Name: Andrew Davison
Location: New York, NY
What kind of work were you doing before litigation support found you?
I was a business student at McGill university, I'm probably one of the few people who came to this industry straight out of college.
How did you get the opportunity to join the litigation support community?
One of my friends from McGill dropped out, and was making very good money at a firm in Boston. They had an opening, and they flew me down for an interview (which was on St. Patricks day … and conducted in a bar). The opening turned out to be in Hartford for Robinson Cole LLP and I took it.
When did you realize that this career would be a good fit for you?
I grew up around attorneys, both my father and sister are lawyers. My father frequently had his young associates over for dinner so I got to know them and relate to them. This allowed me to develop strong working relationships with the attorneys I supported. I didn't realize that this was a skill that most people had to develop. Once I realized that being able to relate to attorneys put me at an advantage, I knew this would be a great industry for me.
Do you prefer to be out in front and working with the clients or behind the scenes working with the technologies?
I actually enjoy both. I'm just as happy conducting a conference call with the client as I am conducting triage on a sick database. My role has made me more client facing but I miss the tech side.
Is there an area of litigation support that had a steep learning curve for you?
The discipline was the hardest thing for me. As a college student in most instances, “close enough … was good enough”. With Lit Support it's 100% or nothing, and you learn that very early on. It took a while for me to develop the checks and balances I needed to make sure I didn't miss anything. As one of my old mentors said “Measure twice, cut once, always leave yourself a way out”, probably the best advice I got early on.
What do you consider to be one of the coolest things about working in litigation support?
It's the scale of it that always gets me. Sometimes when I'm trying to wrap my head around what a terabyte of data really represents. Other times, it's seeing the case you worked on covered in the news. Those are the times I step back and say, that's pretty cool.
Which types of employers have you had while working in litigation support?
- Law Firm
- Service Provider
Litigation Support is a well-paying career. How much has your salary increased since joining the litigation support community?
Greater than $70,000
How many years have you been working in Litigation Support?
6
Care to share any words of encouragement or advice?
Litigation Support is a tough industry, but it rewards common sense, ingenuity and hard work. I was able to move up based on those traits, and wasn't kept down by my lack of experience.