When we asked some friends last month how they explain their e-discovery jobs to their families around the dinner table, they shared ideas ranging from science fiction simile to spud sculptures. It got us Relativity bloggers thinking—do we go to the same great lengths?
With the holiday season in full swing, it was time to turn the question on ourselves. Would we throw in the cloth napkin and change the subject, or would we work as hard as our partners and customers to enlighten our loved ones? Rising to the challenge is part of kCura’s culture, so here we are with our humble attempts—our holiday gift to you.
Remember: It’s the thought that counts.
Steve Couling, international sales
"An early lesson for me was to not say anything about my work that in turn prompts my family to ask me to do something. For example, in my former life, I managed sales for Toshiba. The typical response I got was 'Oh, that’s interesting…so, can you please fix my laptop?' I also made this mistake with e-discovery, which led people to think I’m a lawyer, which in turn led to requests to represent them in property border debates or divorce proceedings."
Jacque Flaherty, analyst relations
"I start with my typical spiel: 'We make software that helps lawyers review and exchange electronic evidence during investigations.' In the past, that's been met with, 'Like the CIA? Can you see MY emails?' I let that thought marinate with them a bit before I said no."
Andrea Garlanger, product management
"I compare e-discovery, specifically analytics technology, to my Nest thermostat. At first, you have to train it so it understands when the temperature should be hotter or colder. After a short time, it predicts the temperature you want, and you just have to make small adjustments. It saves you money, you don’t need to remember to manually change the temperature and, best of all, you don’t have to get out of bed on a cold morning to turn up the thermostat."
Dean Gonsowski, business development
"I used to reference CSI, but now that there are about 10 of them, it’s easier to reference The Good Wife."
Rene Laurens, customer success
"You take records, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, and DVDs, and convert them to AAC or MP3 files and host them in iTunes. When someone asks you for a copy of a particular song, you burn the playlist to disk or provide it so they can load it into their library and search by song title or artist—if you were nice, you could provide the lyrics to help them find a specific song. This usually works pretty well to explain the mechanics of a document request."
Happy holidays! How do you explain your role in e-discovery to your family? Share your talking points in the comments.
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