I think a lot of us have heard this advice, and while it’s a good nugget of wisdom, it also exemplifies the phrase easier said than done.

A good mentor can be invaluable to an ambitious career, but building that relationship is far from simple. And for those already far along in their career, turning around to help the next person up that ladder by being a mentor is no cake walk, either.

In this episode of our Stellar Women podcast, Blair Cohen interviews Lauren Roso: principal at Control Risks and a 2022 Innovation Award winner. The pair discuss mentorship from many angles, including how to find one; how to be one; and why they’re so helpful.

In this episode of Stellar Women, Blair Cohen interviewed Lynn about managing the hard work of work and of life, balancing our many roles, celebrating our differences, and how to support others on similar—often unseen—personal journeys. 

And wow, did Martha have a wealth of insight to share with us.

During our conversation, you’ll hear this superstar’s thoughts on short message data and the e-discovery challenges it presents; the many possible avenues of an e-discovery career; how to balance being a professional and a single parent; and plenty more. 

This is one of Stellar Women’s most powerful, authentic, and poignant conversations – buckle up! 

Farrah says she got comfortable with technology simply because there was no other way to do her job well, and she uses that experience to help colleagues and clients come around to welcoming innovation: by focusing on how it can make their lives easier.

What is that secret to getting that buy in from the top? Well, if you listen to a conversation with Corinne Cartwright, a senior manager and solutions architect at BDO USA, you're going to find out. During our chat, Corinne takes us through her career in business development, how to craft the perfect pitch and how she learned to advocate for her own expertise along the way.

Find Emma on social media or check out her group coaching program, Rise Up.

2  https://edrm.net/2021/05/stellar-women-edrm-crossover-mental-health-podcast/

In this Stellar Women episode, Mila and I chat with Krista about the opportunities within the field and why we need to stop apologizing.

We had the opportunity to connect with Rebecca on her leadership style and how she helps her team navigate their careers, whether that is working flexible hours or taking on a new role on an entirely different team. As a technologist and lawyer, Rebecca also shared why access to justice is important to her and her company, icourts.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness, I joined the Stellar Women podcast as a co-host alongside Mary Rechtoris to talk about these issues in detail. We brought in the ever-fabulous duo from EDRM, Mary Mack and Kaylee Walstad, to discuss how they have navigated this past year and ways we can all help make mental health and wellness a priority for our peers and ourselves.

#2 Nominate a Stellar Woman. A great part of our Stellar Women program culminates in October when we announce the winner of our Stellar Women Innovation Award. Stellar Women winners include legal tech rockstars, Joy Murao, Stephanie Clerkin, and Kenya Dixon, who elevate the careers of others and pave the way for emerging leaders to make their name in this field. The Innovation Awards are a way to recognize our comrades in the industry who strive for innovation and creating a better industry. We encourage you all to nominate a colleague or yourself. 

#3 Help Us Grow and Rate the Stellar Women Podcast. Growing our program is imperative, so we can share the pearls of wisdom our community has to offer and hopefully positively impact the careers of other female professionals in this industry. One way we strive to achieve this is through increasing our podcast’s brand via Apple Podcast ratings. Please feel free to drop us a rating (5 stars preferred…) and a review in your Apple podcasts mobile app. 

Mary Rechtoris: Hey, Stellar Women fans. I'm your host, Mary Rechtoris.

Mila Taylor: And I'm your co-host, Mila Taylor. Stellar Women shines a light on female leaders, making their mark in tech. 

MR: Mila and I are super excited to welcome Debbie Reynolds to the Stellar Women podcast today. 

MT: Hello, Debbie. Welcome.

Debbie Reynolds:Thank you so much. I am so excited to do this. I was dreaming about this. I'm like, oh, I can't wait to talk to you ladies.

MT: We are excited to have you. I didn't actually mention this in our chat before this recording. The first time that someone had mentioned your name was when I was trying to put together a mentorship program for the Relativity Academic Program that we have. You were so willing to be involved. It turned out that you couldn't come to Relativity Fest when the mentors would meet the mentees, but you still gave it your all and I always have heard such great feedback about you. So, I'm so excited to be chatting with you today. 

