Member Spotlight:
Tom O'Connor
New Orleans, LA
Consultant, Speaker, Author, E-Discovery Expert, Member Board of Governors, The OLP
"I have never met a microphone I didn't like."
Contribution: One of the top e-discovery consultants in the country; has written hundreds of articles, several books including An Attorney's Guide to Summation and The Automated Law Firm; frequent speaker at prestigious events such as LegalTech; ABA Tech Show, Paralegal SuperConferences and others .
Success is: ",,,,,like gumbo.....everyone makes it a little differently. But perhaps I should defer to someone a bit wiser."
One of the top litigation support consultant in the country? Not bad for the self-proclaimed black sheep of a New England family. Born in Vermont and raised in the Boston area, Tom O'Connor is old enough to have grown up listening to the raido and doesn't recall seeing a TV until he was 6 or 7 years old. Reluctant to admit whether he's married, divorced or still interviewing, O'Connor will only say that he's "still crazy after all these years."
Starting out as a paralegal was not a result of a magical awakening. This hearty, witty and dedicated professional was simply waitin simply waiting for exam results to join the Baltimore Police Depart. and literally fell into a job with some old friends from college after he dropped out of law school.
Years of donig litigation support work with databases just naturally progressed into jobs in e-discovery. O'Connor did years of paralegal work and happened upon litigation support by moving to Seattle in 1982. There, he got involved in a large case in Calironia around 1986 or '87 where he used the DOS version of Summation.
Success came his when he met one of the top litigators in the country, Borwning Marean, and wrote his first article for Wendy Webb at Law Office Today. Together with Neil Aresty and Mike Arkfeld, two other icons in the industry, he did a presentation on trial software. "The light bulb went on over my head," O'Connor says. "Or, as we Bostonians like to say: 'a light dawns on Marblehead.'" After all these years, O'Connor has never met a microphone he didn't like.
TOM SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ON.....
Where the profession is headed in the next 10 years: "More technical expertise as lawyers offload the technology onto the paralegals."
Software Programs Legal Professionals Need to Know: "Everyone: word processing (really well); table of authorities, formatting, some simple publishing tools and document assembly and document management. Research: the Internet, public records and Westlaw. Case management tools: lit. support db basics; real time; trail presentation and research."
What comes next after e-Discovery: "If I knew that, we could buy software now and retire rich. I suspect, though, it will be web-based and integrated with non-litigation tools, primarily ECM."
UP CLOSE
Prior career before becoming a litigation support consultant: "Unsuccessful law student."
Moved to New Orleans: ".....Cuz you ain't been to Heaven 'til you been down there.....or maybe a little less talk, a lot more action. Really, I can't talk about Nawlins without a musical reference. Actually, after all these years talking about legal technology, I thought it was time to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk."
Biggest Challenge: "Personally: trying to catch a bus in in New Orleans. On any given day, 50% are broken down. Professionally: lawyers, of course. Most seem genetically adverse to technology and emotionally unsuited for personal contact with non-lawyers."
Most important work in career: "Giving technology advice to the Legal Services Corporation (A federal agency that funds and monitors free civil legal aid in the U.S.)."
Almost left the business but decided not to go when: ".....Microsoft told me they didn't want to support our post-Katrina efforts because their market was the AmLaw 100 law firms. I figured, if not me, who?"
What makes him tick: "A sunny day on the Bayou and a Harley with a full tank of gas."
You can reach Tom at: toconnor@gulfltc.org