(March 19, 2013, New York) – Reed Smith today announced the addition of Patrick Burke as Counsel in the firm’s New York office. Mr. Burke is the newest addition to Reed Smith’s expanding Records & E Discovery (RED) Group.
Mr. Burke was previously Senior Director and Assistant General Counsel at Guidance Software Inc., a leading e discovery and digital investigation software provider and the maker of EnCase, a forensic software tool utilized by Reed Smith, other AmLaw 100 law firms, and many Fortune 1000 companies.
“Patrick is a recognized name in e discovery, disclosure and information management. He has extensive experience counseling corporations facing e discovery in litigation and government investigations,” said David R. Cohen, head of the firm’s RED Group. “Very few litigators of Patrick’s caliber also share his detailed level of knowledge about digital evidence and forensics. He brings an exceptional perspective to problem solving for clients, based on more than a decade as a counselor, technologist, thought leader and academic as the e discovery field emerged and exploded. This will be of great benefit to Reed Smith’s clients.”
A former litigator with extensive experience in e discovery and e disclosure in the United States and the United Kingdom, Mr. Burke is a respected advisor to companies, military and law enforcement organizations, and government agencies worldwide on implementing defensible e discovery processes. He also has assisted Legal, Compliance, Records Management, Information Technology and IT Security departments in managing and reducing risks related to corporate data – including privacy, cybersecurity, information governance and records management.
Mr. Burke is an Adjunct Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City where he teaches “E Discovery, Digital Evidence and Computer Forensics.”
“I am delighted to be returning to private practice at Reed Smith after several years on the business side,” said Mr. Burke. “During the past seven years at Guidance Software, I have worked closely with legal and technical teams on e discovery, digital investigation, privacy, cybersecurity and information-governance challenges. I am pleased to join David Cohen’s innovative and growing RED Group and set up my practice at a global, full service law firm with the forward looking vision to respond to its clients’ growing needs for smart and cost effective e discovery, and strategies for smarter information governance, data privacy and security. I look forward to leveraging my experience to help Reed Smith’s clients bring clarity and strategy to the reduction of risk and costs in those areas.”
Mr. Burke has extensive knowledge of the European Union’s data protection regulations and holds the CIPP/E (Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe) certification. His experience extends to both the legal and technical aspects of the identification, preservation, collection, analysis and review stages of e discovery, as well as data privacy in complex international contexts. He is a member of the Sedona Conference Working Group 6, focused on international electronic information management, discovery and disclosure.
Prior to joining Guidance Software in 2006, Mr. Burke was a U.S. litigation associate in the New York office of Linklaters, where he served as co head of that firm’s E Discovery Working Group. Before that, Mr. Burke was Technology Counsel for nMatrix (now Epiq Systems). He was also formerly a litigator at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison in New York, and at Seward & Kissel, a boutique Wall Street law firm.
After graduating from New York University Law School in 1987, Mr. Burke clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Glenn E. Mercer in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
“We are pleased to welcome Patrick to the firm’s New York office,” said Edward Estrada, the firm’s New York Managing Partner. “He has established a sterling reputation in e discovery circles, both nationally and internationally, and we look forward to working with him.”
Reed Smith now has more than 80 lawyers and 20 litigation support analysts practicing within its RED and Litigation Support Groups. The RED Group lawyers help clients with virtually all phases of the discovery process, serve as national discovery counsel advising on defensible processes, best practices and technology, and also counsel clients on effective information governance and records management, often in conjunction with Reed Smith’s data protection and privacy lawyers.
Attorneys in the RED Group also collaborate with other litigators at the firm to tailor discovery to each individual matter. They then work with clients and case teams to slash e-discovery costs through advanced filtering techniques, tested workflows, cutting edge review technology, and the firm’s experienced but low cost e discovery review attorneys. Additionally, the RED Group assists clients and merits counsel with other phases of discovery and case preparation, from initial preservation, through negotiations, court conferences, motion practice, depositions, trial, and cost recovery efforts.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,700 lawyers in 25 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, technology and media, shipping, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
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