DR:Oh, yeah, that was great. My mentee is amazing. We actually went out and had coffee and went to Lou Mitchell's or something. We had pancakes. I've kept up with him, and I think this is interesting. This is something that wouldn't happen in the pandemic phase now. Relativity Fest that year was the same year I was supposed to be in Amsterdam to speak, so I had to go to Amsterdam instead of Relativity Fest. But now, because of the pandemic, we're doing so many things virtual. I can do multiple things in a week. 

MT: That's definitely the bright side, but I think I would prefer to be in Amsterdam right now. 

DR:You know, I miss it quite a lot. 

MT: You're the CEO of your own company, Debbie Reynolds Consulting. What's something that you've learned about yourself since starting your own company? 

DR:Wow, that's a really good question. I think the thing that I learned about myself is that I get to use so many more of my skills. I get to do marketing stuff. I get to speak and teach. I consult. To me, this is great because I feel like I feel freer. I can use so many more of my skills. So to me, it's fun to mix it up a bit. 

MR: Being an all-star in the cybersecurity space, there's something I'd love to know. What's riveting or interesting to you about global data privacy? What's hot right now? 

DR:Everything's hot right now in data privacy. That's all I can say. Technology never stops. Technology is always going forward regardless of what we want to do. I am startled and fascinated by some new emerging technology and types of data privacy issues. We also see a rise in people being more aware of privacy issues in their own personal lives—not just business. [They care about] personal security and how that impacts them. We are seeing the evolution of how people are starting to care more about their privacy. Businesses are really getting serious, and not just because of regulations and fines. For some people, it's like eating your vegetables when your mother told you to eat your vegetables. They're like, oh, I have to do this privacy stuff. But it can actually be an advantage. You know, we're seeing Apple with their iOS 14 update and giving people visibility into their data about how it's shared. I tell people it's not a coincidence that Apple had their biggest quarter ever due to that. Privacy could be an advantage because people are savvier about how they share their information. If people feel like they can't trust you, you're not going to have those people as customers, regardless of how well you do other things.

MT: My mom, if she's listening, I love you so much, and I'm sorry. She's the most technically inept person on the planet. This morning when I was speaking to her…she and I talk via WhatsApp. She called me, and she says, "Mila, I've just read that we have to stop talking through WhatsApp because our data isn't safe." And I said, "do you know what that even means for you?" She's like, "no, I don't." If my mom is starting to talk about data privacy, that definitely means that it's a lot more widespread than I initially thought it was. 

DR: I agree. I was actually surprised. I thought that the absence of people saying or showing that they care about privacy gave the idea that people didn't care. I think people didn't have a reason to speak out in some way. That situation with your mom illustrates that people are paying attention, and they do care. 

MT: It's really interesting. Thanks for sharing that. OK, so my next question is a bit more about you. You are also known as the Data Diva. Can you tell us more about that? How did the name start, and what does it all mean? 

