Winston & Strawn Litigation Partner Joins American Discovery as CEO

LOS ANGELES, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- American Discovery, a global leader of document review, substantive legal research, contract management, and other legal outsourcing services today announced that David M. Hickey has joined American Discovery as CEO.  Mr. Hickey brings more than 20 years of litigation experience to American Discovery, joining from Winston & Strawn, LLP where he was an equity partner and founder and vice-Chair of the firm's E-Discovery and Electronic Information Practice group.  He has extensive first chair trial experience and has worked on a large number of significant litigation and arbitration matters in the United States, Asia and Europe.  Mr. Hickey has represented Fortune 100 clients in complex commercial matters including class action, franchise, trade secret, false advertising, unfair competition, contract, tort, securities, derivative, change of control, construction, oil and gas, and defamation matters as well as government investigations. He also has extensive experience in legal outsourcing, having advised outsourcing providers throughout India and the Philippines on best practices and security issues.  In addition to Winston & Strawn, Mr. Hickey practiced at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP for more than 10 years and prior to that was a prosecutor in the U.S. Air Force.  He has counseled a wide variety of companies on record retention programs, compliance with electronic discovery, and implementing programs to reduce risk associated with the generation and retention of electronic records. He is also a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and CLE programs on electronic discovery legal developments and best practices. 

David Steiger, author of the ABA-published The Globalized Lawyer, remarked, "I have been following and writing about the legal outsourcing industry since its inception.  David is well recognized as a leading expert in the legal outsourcing industry.  No one has visited or counseled more legal outsourcing providers than David.  His move speaks volumes about the industry as a whole and American Discovery in particular."

"This is a very exciting development for American Discovery and a great coup to hire one of the world's foremost authorities on E-Discovery and legal outsourcing," said Eric Puno, who will continue to serve as the President of American Discovery.  "I have known David for more than a decade and he has a proven track record of leading teams of attorneys around the world and delivering superior results in high stakes matters.  He knows the legal outsourcing business as well as anyone in the world, having advised numerous legal outsourcing providers in both the Philippines and India concerning best practices. He has been a valued client of American Discovery and has the necessary experience and judgment to lead American Discovery's continued growth."

"The number of companies that are using legal outsourcing to obtain high quality work at reasonable rates is amazing," said David Hickey. "With a deep and unrivaled talent pool on both sides of the Pacific, American Discovery is uniquely positioned to deliver the highest quality services in the industry.  Each of our associates is either admitted to a bar in the US or admitted to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.  Over the course of my career, I have been fortunate to work with and learn from outstanding attorneys in the Air Force, Skadden and most recently at Winston. The associates and management at American Discovery have the same level of professionalism, dedication, and attention to detail that I have come to expect and clients demand."

Gerald W. Wheeler, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer of del Rey Global Investors, commented, "David is an excellent attorney who I frequently turned to while he was with Skadden and Winston.  Under David's stewardship, American Discovery can save its clients a fortune in legal fees without sacrificing quality.  I am delighted that David has decided to join American Discovery.  He is a top notch lawyer who understands the legal and business needs on in-house counsel and their clients around the globe."

About American Discovery

American Discovery is a global leader of legal outsourcing and discovery consulting. The company enables corporate counsel and law firms to improve resource and cost allocation associated with discovery requirements, document review, substantive legal research, and law firm administrative functions. With locations in the U.S. and the Philippines, American Discovery maintains a globally-integrated service model comprised of diverse litigation and technology resources. For more information about American Discovery, please visit www.americandiscovery.com.

SOURCE American Discovery