ProFile: Stephanie Painter (Associate Case Manager)

Stephanie Painter is one of our newest members of the Case Management team at Kroll Ontrack. Always popular with our clients and dedicated to her work (so much so that one of them accused her of being ‘too nice’ at our Christmas comedy evening! ), we decided to catch up with Stephanie to look back over her first year at Kroll Ontrack and find out a bit more about the woman behind the job. 

Ediscovery is still quite a specialist industry. What made you decide to pursue a career as a case manager?

I have always been interested in law, both in terms of legal practice and academically. I have an LLB  from Exeter University and went on to do an LLM in International Human Rights Law which was really fascinating and something I am still passionate about in my spare time (more on that later!-ed). After graduating I initially worked as a legal assistant in the residential conveyancing and litgation departments. It was here that I first became interested in and aware of ediscovery. Working in litigation gave me hands on experience of how technology can make or break a case and I found myself becoming more drawn to the ediscovery/investigative side of things. To cut a longer story short, I have now been at Kroll Ontrack for just over a year and I am fully immersed in the world of ediscovery!

That sounds intense! How have you found it?

Although I had some relevant experience from my litigation days, it has been a steep learning curve!  I not only had to learn about ediscovery but also get up to speed with Computer Forensics  and Data Analytics, both of which were completely new areas for me.

Thankfully, Kroll Ontrack and the Case Management team have helped build my confidence. I started by learning on the job and assisting with smaller projects with just a few custodians and quickly progressed to working on a project with over 15 million documents!

What are you working on at the moment?

My current workload is a prime example of just how varied and busy the job can be. As I write this, I am managing a number of projects including a large multi-faceted project for a Silver Circle Law Firm, with Computer Forensics and Managed Review elements. This type of project presents unique challenges. I am not only responsible for educating our clients about the ediscovery process but also for overseeing the collection, processing and review of millions of documents which are spread across a number of data bases. A year later and I am building up my own contacts and taking on large, international projects independently.

What do you like best about being a case manager?

Ediscovery is very much a global industry and as someone interested in international law, I am really enjoying cases that have an international flavour. So far, I have been helping clients with cases spanning Europe, the US and Asia. Over the past year I have travelled to Barcelona, Amsterdam and Milan a number of times. Trips to Switzerland and Rome are also on the cards! I have always loved travelling, so it is great to now be able to do it as part of my role here at Kroll Ontrack. Being able to travel and meet clients at their own offices (in beautiful European cities!) has been a real highlight.

Well, that’s the work stuff out of the way! You’re obviously very busy but when you do have spare time how do you like to spend it?

Yes, I certainly do like to be busy, so I usually always have something planned for the weekend! I am a Qualified Mountain Leader and teach the Duke of Edinburgh award, so can often be found half way up a mountain teaching teenagers navigation. I also share a horse with my friend at home in the Cotswolds and like to ride as often as I can. I have volunteered with the Red Cross for the last 3 years and go across to the Refugee Destitution Centre in Hackney a few times a month at lunchtimes or in the evenings.  We have been delivering English writing classes that encourage creativity and the poems that the refugees have been writing are truly inspiring. I am a keen advocate of volunteering and like to encourage everyone to find some time in our busy lives to give something back to the community!