?

There are common challenges on the data management side – new data types, social media, the sheer volume of emails and communications that we help our clients review. Being time poor of course; everyone I speak to has started the year with a bang!

Each matter we support is unique though, and that’s what makes it interesting.

TIMG  – What do you think is the most valuable skill for someone in your role to have?

SEB – For anyone client facing, there’s two skills that I believe are must-haves. Firstly, make sure you’re speaking in your client’s language – make the technical relatable. And secondly, be proactive. If there’s an alternative way to do something that can save costs and time, I’ll suggest it. If there are factors that need to be considered, I’ll share them. I like making my client’s lives easier and giving them all they need to make a decision.

TIMG  – Finally, you live in Melbourne, so we have to ask – who’s your footy team?

SEB – Funnily enough, the Sydney Swans! They’ve been a great team to follow. Hopefully we take it that one step further this year!