1. James A. Tobias
210 South Fremont St. San Mateo, CA 94401
jamestobias@ymail.com
408-666-3535
LEGAL SERVICES MANAGER
Extensive experience in the Litigation Support/eDiscovery field. Outstanding problem solving skills with
clear oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills. Solution oriented, well organized, front end
thinker to secure backend success. Dedicated team player, with the ability to work effectively with others
under short deadlines in high pressure situations. Training and presentation experience, with history of
leading team and group meetings. Consistently exercise independent judgment, open to new ideas and
new approaches. Managed multiple tasks and deadlines, follow specific and detailed instructions, and
handle interruptions.
Administrative comprehension of the following litigation review and processing platforms include:
Relativity 8.2, LAW 5.0, Concordance, Summation, Ipro, LiveNote, Outlook, Bulk Rename tool, Text Pad,
MS Access, standard MS Office Suite software, Adobe Acrobat.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Associate Project Manager/ Litigation Technologies Specialist
UnitedLex, LLP San Francisco/Menlo Park, CA 02/2013 - 04/2015
Goodwin Procter LLP, San Francisco, CA 11/2010 – 02/2013
Managed all communications between the legal team, client, experts, and third party vendors.
Coordinated with vendors to assure that high quality work product was being delivered.
Developed recommendations, cost estimates, budgets, and procedures in order to present to
attorneys and staff.
Consulted with case teams on defensible best practices pertaining to the management of electronic
evidence.
Met with case teams to review complexity and scope of each project to determine the best case
parameters.
Traveled to and worked from multiple offices, keeping deadlines and tasks managed at all times.
Maintained confidential project files and documentation securely.
Reviewed and approved vendor invoices in order for vendors to receive their payments in a timely
manner.
Successfully transitioned from Goodwin Procter to Unitedlex, as an outsourced group.
Practice Support Specialist
Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLC, San Francisco/ Palo Alto, CA 07/2007 – 10/2010
Attended “meet and confer” conferences with counsel, to solve scope and procedures issues.
Worked with Attorneys and Paraprofessionals in multiple offices to utilize and understand litigation
support tools.
Managed expectations and developed general timeline for meeting project goals.
Collaborated with 3rd party vendors and litigation team leads regarding project design to meet
subpoena criteria.
Built relationships with professional staff and clients to apply specific quality management techniques
and client satisfaction.
Facilities Management Site Manager at Farella Braun + Martel.
Document Technologies Inc., San Francisco, CA 05/2006 – 06/2007
Supervised11-15 team members spanning 3 areas of service throughout day to day operations of the
account.
Trained new hires on policies and procedures to maintain consistency in the work place.
Conducted reviews for each staff member to assist in team building and encourage staff
development.
2. Founder and Co-Owner
ROOK DIGITAL, San Carlos, CA 08/2004 – 09/2005
Processed data to meet specific case and database criteria for law firms.
Created TIF images, OCR, and load files specifically for individual case needs and attorney review.
Successfully managed six figure contract by working effectively and efficiently to process electronic
material.
Digital Operations Manager
WHITMONT LEGAL TECHNOLOGIES, Palo Alto, CA 11/2003 – 08/2004
Managed the day-to-day digital operations staff in in all Northern California offices.
Created instructional criteria and trained staff (weekly and monthly) on litigation language & structure.
Managed a month-long, $700k+ project in the Microsoft v. Sun Microsystems antitrust case. Project
logistics included hiring 75 temp employees for 3 shifts, renting 20 complete pc/printer units for an
independent network, and hosting, converting, and printing over 500k documents resulting in case
settling in 6 hours, client paid in full.
Litigation Electronic Data Analyst /Litigation Paralegal Level 2
WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI, Palo Alto, CA 04/2000 – 11/2003
Managed all electronically stored documents in several large-scale litigation cases.
Led the Electronic Data Collection Team during on-site client collections.
Created and managed electronic review environments for staff and attorney to review.
Co-developed the Electronic Data Operations Center (e-discovery) infrastructure to centralize all
electronic review.
Co designed and taught the data collections instructional criteria for all offices ensuring that all staff
members are properly trained.
Performed several international electronic data collections in both France and Taiwan for high profile,
multi-media clients.
Attended trial, Markman hearings, and depositions in several countries.
Provided paralegal support in several high profile cases including IP, Securities, and Employment
matters.
Assisted with and managed million-plus page document productions.
Performed international and domestic data collections (paper documents and electronically stored
data).
Attended trial and assisted with all pre-trial matters in the Walter Hewlett v. Hewlett-Packard matter.
MILITARY EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS,
Honorably served my Country in multiple Camps, both foreign and domestic.
Highest rank: Corporal E-4. MOS’s included the following: Combat Engineer (Demolitions),
Flight Line Security (Military Police), Airbase Linen NCO, warehouse logistics and administration.
Earned an Honorable Discharge and Medals for Good Conduct and Over Seas Deployment.
SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY, Ashland, OR
General Education classes, i.e. History, Music and Literature.
EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY, La Grange, OR
General Education classes, i.e. History, Music and English.