I recently interviewed Daniel Pelc, Director of Client Solutions and Integration for HaystackID.  We covered so much with regard to eDiscovery trends that we couldn’t fit it all in a single blog post.  Part One of my interview was published Monday, part two was published Wednesday, here is the third and final part.

Daniel, you’ve also been focused on thought leadership and marketing at times during your career, so how do you get your message out in such a crowded eDiscovery market?

It really is a very crowded market, you’re absolutely correct. The defining factor for thought leadership is value. One of my clients recently told me that if they see a message from a provider that makes their life easier, they’re more likely to open future messages. Clients react to information that helps with the day-to-day challenges; information that is practical, actionable and accretive. Information that is purely self-serving is going to be disregarded.  Clients have a lot of things that they need to do, day in and day out – they don’t have the time to waste on purely self-serving marketing pitches cloaked as thought leadership.

Because of this, both HaystackID and NightOwl (independently, and now together as one organization) have focused on delivering content value.  That’s the key: delivering information that provides value to the audience will rise above the noise in the industry.

We recently conducted a BrightTALK presentation on Hatch-Waxman led by folks from HaystackID and NightOwl, which we designed to be very actionable and very practical. It’s that sort of programming and messaging that’s going to provide a path through the noise.

You’re absolutely right – the market is crowded. However, by listening to our clients, understanding the challenges that they’re facing, and then using the perspective of our professionals to address those challenges – again, in a practical and applicable way – is how we provide a message that cuts through that market noise.

Daniel, another area that has been a significant trend recently is data privacy. With GDPR, CCPA, and other data privacy laws enacted in recent years, we’ve seen a significant focus on data privacy rights of individuals. How has that impacted the services that HaystackID offers to its customers? 

A lot of our cases tend to be multi-district litigation (MDL) and many of our clients come to us from a global perspective.  So, privacy considerations are always there we need to think about data sources in every case, regardless of the case venue or where the clients are located. CCPA has certainly taught us that privacy issues occur within our borders, for clients entirely located within the US.  Regardless of the matter, we need to consider privacy and take that perspective in all cases.

As a result we’re talking about privacy from the time that the case begins. As a joint organization, we have an internal Data Privacy Officer who is an attorney that consults with us on matters regarding data privacy issues and considerations.  We have several matters that I’m working on personally where data privacy has been front and center among the issues that we’re addressing throughout the litigation lifecycle.

Planning the work to ensure that our cases flow smoothly certainly must include taking compliance into consideration. As a result, we’re addressing data privacy issues “from the get-go”, working with clients in order to ensure compliance on our part and theirs with any local or national regulations that are in place in order to preserve data privacy.

So, Daniel, what else would you like to tell our audience about what you and HaystackID are doing? 

It’s a really exciting time for HaystackID!  Personally, I’m learning a ton and gaining a lot of perspective from the team that I’m working with. The collaboration aspects of the work are probably the most exciting part of what we’re doing right now and learning the potential of what our organization, as a whole, can bring to the table. Our goal is to innovate and to work with our clients to not only anticipate today’s needs, but tomorrow’s needs too. I know that the hockey player Wayne Gretzky had a great quote: “You need to skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it is now”. The combination of abilities that HaystackID and NightOwl have really brings that perspective into play.

So, in a larger sense as far as my group and the organization goes, we’re going to continue to work on understanding where the puck is going to be, and how we “skate” there quickly in order to create the greatest impact for our clients.  Understanding the issues of today and tomorrow, and resolving those issues in accordance with the needs of our clients, will enable them to succeed and, in turn, enable us to succeed as well.

Daniel, thanks for your time today and thanks for participating in the eDiscovery Today Thought Leader Interview Series!

So, what do you think?  Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.