Legalweek 2023

Sharika de Freitas is a legal technology executive with over 18 years' experience spanning both law firms and in-house work. 

Currently, she serves as the head of Paramount Global's Information Governance and eDiscovery group and her focus remains on managing and advancing technology to best support legal needs.

James co-leads the Emerging Technology team of BakerHostetler’s Digital Assets and Data Management group while directing the firm’s Artificial Intelligence and Information Governance engagements. His work spans litigation, transactions and regulatory enforcement while helping clients confront discovery management process issues; enterprise risk management; records and information governance; data privacy, security and bank secrecy; artificial intelligence and algorithmic transparency; technology integration issues; and related merger and acquisition, asset purchase and divestiture diligence.

Prior to joining BakerHostetler, James worked as in-house litigator and privacy and eDiscovery professional with a Fortune 500 company, and previously practiced litigation in New York. He holds an M.B.A., his CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM, FIP and PLS data privacy professional credentials, the CIP and IGP information governance designations, the UCLA Extension Global Cyber Institute’s Cybersecurity Certification, and the CEDS and CMLAW-EPC eDiscovery specialist credentials. James is also a member of The Sedona Conference® Working Groups One, Six and Eleven; and writes and presents on e-discovery, information governance, privacy, investigation and merger and acquisition issues.

Kelly Twigger is a practicing attorney, software developer, consultant, writer, and speaker on issues in electronic discovery, the development and implementation of legal technology, and how to effectively use data in planning for and during litigation. 

She is a co-author of Electronic Discovery and Records and Information Management, and host of Case of the Week at eDiscovery Assistant. As Principal at ESI Attorneys, Kelly manages the boutique eDiscovery and information law firm that acts as operational business partners with its clients to advise law firms, corporations, and municipalities on all areas of electronic information including eDiscovery, privacy, cybersecurity, and information governance. 

Kelly is also the CEO of eDiscovery Assistant — a SaaS-based practical resource for litigators handling eDiscovery — that curates discovery decisions, rules, and additional content. She is developing an online academy to provide on-demand education for lawyers and legal support professionals to stay abreast of changes in the law and technology that affect litigation and clients’ obligations to respond.

As a Customer Success Director at Onna, Pedro advises legal departments on how to govern data, mitigate risk and ensure compliance using Onna’s API-driven connections to today’s most used cloud-based applications such as Slack, G-Workspace, and O365. 

Pedro’s career has been focused on making legal professionals' lives easier. He has over 15 years experience partnering with law firms, legal departments, of Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and law schools on leveraging legal technology to alleviate their problems so that they can focus on high-value work. 

Before Onna, he led a Data Collections/ Forensics department at Daegis and managed a Customer Success team at Thomson Reuters.

He is passionate about aligning with customer needs and business objectives. Pedro leverages his legal experience and focus on customer challenges to be the voice of his customers internally, and collaborates with product development and Professional Services to find innovative solutions. 

Pedro holds a B.A. from McGill University in Montreal and graduated with a J.D. cum laude from American University, Washington College of Law. Pedro was admitted to the NY bar and is a certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS). Pedro recently participated in Catalyst Software’s Fall 2022 Coaching Corner as a Customer Success Coach. He serves on the Board of Trustees for cureCADASIL, a rare disease advocacy non-profit. He is currently based in New York City.