DR: This is a great story. A friend of mine. Her name is Jennifer Mailander. She currently is the general counsel of privacy and cybersecurity for Fannie Mae. We have done panels together, and we've become friends. She's one of these people that I am so thankful to have as a friend and colleague because she's one of these people that if she calls you up and tells you something, you should do it. So she called me, and she said, "hey, I belong to this group called the Quorum Initiative." It's about developing women's leadership and understanding your career and how to move up in corporate America. They were opening a Chicago chapter. She told me that I should go to their inaugural meeting, which I did. They were doing a workshop on LinkedIn on how you present yourself and how people see you. One of the ladies who was doing the workshop there was from The Wall Street Journal. We were broken off into groups, and they were saying, with your elevator speech, make it pop. I was trying to figure out how to explain what I do succinctly in my elevator speech. And, she said, "oh, you're the data diva." We just laughed so hard about it. And I thought, oh, wow, that's so cool. I really never thought about it that way. There was a woman in my group; her name is Yvette Pena with the AARP. And she was like, "oh my God, you totally are." I thought, am I? At first, I was bashful about it because I thought people wouldn't take me seriously if I do. But then I thought, it's an excellent way to sum up, my interests because I think people who know me from e-discovery think that's what she does. But I do many other things. When I started my career, I taught myself computers. When I was a senior in college, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. I honestly wanted to go to law school, but I wanted to be able to spend time with her. So I said I have to find something to do where I can spend time with her. So I said, well, let me get a computer and teach myself to use it. I thought I would be doing desktop publishing or graphic stuff. That's really how I got into computers. I read books and learned how to use it. I was asked by a friend to help out another friend who was a director of the university library. At the time, they were trying to change catalogs to databases of a media collection. I helped them with that. I just fell in love with data. Eventually, I was tasked with going into legal to help them create databases because I had done that previously. I've always been interested in data. You probably don't know that I'm a Webmaster and a mapmaker as well. All that stuff helps me. With my business, it is fun to be able to tap into all those things. With privacy, I read a book that my mother was reading. It was called A Right to Privacy. I think it came out in 1995, and I was fascinated. When you're a kid, you know how you think, oh, you want to grow up and do this. I'm like, I want to be able to do whatever the hell I want to do. I thought that when you grow up, you have the right to be left alone. To me, that's what privacy is. When I understood the law, and I started reading that, I found out that I thought I had more rights than I do. That is something that I have followed for many years because it interests me. Then, technology started to evolve and grow, so that my role started to develop and grow. Now, I'm working with people on a more international level. Over the last six years or so, people began to call me for privacy only. So I thought, well, this makes sense for me to go in this direction. People working at Fortune 200s or 500s knew that I knew this stuff. So, that's my story. 

MR: Going back to when you went to that LinkedIn workshop, did your brand grow organically, or was that something you [intentionally grew]? 

DR: To grow that brand, the thing that worked out well for me [in addition to] the name is this idea that people have about making an elevator speech. You have like 20 seconds to tell people about yourself. So for me, that helped people understand who I am and what I'm interested in. In all my videos, I say, "My name is Debbie Reynolds. They call me the Data Diva." And then I talk about data stuff. If I say I am the Data Diva and start talking about farming, you'd think that I was crazy. Part of it was to focus on things that I was most interested in and the things that people knew that they could rely on me to talk about. If you go to my LinkedIn page or my website, I'm talking about data right off the top. Or I'm talking about data privacy or some technology or some law issue. That helped me to focus a lot. Even when I helped people out in e-discovery for the last six years, I basically would not talk about a topic that was not data privacy related. So for me, it was about marrying my scope on what I want to focus on. I think the mistake that people make is trying to show that they can do everything. When you do that, you're taking time and attention away from the focus that you should have. 

MR: That's a great way to put it. So, my next question, why does it matter to have a brand? You just answered that. It helps you focus, and it helps people know that when they come into Debbie, they can ask you about these specific topics, and you're the person to go to for it. You'll get them the answer. There's that element of having that such strong brand that, as you said, makes you that person to go-to. And I think that you've done a great job of that. 

DR: Thank you. I had gone to another conference in New York. A lawyer was talking about how to get business as a solo practitioner or stuff like that. One of the things that he said that stuck with me and is very important, which is—it is not what you know, and it is not who know. It is about who knows what you know. If people don't know what you know or cannot explain to people what you're good at and how you can help them, it's got to be hard for your career progress. 

MT: I love that quote.

MR: Going back to your brand, what we like to do for the podcast is provide listeners with one or two takeaways. Based on your experience building your brand, what is something that people can do today to march forward to learn and develop their brand?

DR: Hone my message. Everyone has a brand, whether they know it or not. You know, that's what I've learned. You want to be the one driving your own bus. Figure out what you want people to know about you professionally and have a message that you can deliver consistently, and have it tied together. One thing that I do on LinkedIn that maybe some other people don't do is that I don't post loads of stuff. Most of my stuff is either data or data privacy or law. Those are the things that I post about. I don't deviate from that. Otherwise, I will confuse a person. 

MT: This has been so interesting. Thank you so much. Outside of work and outside of data privacy, what are some things that you love to do? 

DR: People would be surprised. No one who knows me professionally would think that I was introverted, but I am. I like doing things by myself, so reading books or walking. I'm learning more about photography and videography. So I do that a lot. It's fun for me because I have a podcast that I've been working on. It's been fun to learn new data things. 

MT:What's the name of the podcast? Our listeners should go check it out. 

DR: It's called The Data Diva Talks Privacy Podcast. It is actually hosted by EDRM Global Podcast Network. If you subscribe to that, you'll see my episodes. I was named one of the top 10 data privacy podcasts recently.

MT:That's awesome. Congrats. 

DR: Thank you. 

MT:Everyone listening, you have another podcast to listen to if you haven't already. 

DR: What's fun for me is that I get to work with people in different types of industries. That's probably the most fun. Data privacy is something that touches any industry. A framework of standards for virtual reality and augmented reality devices is very cool because that's very cutting edge and emerging. That's what interesting to me in the future. 

MR:Debbie, we've had a lot of fun chatting with you. Thank you for joining us.

DR: This is so much fun. I'm glad. I hope that some of the stuff that I've talked about will help people as much as they've helped me. For me, it came down to focusing, so I hope that will save people more time. 

MR: Definitely. I have some takeaways that I'm going to do. 

MT:Me too. 

MR: For Stellar Women, I'm Mary Rechtoris.

MT:And I'm Mila Taylor.

Both: Signing off.

In this episode, Mila and I chat with Sonia about her experience in the compliance world, engaging in conversations with your managers, and mentorship.

Having been in the industry for 29 years, Gina also shares how the industry has evolved, and how gender norms have shifted over the years. Check out the episode to hear more!

Check out this episode to learn about mentoring your teammates and how to champion your team’s works with clients and throughout organizations.

Stellar Women chatted with Beth and Corinne on what BDO has done to create a more inclusive and diverse workforce, and how to instill confidence in yourself when you may be the only female in a pitch meeting, or an important client call. We also dove into the importance of mentorship and sponsorship and how these individuals can help shape your career and be your voice in the room.

This year’s Stellar Women Innovation Award Winner, Kenya Dixon, joined Mila and myself to share what she’s learned about herself this year, connecting with mentors both inside and outside of your industry, and why you should always have a plan (and be OK if that plan shifts in a completely new direction).

Tune into the episode to learn about all things sun and moon signs, the importance of giving yourself grace, and tips for navigating these unprecedented times in both your work and personal life.

In this episode, Mila and I caught up with Kamaka on practical tools for navigating difficult conversations and why it is important to lead with positivity.

Check out this episode to see what Lesley enjoys about the corporate world and why she embraces the spillover between her work and personal life.

In this episode, Maribel openly walked us through her life's events that led her to be the compassionate and driven leader that she is today. It was such a pleasure to learn about the strong network of people she has created for herself, as well as how to be the CEO of our own lives.

Mila and I chatted with them about everything from why Winnie loves chicken to the many avenues that professionals can pursue in the e-discovery field—and plenty more in between.

Joining us are Joanne Fung from the States, Kimlynne Olivier from South Africa, and Satinder Soni from the UK. Much like our scattered geographies, our conversation touched on an array of topics from the challenges and opportunities of working across time zones to sponsorship versus mentorship, and even what’s like to own an eco-friendly eco-lodge home to hippos.

We also discussed their spirit for innovation, advice for supporting up-and-coming leaders in this field, and steps organizations can take to help make e-discovery a more gender equitable field. Be sure to tune into the Innovation Awards on Sept. 23 at 9 AM as we unveil the winner for Stellar Women and our other people categories at Relativity Fest this year!

Listen to this episode to see how Altlaw creates a level play field for their employees, and why it is important for the industry to continue efforts toward diversifying.

Tune into this episode to learn about how Cobra’s female attorneys are succeeding against a slew of obstacles in Chennai, India, and how the company has thrived with an 80-percent female workforce.

Karimah chats with our customers daily, so she was able to share her insight into the types of conversations and adaptations being made in the international e-discovery space in response to the current COVID-19 crisis. She also gave us a sneak peek into her Relativity Fest London session, “Navigating Through Uncertain Times in e-Discovery.”

