West Coast Manager of Litigation & Practice Support
San Francisco Bay Area
- Current
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- West Coast Manager of Litigation & Practice Support at Sidley Austin LLP
- Past
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- Consultant at Skjerven Morrill, LLP; Bever & Hoffman & Harms LLP (Self-employed)
- Paralegal Mgr. / Litigation Support Mgr. at Skjerven Morrill, LLP
- Litigation Support Manager at Skjerven, Morrill, MacPherson LLP
- Intellectual Property Litigation Paralegal at Skjerven, Morrill, MacPherson, Franklin and Friel LLP
- Project Manager / Paralegal at Quorum Estrin
- Founding Partner at Juristech
- Board Chairman / Executive Director at HCAA
- Connections
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380
connections
- Industry
- Law Practice
- Websites
Donald Billings’s Summary
Donald has nearly twenty years of experience as a legal technologist, entrepreneur, consultant, and manager. He is currently the West Coast Manager of Litigation & Practice Support for Sidley Austin, LLP where he directs, and mentors the West Coast practice support consultants and paralegals while providing internal consulting services relating to e-discovery, technology topographies, case automation, workflow, and trial-site consulting.
He holds degrees in computer science, technology management and business. He plans to begin work on his PhD (business process automation) in 2010.
Prior to joining Sidley Austin, Donald was the firm-wide paralegal manager and litigation support manager for leading Bay Area intellectual property boutique, Skjerven Morrill, LLP. He spent nearly a decade with the firm in a variety of key roles.
His legal career began as Founding Partner of JurisTech, a legal consulting and technology company. The organization served attorneys, financial services companies, and real estate professionals with law related technology management and marketing services.
Donald has also served as the Board Chairman and
Executive Director of HCAA, a non-profit developed in cooperation with the City of San Jose, aimed at reducing blight, providing legal rights education, and stimulating urban renewal.
Donald Billings’s Specialties:
eDiscovery; Intellectual Property, Litigation, Management, Legal Technology, Process Automation, Workflow Analysis, Application Development, Trial Consulting
Donald Billings’s Experience
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West Coast Manager of Litigation & Practice Support
Sidley Austin LLP
(Partnership; 1001-5000 employees; Law Practice industry)
February 2003 — Present (6 years 6 months)
Los Angeles / San Francisco
Directly supervises, trains, and mentors the West Coast team of litigation support consultants and San Francisco paralegals while providing internal consulting services relating to e-discovery, technology topographies, case automation, ESI collection, document retention, litigation preparedness, and vendor relationship management. Provides global coordination for trial-site consulting services and onsite management of same. -
Consultant
Skjerven Morrill, LLP; Bever & Hoffman & Harms LLP (Self-employed)
(Self-Employed; Legal Services industry)
February 2003 — March 2003 (2 months)
Provided training and consulting services relating to the implementation of electronic patent applications and eIDS filings for administrators at Bever Hoffman
Assisted Partners at Skjerven Morrill, LLP with dissolution and wind down procedures. Counseled attorneys on the implementation of automated practice solutions in their successor practices. Coordinated technology and critical data transfers with Sidley Austin Brown & Wood and Pillsbury Winthrop. -
Paralegal Mgr. / Litigation Support Mgr.
Skjerven Morrill, LLP
(Partnership; 201-500 employees; Law Practice industry)
March 2001 — January 2003 (1 year 11 months)
Directly supervised, trained, and mentored 25-30 paralegals and litigation support staff in 3 cities while maintaining an average of 1700 billable hours per year; Conducted performance reviews and prepared staff evaluations; made hiring and advancement recommendations; Developed grading matrices utilized in firm’s RIF program Coordinated and maintained firm-wide automation systems, including e-discovery, electronic production, litigation database management. Redesigned departmental workflow system by eliminating redundancies and automating operations; Served as trial site consultant / supervisor for numerous complex Federal Court and ITC matters; Contributed to the development and GUI architecture of web-based, commercial law firm management application (FirmNet™); Developed innovative internal workflow procedures for ePAVE and eIDS filings; Developed and implemented paralegal training and professional development programs.
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Litigation Support Manager
Skjerven, Morrill, MacPherson LLP
(Law Practice industry)
June 1998 — March 2001 (2 years 10 months)
Developed web based knowledge management system for firm-wide distribution of case-related correspondence & pleadings; Managed all aspects of the firm's litigation technology support department which included the development and implementation of first-to-market solutions for the management and production of data.- Supervised and trained imaging/coding staff; Trained paralegals, secretaries, and attorneys on use and functionality of litigation software and digital research techniques; Negotiated project terms with litigation support vendors; Coordinated data exchange/sharing with co-counsel MIS departments and graphics vendors, implemented and supported all trial and hearing sites, Supervised complex document reviews and acted as project manager for large e-discovery and electronic production projects; Designed and prepared trial demonstratives; Conducted technical research relating to at issue products and assisted with the location of technical evidence for “on-sale bar” issues.
