CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ulmer & Berne LLP announces that partners Jeffrey R. Schaefer and Megan B. Gramke have been named co-chairs of the firm’s eDiscovery practice group. Schaefer and Gramke are based out of the firm’s Cincinnati office.
“We are excited to have Jeff and Megan move into leadership positions within our eDiscovery group,” said Scott Kadish, Ulmer’s Managing Partner. “Our group has more resources and ability in this area than anyone in the country. We can provide great service to our clients and serve as an outsource to other legal firms who may not have the resources to provide this service on a large-scale basis.”
Schaefer has years of experience in all phases of eDiscovery including counseling clients on data preservation, initial assessments of data issues in new litigations, selection and retention of eDiscovery vendors, negotiations with opposing counsel regarding collection and production of electronically stored information, arguing in courts regarding discovery disputes, managing the collection, processing, review and production of materials responsive to discovery requests, and managing materials received in response to such requests. In addition to his leadership role in the eDiscovery group, Schaefer is a registered patent attorney and represents clients on a wide range of intellectual property matters, including patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright disputes. He also has significant experience defending drug and medical device manufacturers in product liability litigation. Schaefer earned his A.B. in chemistry from Colgate University and his J.D. from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University.
Gramke has extensive experience managing large-scale eDiscovery projects in complex litigation. She provides practical, effective solutions for clients facing the growing challenges and demands of eDiscovery, including the efficient identification, collection, processing, and production of data. For more than a decade, she has served as the point-person on eDiscovery projects related to the firm’s pharmaceutical clients, including oversight and management of review teams consisting of dozens of lawyers. In addition to her work in the eDiscovery realm, Gramke focuses her practice on product liability defense, representing medical device, pharmaceutical, and other manufacturers on a local and national level. Her experience includes defense of claims pertaining to antidepressants, cancer medications, cardiac drugs, and dietary supplements. Gramke earned her B.S.J. at Ohio University and her J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College Of Law.
Ulmer’s eDiscovery practice group is a subset of the litigation practice at Ulmer. Attorneys in the group have experience in all phases of eDiscovery practice, including client counseling concerning data retention policies; pre-litigation planning; litigation hold practices; Rule 26 disclosure and ESI/eDiscovery protocol planning and preparation; ESI order negotiations; intake and processing workflows; selection of analytical techniques such as deduplication strategies, file type culling, key word culling (including key word development, negotiation and iterative testing evaluation), technology assisted review (TAR), email threading, and concept clustering. They have experience creating coding layouts for responsiveness and privilege; experience with the selection and training of reviewers; and experience with quality control of deliverables all the way through production.
In addition to expertise with the mechanics of eDiscovery, Ulmer’s eDiscovery attorneys are accomplished litigators. They have considerable experience in state and federal courts, appearing, as needed, when disputes touching upon eDiscovery arise. They are experienced in arguing before judges, magistrates and special masters to protect Ulmer’s clients’ interests. In addition, Ulmer’s eDiscovery attorneys help prepare corporate witnesses and defend specific “eDiscovery” depositions where opposing counsel delve into a client’s data handling practices, the computer/network infrastructure, and its software systems. As part and parcel of this entire process, Ulmer’s attorneys often become fluent in their clients’ data processing systems and storage practices. This depth of knowledge brings invaluable continuity to their work in processing and reviewing the clients’ data for potential production during litigation. It also enhances their work in finding among all of these materials the evidence that will advance their client’s case.
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