From Practitioner to Provocateur: Catalyst CEO Drives Debate over TAR at LegalTech

USA/Canada News

29
Jan
2015

Editor

John Tredennick is not the typical CEO of an e-discovery company. A former long-time trial lawyer who understands discovery from the hands-on perspective of a practitioner, he has emerged as somewhat of an agent provocateur of the e-discovery industry, unafraid to challenge accepted practices—particularly with regard to technology assisted review (TAR)—in order to advance more efficient and effective methods of search and review. 

Tredennick's unique blend of experience will be front and center at LegalTech New York, in two distinct but complimentary ways. For one, he will moderate the 12:30 p.m. Feb. 3 all-star plenary session, "Taking TAR to the Next Level: Recent Research and the Promise of Continuous Active Learning," featuring panelists Maura R. Grossman and Gordon V. Cormack, two of the e-discovery industry's leading researchers; U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck, author of the first court decision to authorize TAR in e-discovery; and Susan Nielsen Hammond, e-discovery and forensics counsel for Regions Financial Corporation.

For another, Catalyst will release Tredennick’s new book, TAR for Smart People: How Technology Assisted Review Works and Why it Matters for Legal Professionals. The book serves as a practitioners' guide to TAR and Continuous Active Learning (CAL). Recognizing that TAR is a sophisticated process that draws on science, technology and law, Tredennick set out to write a book that explains the basics of TAR while also exploring advanced issues and applications.

Both the session and the book build on research Tredennick has been promoting through blog posts, magazine articles and speaking engagements that demonstrates the superiority of CAL to other forms of TAR in the savings and results it delivers. Last summer, Tredennick's work on CAL received independent validation when Grossman and Cormack published a peer-reviewed study demonstrating that CAL delivers superior results with less human effort. 

Tredennick's writings on CAL—which is the protocol used by Catalyst's TAR engine, Insight Predict—have sparked debate among e-discovery industry leaders over several key issues, such as whether subject matter experts are required to train a TAR system and how best to measure recall in e-discovery review. 

But they have also earned him recognition as a CEO who knows his stuff. Recently, Ralph Losey, one of the nation's leading e-discovery lawyers and commentators, singled out Tredennick as the rare CEO who is also an experienced search lawyer. In 2013, The American Lawyer magazine named Tredennick one of the nation's six most important "E-Discovery Trailblazers." 

The session begins at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 3 in the West Grand Ballroom. It is open to all registered LegalTech attendees. Copies of the book also will be available from Catalyst at LegalTech.