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Intellectual Property Litigation Paralegal
Skjerven, Morrill, MacPherson, Franklin and Friel LLP
(Partnership; 201-500 employees; Law Practice industry)
April 1996 — June 1998 (2 years 3 months)
Supervised and mentored paralegals and case assistants in all aspects of intellectual property litigation matters;Traveled independently to client offices domestically and internationally (Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Japan) for document / data collection, review and production. Developed spreadsheet-based financial analyses of licensing disputes. Conducted extensive electronic research and physical investigation relating to technical issues, company tracking and industry monitoring; Designed and implemented websites for collaboration projects amongst co-counsel; Supported high-level litigation projects by: drafting declarations, briefs, factual backgrounds and legal analyses relating to IP and gaming cases; coordinating hearing and trial preparation for cases before US District Courts, ITC, Federal Circuit, and International Gaming Commission; designing demonstrative trial exhibits; and coordinating filings related to large summary judgment and discovery matters.
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Project Manager / Paralegal
Quorum Estrin
(Legal Services industry)
February 1995 — March 1996 (1 year 2 months)
Quorum Estrin: Provided project management services to Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Lockheed, and DuPont. Supervised large scale, onsite document collections; assisted with data collection and database projects in various DoD contract matters, accounting compliance, and securities investigations.
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Founding Partner
Juristech
(Legal Services industry)
1991 — 1995 (4 years)
Founded and managed a full service estate planning company (California Will & Trust Company) which partnered with leading real estate brokers, financial planners, attorneys and other professionals to provide one stop estate management consulting; planning, disposition and wealth preservation service
Implemented transition to “JurisTech,” changing the company focus to providing technology and marketing services and solutions to the legal and real estate industries. Developed automated estate planning, property management and legal services solutions; managed web collaboration and community hosting company specializing in original, dynamic content utilizing WebCrossing server systems; Supervised nationwide team of freelance and staff developers, writers, digital artists, and programmers -
Board Chairman / Executive Director
HCAA
(Government Relations industry)
1992 — 1994 (2 years)
Co-founded and managed an urban blight abatement program in partnership with the City of San Jose. Acted as the liaison between City officials, local government, and residents living in depressed communities. – Facilitated and participated in roundtable sessions with City Council, Mayor’s Office, and the heads of City Emergency Services. Coordinated legal education seminars in cooperation with Santa Clara County Legal Aid Society. Managed volunteers in anti-gang programs. Secured grant funding from foundations and local organizations
Additional Information
Donald Billings’s Websites:
Donald Billings’s Interests:
History, Science, Sociology, Philosophy, Weight Lifting, Technology,World Religions, Global Philanthropy, Jazz
Donald Billings’s Groups:
Society for Computers & Law, EDRM Project, International Paralegal Management Association, Bay Area Association of Litigation Support Managers, ACM - Computer Science Society (Touro College ACM Student Chapter), Co-Moderator for Paralegal City
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KIVA -
Society for Computers and Law -
Black Hat -
Litigation Support Project Management -
Knowledge Management Experts -
International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) -
Association of Litigation Support Professionals -
Litigation Support Professional Networking -
Florida Institute of Technology Alumni -
Electronic Discovery Group -
Knowledge Management for Legal Professionals -
InsideLegal -
Intellectual Property Professionals -
E-Discovery 2.0 -
Law and Legal Open Networkers -
Touro Alumni -
eDiscovery and Computer Forensics -
The Electronic Discovery Reference Model -
Legal GRC Center for Innovation -
eDiscovery Solutions Group -
KNOW, The Magazine for Paralegals
Donald Billings’s Honors:
Other Education
Executuve BSL / JD coursework
Various Certification Courses
Publications
"Desktops vs. Laptops vs. Handhelds: Desktop Computers will soon be replaced with laptops and PDAs" Law Office Computing, (May 2002)
Awards
University of San Francisco School of Law: Certificate of appreciation for legal research projects performed on behalf of the Center for Global Justice. Research topics focused on the formation of war crimes tribunals and the prosecution of military leaders for genocide.
Dedication to Community Service Plaque; City of San Jose Plaque Awarded for work performed as executive director of HCAA relating to legal education in blighted communities.
Donald Billings’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
