Roundtable: FTI Technology Review Managers Discuss Career Growth and Being Part of a Global Team

Each of you has been working in this industry for many years. Can you share a bit about your background and your current role at FTI Technology?

Michael Caldwell, Senior Director: I started here 10 years ago as a reviewer, after a number of years as a labor and employment lawyer in Canada. I very much enjoyed advocating on behalf of my clients, as well as of course having the opportunity to develop some of the many skills that only litigating can teach. When I started to get involved with managed review, I quickly realized that it allowed me to exercise a set of organizational and team-building skills that brought me a sense of personal enjoyment in my work. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the review team and the chance to work on matters that were headline news, as so many of our engagements are. As I began to contribute more to my projects, I earned the opportunity to serve as a team lead and assist with ongoing cases the U.S., ultimately leading me to my current role as a review manager. 

Caterina Buonvino, Senior Consultant: Before joining FTI Technology, I spent time at another managed review provider and as an associate at a law firm in Milan and London. Working as a review manager, I have such an interesting opportunity to act as a bridge between different functions on the team. Each part relies on the other, and we all have the opportunity to make an impact on the success of a project. 

Jenny Acasio, Senior Consultant: I’ve been here, on the team based in Dublin, for nearly a year, after spending time as a review attorney and researcher for FTI Technology when I was based in New York. Prior to becoming a reviewer, I was a litigation attorney. I’ve held several roles at various organizations, including a Review Manager position for another managed review provider and a review and analytics attorney within a Big Tech company. I really enjoy learning more about what happens behind the scenes regarding management of projects and particularly within the e-discovery platforms like Relativity. There are many challenges, but there’s also a lot of camaraderie among the teams.  

What skills do you think make a successful managed review team?

Van Mejia, Senior Director: A successful managed review team goes beyond just skills. For me, it’s important to focus on three T’s:  Team, Training and Technology. For the team, this starts with working closely with the staffing team to identify suitable candidates for a project — focusing on reviewers who care about their work and what we do for our clients, are professional, are open to constructive feedback, have the desire to learn and develop new skills, who understand their important role. 

Even with the best people, training must be in place for reviewers to succeed. Here, we provide substantive training on the needs for carefully drafted review protocols, review guidance and regular feedback from the quality control process. Additionally,  we offer technology training, as reviewers have with varying levels of review platform proficiency. Review managers need to make sure that reviewers have a thorough understanding of the core features and functionality of the review platform. Finally, it’s important to have the right tools in place. Here, “technology” doesn’t refer to one specific review platform but, rather, that the right technology tools are being utilized to move a project forward.  

Violette Serres Duchein, Senior Consultant: There is a great deal of trust required between reviewers, team leads and review managers to ensure a successful project. That’s a core part of our approach here at FTI Technology, as our review managers trust team leads to be responsible for more than only quality control. It’s demanding, but makes us all stronger and better in our roles. In this profession, we must focus on efficiency and demonstrate that for our clients and teams. Strong communications skills and soft skills to work well with others are also essential to success. 

Caldwell: There are two overriding qualities that we can never have an over-supply of. The first is a sense of ownership over the successful conclusion of the review. To deliver a strong work product on or before the deadline requires the full team’s daily commitment to doing its work in a thoughtful and careful way. This specifically includes those assigned to first level review and QC tasks, as well as the review team leads and review managers. The second is a unanimous and unwavering commitment to effective communication. 

What are the most rewarding parts of your work?

Buonvino: Trying to inspire the best from each reviewer by understanding their unique contributions. This means being aware of each individual’s strengths, and investing in developing the breadth of those skills, to enhance current and future matters.

Serres Duchein: It’s the trust factor for me. I find it very rewarding when our team members trust each other and support each other’s’ professional growth. This is what allows each individual to contribute to the success of our projects. 

Acasio: This work is stimulating, fast-paced and challenging. As a review manager, I get to exercise empathy, grow my career and abilities, expand my technical skills and serve as a leader. I also enjoy helping the review team understand the substance of each case and help push us all collectively towards project completion, for the benefit of our team and our clients.  

Mejia: First, and near and dear to my heart, is the fact that many of the reviewers working with us today have been here for many, many years. Many of the reviewers we have now are among the original reviewers who started working with us over a decade ago. It’s validation that our environment is one that makes professionals want to stay and continue working with us. I like to believe that it’s because they feel respected and supported, are treated as professionals, and as important partners in our business. It’s a beautiful thing. 

What have you found as the biggest challenges and how did you overcome these?

Buonvino: Working under time constraints with constantly changing client needs is always difficult. Sometimes, our teams might fall out of tune with each other, so team leads and review managers must collaborate to understand and clearly communicate priorities. We also work to infuse calm and motivation into the team. Because we focus on treating everyone empathetically, the results are positive. It’s really important to always be pragmatic, balanced and empathetic, so that’s what I focus on. 

Caldwell: The most significant challenge for a review manager, particularly for larger reviews, is in learning how to expedite multiple simultaneous workflows, each with their own assigned team (e.g., first level review, quality control, privilege logs, names normalization), while also maintaining a bird’s eye view of all of the other aspects of the engagement. (e.g., collections, processing, technology assisted review workflows and upcoming productions). It’s a lot to keep track of, but the reason it’s so important is that it can give the review manager a clearer picture of the full scope of work remaining. 

Mejia: Review management requires the careful and deliberate balancing of responsibilities with three main constituencies: the client or law firm, internal stakeholders and the review team. Over the course of the day, a review manager needs to constantly pivot. It’s important to be involved in the conversations with each group. Keeping a level head, and showing respect, civility and compassion even during the most pressure-filled moments is also important. 

Which one piece of advice would you give to anyone looking to grow their career in this field?

Serres Duchein: Communicate freely, especially with the review manager. Keep an open dialogue about details like your availability, as well as any ideas or questions you have. 

Mejia: Always come prepared for a meeting. Take a moment before each meeting to reflect on which hat you’re wearing and be prepared to adjust based on how the conversation unfolds.

Buonvino: Forgive yourself for making mistakes, because nobody is perfect. Be curious and strive to always do your best. 

Caldwell: Find the people you work best with, ask questions, show your interest in expanding your knowledge and offer to help.

What sets FTI apart from others in the industry?

Acasio: I've often been told by reviewers that FTI Technology’s management teams are more personal and understanding. This helps us recruit and retain the best talent, which ultimately benefits our clients through the highest quality teams and work product.

Caldwell: It’s the expertise we possess across our case teams, including forensics and collections experts, our data transformation team, our database consultants, case management team and review managers. At the same time, what keeps me here is the collegiality and our tireless commitment to serving our clients as trusted partners.

Mejia: There is no doubt that the collaborative spirit and energy across our teams, and our expertise, set us apart from others in the industry. Collegiality, friendliness, information sharing, understanding, patience and willingness to help others make FTI Technology distinct and a special place for those who work here. 

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The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of FTI Consulting, its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals.