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From Relativity’s Podcast, “Stellar Women in e-Discovery.” See other episodes here.
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Jariya Laoriendee moved to London ready to make connections and participate in a one-year internship program. Little did she know, she would fall in love with the city, earn a master’s degree from the University of Westminster, and establish herself as a leader in e-discovery nearly 10 years later.
Currently serving as an associate director at Exiger, Jariya is the 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.”
Jariya Laoriendee
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
EXIGER
PodCast TRANSCRIPT
Mary Rechtoris: Hello Stellar Women in e-Discovery fans. I’m Mary Rechtoris, one of your hosts of Stellar Women in e-Discovery. We are looking to recognize and celebrate female leaders making their mark in e-discovery. So, if you know any women who are breaking barriers, championing innovation, or paying it forward, please nominate them for our campaign. Every nominee this year will be up for consideration for the Innovation Awards in the Stellar Women in e-Discovery category at Relativity Fest this October. Today, I am joined by Jariya Laoriendee, the associate director of Exiger, based in London. Jariya, good morning or good afternoon to you!
Jariya Laoriendee: Good afternoon, Mary.
MR: How are you today?
JL: I’m very well, thank you. How are you?
MR: I’m doing well. I am just waking up here but nothing that some coffee can’t fix on this early Monday morning. Thanks for joining me Jariya. I wanted to start this off by asking you to tell me a bit about how you got to Exiger and got into e-discovery. What was your path?
JL: I first came to the UK almost 10 years ago to do a one-year internship program with Mountbatten Institute, you could either choose an MBA or an International Business Practice Diploma. You also have the opportunity to work full-time in a law firm or in the banking sector. I completed my diploma and worked at Deutsche Bank as a risk analyst. That was my first job in the UK. One year passed and I fell in love with London and that’s why I stayed and completed my master’s degree in computer forensics with distinction at the University of Westminster. Then, I started my e-discovery journey at the Big Four with Ernst & Young followed by KPMG. This is the first time that I also got to know about Relativity and explored a number of other tools within the industry and had the opportunity to learn the EDRM from start to finish. I then had the opportunity to work on many cases dealing with multi-terabytes of data. A few years passed, I went to work for the Clutch Group and worked to implement Relativity and a few other platforms. I also created many smart workflows and custom solutions around litigation and investigative-type work. Then, I came across Exiger and they were focused on global governance, risk, and compliance, which was something different than what I had experienced in the past. I could see that the company was investing highly in technology and had a number of proprietary software, such as DDIQ and Insight 3PM, that have been used in corporations, firms, and regulatory bodies. I can really see myself contributing to the e-discovery practice with an analytics-first approach and help with their investigation matters.
MR: And when you moved to Exiger, you really got more in the weeds with compliance. What do you see coming down the pipeline in compliance, which is a hot topic right now?
JL: With access to more and more data today, I believe regulatory expectations will require [organizations] to leverage the information contained in the data to proactively prevent breaches. This is where analytics in the e-discovery space really comes in. I think exercising technologies and having the real expertise are the key. Now, companies need to comply with regulations and perform their due diligence before onboarding any new clients or even employees. Much of these can be repetitive so building automated workflows and having the right expertise would help. I do love automation. My first job was a programmer. So, any time I come across any challenges or I need to create any solutions, I like to use automation and apply my programming skills and SQL skills to create something to tackle that problem.
MR: Do you think automation is going to become more of the name going forward for processes, compliance, and e-discovery?
JL: Yes, because nowadays everything becomes repetitive. The issues that we’ve always had are still there, but now, there is more and more data and we need to be better and quicker. Today, artificial intelligence and machine learning can really help. Leveraging the right tools at the right time and investing in the right people will help in the e-discovery world.
MR: Your nomination said you have a contagious, positive energy that always says: “can do.” What fuels that positive energy?
JL: I truly believe that with myself, life is too short, so you better be happy and enjoy your life. I think work isn’t everything, but it’s very important. If I have down moments or anything like that, the first thing that I’ll do is smile to myself and build that positive energy. I believe that everything is possible. At work, [it is important] to have a good plan, a good team, and a good leader. That helps you stay positive.
