FTI Consulting, Inc. has announced that the firm’s Technology segment has appointed Erica Albertson as a Managing Director in its E-Discovery Consulting & Services practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) and Baron Zhao as a Managing Director focused on digital forensics, investigations, e-discovery and information governance in the Asia Pacific region.
Ms. Albertson brings more than 15 years of experience in litigation support and e-discovery in the U.S., Europe and the UK. She combines her years of law firm e-discovery management experience with hands-on consulting expertise to provide clients with innovative solutions to complex investigations and disclosures. Ms. Albertson’s law firm experience is unique in that she understands the challenges of e-discovery from both technical and legal aspects. She has extensive experience with machine learning, technology assisted review (“TAR”) and continuous active learning (“CAL”) tools and workflows. She also brings in-depth expertise creating CAL strategies, and how to analyze, interpret and explain the nuances of these exercises to key parties. Prior to joining FTI Technology, Ms. Albertson led e-discovery solutions at a large global law firm and built one of the most technologically advanced e-discovery teams in the UK.
Mr. Zhao has advised clients in a wide range of large-scale and complex matters, including cross-border litigations and disputes, digital investigations, risk assessment, incident response and regulatory inquiries across multiple jurisdictions including the U.S., mainland China and Hong Kong. He has supported clients across a number of sectors, including government, technology, manufacturing, gaming, financial services and life sciences. Prior to joining FTI Technology, Mr. Zhao held several leadership positions within a Big Four consulting firm in New York and Hong Kong, where he led the firm’s U.S. e-discovery operations and later led forensic technology services in Hong Kong. He has also led the hosting services for a prominent digital forensics company in New York, where he managed a group of analysts in providing forensics, e-discovery and litigation support services.
FTI Technology continues to grow worldwide. Over the last year, the segment has appointed more than 30 new senior experts in Senior Managing Director or Managing Director roles, with expertise across e-discovery, document review, technology development, investigations, digital forensics, compliance, information governance, privacy and security, legal operations, emerging data and other related areas. As the volume and complexity of disputes and investigations continues to rise, FTI Technology is expanding its team of experts and solution offerings to support clients worldwide in responding to increased pressure, containing costs and reducing overall risk.
“Given the current state of challenges in e-discovery — growing data volumes, rising costs, highly complex cases and a variety of implications stemming from emerging data sources — legal teams need innovative solutions that are introduced early in the process, before problems escalate,” said Jon Chan, a Senior Managing Director within FTI Technology’s E-Discovery Consulting & Services practice in EMEA. “That’s exactly what Erica has been involved in creating within law firms over the last decade. Her technical proficiency and deep understanding of the legal nuances involved with the use of TAR and other technologies across the e-discovery process bring a powerful new perspective to our practice.”
Commenting on her appointment, Ms. Albertson added, “Having spent most of my career to date inside law firms, I understand first-hand the challenges involved in running complex discovery exercises, as well as what it takes to build a robust, innovative e-discovery practice. Joining the team at FTI Technology — which has an excellent reputation for unmatched technical expertise and a high standard of quality — provides our law firm and corporate clients with the ability to leverage my in-house experience, with the scale and technology our organisation offers, to help build the appropriate case strategy and reduce costs on the most complex matters.”
Veeral Gosalia, a Senior Managing Director within FTI Technology and the regional leader for the segment in the Asia Pacific region, added, “Disputes and investigations are becoming increasingly complex for organizations in China. There is a strict regulatory environment coupled with complicated cross-border issues. Having led investigatory and incident response teams in the U.S., Hong Kong and mainland China, Baron is highly experienced in navigating the complexities of transferring data across borders and fulfilling requirements in multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Zhao added, “In the current environment, organizations are feeling pressure on multiple fronts. Data volumes and types are becoming more complex, regulators are cracking down with tougher laws and it’s becoming harder to safeguard sensitive data. Keeping up with such a broad range of continually evolving challenges is extremely difficult. As part of FTI Technology’s team in Asia, I look forward to building upon our existing capabilities and expertise to ensure clients can solve difficult problems across disputes, investigations, information governance and other areas of digital risks.”