Our Team
ANNE JORDAN, ESQ.
President
Anne is responsible for the overall operations of BLD, working to ensure that BLD provides it clients with the highest quality review staff available and that BLD remains at the forefront of meeting the needs of a demanding client base. Anne has more than 25 years experience advising large and medium sized corporations both as a senior executive with responsibility for the corporations' legal affairs and as outside counsel. Before joining BLD, Anne served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of PeopleSoft, Inc., a $2.8 billion provider of enterprise application software, providing strategic advice to management and the Board on mergers and acquisitions, litigation, risk management, antitrust law, and intellectual property strategy. She oversaw the corporation's legal department, and for part of her tenure, had responsibility for Human Resources and Real Estate. She has worked at the General Counsel level since 1988, having held positions as Vice President and General Counsel for Sega of America, Inc. and Worlds of Wonder, Inc. Anne's in-house experience managing litigation and document productions give her unique insight in to how to better serve the needs of BLD's clients. Ms. Jordan is a frequent lecturer and published author. She served as an Advisor to the American Law Institute's Restatement of Law Third, Unfair Competition and served two terms on the Board of Directors of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and chaired its Brief Amicus Committee for several years. Education: J.D., DePaul University College of Law; B.A., Northwestern University.
JOHN SANCHEZ, ESQ.
CEO
John co-founded BLD to be the premier document review solutions provider to the legal industry. John drives BLD's client and candidate development efforts based on our founding principles of integrity and accountability to both our clients and our temporary workforce personnel. He has worked closely with some of the world's largest law firms and corporations, providing project management, staffing, and review facility solutions for large scale review projects. Prior to BLD, John was a litigator managing a heavy discovery caseload for complex products liability matters. Prior to his litigation work, he worked in the in-house legal department of a venture fund in Silicon Valley, managing legal and business operations of portfolio companies. Education: J.D., UC Hastings College of the Law; B.A., UCLA (Honors). Languages: Cantonese.
GEORGE MANDELLA
COO
George manages BLD's business and technology operations, and oversees the management of the company's off-site review facilities. He consults our clients on network deployment and security. Prior to BLD, George was CTO of an internet communications company that serviced the world's largest life sciences companies. He managed the IT and engineering team and oversaw the company's project management, engineering, strategic and technical consulting, and R&D. George directed product development efforts including a website content management system and a website traffic analysis suite, and was responsible for the deployment of new technologies. Education: B.A., USC (Honors).
KI YUN HWANG, ESQ.
VP of Business Development & General Counsel
khwang@blackletterdiscovery.com
Ki is responsible for company-wide business development. He is also responsible for managing strategic partnerships and evaluating domestic and international business opportunities and markets. In his dual position as General Counsel, he additionally manages BLD’s legal issues. Prior to joining BLD, he was the promotional partner at a boutique law firm that represented Fortune 500 companies and international clients. He also has experience working at international law firms. Education: J.D., University of Minnesota Law School; B.A., U.C.L.A. Languages: Korean.
CLARK WIGLEY
VP of Strategy
Clark oversees the growth and strategic management of BLD. Prior to joining the company, he was COO for Loislaw, an online legal publisher specializing in computer assisted legal research, which he helped grow to over 500 employees and raise almost $100 million in private and public financing. Prior to Loislaw, Clark was a senior executive with Thomson Legal Publishing and Barclays Law Publishers. In addition to his legal industry experience, Clark has worked extensively in information technology, financial services and professional services. Some of Clark's early management experience was gained as a Combat Engineer Captain in the US Army. Education: M.B.A., UCLA; M.S. and B.S., Engineering, Lehigh University.
GEOFF WILCOX, ESQ.
VP of Discovery Operations
Geoff has successfully led review teams in multidistrict and other complex litigation, and has experience working with large document databases numbering in the millions of pages. He advises our clients in a process-driven approach to document review engagements. Geoff works with project managers to implement coding manuals, streamline the review process, maximize productivity, build clear lines of communication with litigation counsel, and to deliver effective litigation databases that enable attorneys to access key documents throughout the litigation process. Geoff also designs and teaches BLD's Continuing Legal Education seminars focusing on document review practice. Prior to joining BLD, Geoff worked as a management consultant in the Bay Area and supervised technology licensing for a Silicon Valley software firm. Clerkships: U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; Massachusetts Appeals Court. Education: J.D., Harvard Law School (magna cum laude); B.A., Miami University (summa cum laude).
ZORAH BRAITHWAITE, ESQ.
VP of Recruiting
Zorah is responsible for staffing quality legal review teams at BLD and for creating flexible working arrangements for attorneys and firms. She has worked closely with some of the world's largest law firms, providing staffing and review facility solutions for large scale review projects. Zorah has extensive experience managing, staffing, and conducting large scale document reviews for litigation and antitrust second requests. She has over seven years of legal and business experience, particularly in antitrust counseling, merger review and complex litigation. Education: J.D., UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall); B.A. (Economics), B.A. (History), UC Berkeley. Languages: Mandarin.