MR: I love that. What would you recommend to people [to stay positive]? We’ve all had those days where maybe we wake up in a bad mood, or you’re just working under a time crunch and you’re really stressed out. How do you maintain your sense of optimism when you’re stressed?
JL: Stay calm and carry on—that’s a famous idiom in England. When you face [tough situations], think through the outcome is [you want to achieve] and whether that’s an immediate outcome or a long-term plan. If I really get stuck, I confer with my colleague and meet with my advisor because you’re never alone. In the workplace, you have your team and colleagues who may not be on your same team. Talk to people, seek an advisor when needed—I think that is very important.
MR: You’ve been in London for about 10 years?
JL: Yup, around nine years-ish.
MR: What was it like taking a job in a new country, and what advice would you give to somebody that’s considering picking up their things and exploring a job somewhere else?
JL: I would say people should be bold, be brave, and enjoy exploring. Not many people get this kind of opportunity; sometimes, it can be once in a lifetime that you go and get to work in a different country. I’ve had the privilege of working in five countries, more or less. I would say be brave and explore. A little bit of advice is if you are moving to a new country to try and learn the local language and the local customs. That will help when you arrive in a new country. You don’t need to be an expert in the language. In business today, people do speak English. You should be able to speak a little bit of the local language, so you can understand and know what the customs are like. Before I first moved to London and because I was in an internship program, I tried to connect with people before I came so I could get an idea of the type of information they had about the country or the city and we could exchange some ideas for we arrived in a new place.
MR: What is your favorite non-touristy spot in London? I’ve been a couple of times—one time I went with my parents and we did the main touristy spots. I would love to know as someone who has been in London for the past several years, what’s your favorite non-touristy spot that you recommend people check out?
JL: London is so massive. I’ve been here for almost 10 years and I literally don’t explore enough. But, if I have to pick a place, I would recommend an area called Peckham in southeast London. It is because that is where I live right now and have been the last 10 years. Peckham is considered a little bit rough around the edges and has a reputation of not being safe. Nowadays, though, things have changed because there are many new popup coffee bars and restaurants. There’s my favorite place in London that I recommend you check out called Frank’s Bar. It’s a rooftop bar.
MR: For Stellar Women in e-Discovery, something that’s really big with the women we speak to is mentorship. So, I’d love to know if you’ve had a mentor who has impacted your career and why you think mentorship is important when bringing up new leaders in e-discovery and in general.
JL: I view so many people as my role models, including my colleagues, former colleagues, and even my clients. In the industry, any industry really not just e-discovery, it’s nice to have someone in the same boat and someone to understand what you’ve gone through and what you are going through. It’s really important. I recommend people attend events and explore new ideas about e-discovery, new technologies, or anything really. Exchanging ideas with people really helps [improve] your own thinking and creativity. It is important people do that on a regular basis.
MR: I spoke about this with a candidate a month or two ago. Networking is nobody’s favorite thing, but it’s super important in your career and life to build your network.
JL: It’s really important. To be honest, when I first started attending networking events, I felt super uncomfortable. It’s not natural, especially where I come from. People mingling and talking to new people has been new to me. When I came to this country, I’m quite reserved but I can really see the outcome and benefit of doing it. I have to really challenge myself to try to put myself out there and give it a go. Maybe one day I’m not focused on heavily communicating with someone and my thoughts are to go say hi, introduce myself, and say one or two sentences. Now, I am happy to go to any networking event and have a conversation with many people.
MR: Jariya, thank you for much for joining me today.
JL: Thank you very much for having me. Thank you.
MR: Of course. Listeners, please subscribe to Stellar Women in e-Discovery on whatever platform you use to download your podcasts. You don’t want to miss the latest episodes. And with that, for Stellar Women in e-Discovery, I’m Mary Rechtoris, signing off.
Mary Rechtoris is a member of the marketing team at Relativity, where she specializes in customer advocacy.