Based in Dublin but hailing from all over, Inés is the award-winning head of information management and incident response at the consultancy BSI, where she works with clients on data concerns, from security to e-discovery to management to forensics.

Brand Director JC Steinbrunner joined IInés and Stellar Women host Mary Rechtoris at Ireland’s oldest pub, the Brazen Head, as the podcast’s first male guest. Over a pint of (what else?) Guinness on a blustery day, we chatted about the lessons of travel, her work with Avocats Sans Frontières, the meaning of data resilience, the nuances of mentoring, and what, exactly, is Gaelic football.

Nominate a stellar woman in the field to be a part of this podcast here: https://resources.relativity.com/women-in-ediscovery-nomination.html?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=cta

To nominate a stellar woman for the podcast and the 2020 Stellar Women Innovation Award, please click here : https://resources.relativity.com/women-in-ediscovery-nomination.html?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=cta

Stellar Women co-hosts Mary Rechtoris and Mila Taylor attended the event. In this month's mini-episode, they share their impressions of the finalists and their favorite takeaways from the panel.

For more coverage of the event, visit The Relativity Blog.

So, with her expert input, our latest Stellar Women episode dives into the intricacies of what it takes to be a successful manager—and includes some tips for first-time Toronto travelers.

This episode of Stellar Women is unique in that our guest was nominated by her daughter, Desiree. When Mary Rechtoris met Desiree at the Women in e-Discovery conference, she told her about our podcast and its goal to celebrate female leaders in legal tech. She immediately nominated her mother, Khrys McKinney, to be a podcast guest.

Soon after, our co-hosts met Khrys in Chicago and discussed how companies can retain top talent and create a more inclusive work environment, while also sharing some laughs about Mary's lack of technological proficiency and a potential business idea for the next big thing.

We took this episode of Stellar Women international—back to our co-host, Mila Taylor's, very special home town of Sydney, Australia. Mila and her Relativity colleague, Mary Rechtoris, had the opportunity to chat with the incredible Joanne Chua-Robertson from Deloitte. Joanne has thrived in the face of rejection, navigated the complexities of standing out in a small, rural town, and ultimately created a career for herself that is undeniably stellar.

It was an added bonus for Joanne and Mila to bond over Australian culture and the vernacular that makes the country great, as well as the coined lingo that encourages everyone to “give it a go.”

Recognizing those who have done wonderful things to better the industry and careers of others is crucial. For this episode of Stellar Women in e-Discovery, Relativity's Mary Rechtoris spoke to Joy Murao and Tricia Johnson about why we need to elevate each other and celebrate those who are going out there and making a difference.

We connected in May at the Women in e-Discovery first annual conference in Austin. This is the second episode of our Stellar Women in e-Discovery “On the Road” series.

Plot twist—it’s our new cohost. Mila Taylor escorted Mary Rechtoris to the Women in e-Discovery conference in Austin. While there, the pair quickly discovered a shared interest in mentorship, empowerment, and exploring all the interesting facets that contribute to making a woman stellar.

In this episode, we chatted with Jacy Schoen, VP of strategy and consulting and senior e-discovery counsel at Precision Discovery. From job losses to bosses who supported technological innovation, Jacy shares her career journey and outlines the events that shaped where she is today.

Mary had the opportunity to catch up with two guests of Stellar Women in e-Discovery—Tricia Johnson and Joy Murao—for the podcast’s “On the Road” special edition series. In this episode, Tricia and Joy discuss what it means to be innovative in legal tech today and how they have paved a path of innovation throughout their careers.

For Stellar Women in e-Discovery, Relativity's Mary Rechtoris chatted with Tricia, a Chicagoan and marketer, about finding a community within e-discovery, moving from one industry to the next, and why we should all go the extra mile to celebrate our team members, friends, and industry colleagues.

Currently serving as associate director at Exiger, Jariya Laoriendee is our latest Stellar Women in e-Discovery nominee. Early on a Monday morning (or afternoon, for you UK readers), we chatted about the importance of channeling positive energy, how automation and analytics play a pivotal role in complying with new regulations, and why residents in a new country should “be bold, be brave, and explore.”

As the executive director of the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), Mary is mentor and friend to countless men and women in the legal tech space. For Stellar Women in e-Discovery, we caught up with Mary on why diversifying the e-discovery community is an uphill battle, how underrepresented groups can succeed in this competitive industry, and the importance of a formal mentor-mentee relationship.

To see a transcript of this podcast, check out this blog post.

Relativity's Mary Rechtoris had the opportunity to speak with Chris at Relativity Fest. Listen to their discussion to learn about what drew Chris to e-discovery, what spurred her to found Sadie Blue, and the key difference between yoga and Pilates.

To see a transcript of this podcast and the original video recording, check out this blog post.

The campaign has grown tremendously and even became an Innovation Award category at Relativity Fest 2018.

In this final episode for 2018, April and Mary reflect on the conversations had and connections fostered this year. We also got to speak with Joy Murao—winner of this year’s Innovation Award in the Stellar Women category—and share our thoughts for the year ahead.

To see a transcript of this podcast and its original publication materials, check out this blog post.

Brendan Ryan of Relativity had the good fortune to meet with Rebecca—as well as several other Stellar Women in e-Discovery nominees—during Relativity Fest for a special in-person edition of our series. Give it a listen to hear Rebecca’s thoughts on the role of technology and change in e-discovery, encouraging STEM career paths for young girls, and how to foster excitement for innovation on a legal team.

To see the original video recording of this blog past, check out this blog post.

Relativity's Mary Rechtoris chatted with Judy for this Stellar Women in e-Discovery podcast about the rise of automation in e-discovery, the value of mentorship, and why no message is ever truly deleted, which may come as an unwelcome surprise to many avid Snapchat users.

To see a transcript of this podcast and a portion of Judy's nomination, check out this blog post.

On this month's podcast, Peg chats with Relativity's April Runft to share what surprised her about moving in-house, why it’s vital that litigation support pros can “bridge the gap,” and how her science background and curiosity to get under the hood with legal tech keep the e-discovery magic alive.

To see a transcript of this podcast and a portion of Peg's nomination, check out this blog post.

After she was nominated by her colleague for Stellar Women in e-Discovery, Relativity's Mary Rechtoris spoke with Caitlin on how technology-assisted review (TAR) will continue to transform the e-discovery field, and how she is getting ready for her next big adventure: parenthood.

To see a transcript of this podcast and a portion of Caitlin's nomination, check out this blog post.

During an interview for Stellar Women in e-Discovery, Terra spoke with Mary Rechtoris of Relativity about the current state of artificial intelligence in the e-discovery field and why being successful—in tech and in life—means you have to be a little scrappy.

To see a transcript of this podcast and a portion of Terra's nomination, check out this blog post.

Joy has been an inspiration and a leader to many in the field. Several of her colleagues and peers nominated her for Stellar Women in e-Discovery for her enthusiasm for education and ability to collaborate with her clients to solve challenges.

Mary Rechtoris of Relativity chatted with Joy on her career, her aptitude for problem solving, and why we all should consider a lesson in improv.

To see a transcript of this podcast and a portion of Joy's nomination, check out this blog post.

adjective

(informal) “Featuring or having the quality of a star performer; exceptionally good; outstanding”

What does “stellar” look like in e-discovery?

At Relativity, we recently launched a campaign asking the e-discovery industry to nominate the professional women in their world who personify “stellar.” What you’re telling us: stellar goes beyond navigating through tricky technical challenges, complex regulatory environments, overlapping projects, and the steady thrum of deadlines. Stellar means to make time in the chaos to mentor others, prioritize learning, celebrate the strengths of your team and colleagues across your organization, and be a champion for innovation—even if that means more work in the short term.

According to her teammates, Mimi Singh, associate general counsel and director of e-discovery at Evolver, more than fits the bill of our Stellar Women in e-Discovery. April Runft from Relativity sat down with Mimi to learn more about keeping up—and keeping a sense of humor.

To see a transcript of this podcast and a portion of Mimi's nomination, check out this blog post.