MARTIN PASCUAL, ESQ.
VP of Offshore Operations
martin@blackletterdiscovery.com
Martin established BLD's Philippine operations and currently manages all offshore engagements, delivering a wide range of cost-effective discovery and litigation support solutions to BLD clients. He has substantial international experience in both legal and business roles, having served as a consultant to pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and agricultural companies in Asia and Africa. Prior to joining BLD, was a patent litigator whose clients included Fortune 500 corporations in the semiconductor and telecommunications industries as well as major universities. His experience included directing litigation strategy, managing large-scale document reviews and supervising teams of associates and paralegals both in the US and abroad. Martin is a member of the Texas Bar and is admitted to the Supreme Court of Texas, the Southern, Northern, Western, and Eastern Districts of Texas, and the Fifth and Federal Circuits. Education: J.D., George Washington University; M.Sc., London School of Economics and Political Science; B.A., Harvard University.
NAMITA DILAWRI, ESQ.
Director of Recruiting
Namita is responsible for staffing document review projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has worked with the Bay Area offices of some of the world's largest law firms. Prior to joining BLD, Namita worked in legal recruiting for one of the largest staffing companies in the world. At BLD, she hones her legal recruiting experience exclusively on staffing large-scale document review projects, and takes pride in finding the "right" attorney for the job. Namita began her career in the legal field as a securities arbitration attorney, and continues to tutor examinees for the California Bar Exam. Namita has also been an instructor at UCLA extension, teaching a prep course for the legal world and family law. Education: J.D., Lewis and Clark School of Law; B.A. University of California, San Diego (Honors). Languages: German.
PETER GIELNIAK, ESQ.
Director of Business Development
peter@blackletterdiscovery.com
Peter is responsible for managing BLD's client relationships and developing new business. Before joining BLD, Peter spent nine years as a commercial and intellectual property litigator servicing clients in the high-tech, bio-tech, insurance, and banking industries. During those years, Peter organized and managed several complex, large-scale document review projects. Through these expereiences, Peter gained unique insight regarding best practices for accurate and efficient handling of such projects and he applies this knowledge to ensure BLD best satisfies the varied needs of its clients. In addition to his years in private practice, Peter also externed for Chief Justice Ronald M. George of the California Supreme Court and interned for the Department of Justice in Washington DC. Education: J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law; B.A., UCLA.
TINA DURYEA
Recruiting Coordinator (Washington DC)
Tina is responsible for recruiting and staffing document review projects in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. Tina has over 13 years experience working in the legal field in New York, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C. Prior to joining BLD, she worked at one of the world's largest law firms and in-house at a Fortune 500 company. Tina has experience in the areas of complex litigation, environmental litigation and mergers and acquisition. Education: B.A. Mount Holyoke College.
VALERIE HIRSH, ESQ.
Recruiting Coordinator (Southern California)
Valerie coordinates recruiting and staffing of BLD's document review projects in Southern California. Valerie has over seven years of litigation experience and has been a practicing attorney for nearly ten years. Before joining BLD, Valerie worked as a litigation attorney practicing in the areas of business, construction defect, and complex litigation. Education: J.D., University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law; B.A., University of Washington.
MARC SCHIESS
Recruiting Coordinator (Northern California)
Marc is responsible for recruiting and staffing legal review teams at BLD for Northern California. He has worked at two of the world's largest law firms for over 18 years gaining complex litigation experience in, but not limited to, antitrust and trade regulation, second requests, environmental, healthcare, intellectual property, and labor and employment. Education: B.A., University of California, at Davis.
KEVIN DAVIS, ESQ.
Senior Project Manager, Pharmaceuticals
Kevin provides senior project management for document review projects for law firm and corporate clients,with particular emphasis on product liability, mass tort, and pharmaceutical litigation. Although Kevin is new to the BLD team he acted as the client contact, and project coordinator, for one of BLD's largest, and longest running document review projects. Having worked both sides of these operations Kevin knows what it takes to run an efficient and quality review. In private practice he spent 10 years defending Fortune 500 medical product and pharmaceutical manufacturer clients in individual and multiple plaintiff cases. Education: J.D. Golden Gate University, School of Law; B.S., Accounting, San Francisco State University.
JAMES MEISTER, ESQ.
Senior Project Manager
James provides senior project management for large scale, as well as smaller, document review projects for law firm and corporate clients. With eight years of complex and civil litigation experience, including antitrust and intellectual property litigation, he provides overall project management and offers discovery solutions for document review productions and reviews. James works with clients and counsel to carefully tailor and design document review protocols in a manner that will ensure delivery of the highest possible value to the litigation, while efficiently utilizing the document review team time and cost resources. James offers eight years of civil and complex litigation experience in private practice and as a trial attorney with the federal government. His practice has been focused on antitrust law, intellectual property litigation, and other complex civil litigation matters. Prior to that, he clerked for several federal district judges and served as a staff attorney with the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Education: J.D., Washington University School of Law in St. Louis; B.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln.