Our data strategy team makes your mountains into molehills with expert ediscovery and litigation services.
Our mission is to not only provide you with intuitive, easy-to-use ediscovery & litigation software, but also advisory technical services if and when you need them.
We’re client-centric, and everything we do – from our broad range of litigation services to product development – starts with solving your needs and the needs of your firm. So you can breathe easy during the moments it matters most in your case.
Big data requires bigger planning. Nextpoint data strategists are legal and technical experts. They help you defensibly reduce your ediscovery burden at the outset and minimize expenses throughout any project.
These energetic people are dedicated to helping whenever needed. So here is a little bit about who and what makes our Nextperts amazing resources for all ediscovery and litigation services:
Megan O’Leary / Engagement, Senior Director
Education: Iowa State University | BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering
Professional Background: Megan has fifteen years of experience in Litigation Consulting, primarily focusing on trial services and presentation, and an additional three years in Marketing and Data Analytics at Leo Burnett (The inspiration for Mad Men). Now, Megan is combining her data analytics, design, and litigation knowledge here at Nextpoint, providing a broad range of litigation services to our clients.
How did you get started at Nextpoint? “One of my former colleagues, Chief Operations Officer Tricia Boguslawski, joined Nextpoint about six years before she brought me over to the team. I was excited to learn more about the ediscovery side of the litigation continuum. I appreciate that I am always learning.”
Hobbies and Interests? “I enjoy international travel, the Chicago Cubs, and my beloved Iowa State Cyclones; no explanation necessary, they are all inherently awesome.”
Sonali Hanson / Engagement, Senior Director
Education: University of Wisconsin-Madison | BS in Mechanical Engineering | John Marshall Law School | JD
Professional Background: Starting as a Mechanical Engineer, Sonali went on to pursue a career in law, specializing in Intellectual Property. She has served as both a legal analyst and attorney. Going on eleven years in the industry, she is exercising her expertise on the technical side of the law with Nextpoint.
How did you get started at Nextpoint? “Nextpoint was a random LinkedIn find for me at a time when I was looking to pursue the more technical side of the legal industry. I have been at Nextpoint ever since.”
Hobbies and Interests? “One random memory I recall is my first, and only, fish ever caught. It was a 40″ halibut in Alaska. Pretty proud of that moment. You can find me traveling, reading, golfing, skiing, cooking, and painting for fun.”
John Thuet / Product Training + Support Director
Education: Loyola University Chicago | BA in History & Secondary Education | American Public University | MA in History
Professional Background: John spent time in education, serving as an Interim Principal, and went on to pursue a career in data, his long-time interest. After serving as a business data analyst for several years, John is now utilizing both his education and data analytics experience for all things ediscovery, supporting users at Nextpoint.
How did you get started at Nextpoint? “I always wanted to move into data analytics, so I enrolled and completed a “Coding Bootcamp” to master some new skills. From there, the search for a position in data began. After gaining experience within the industry, I got connected with our long-time Account Director Elyse.”
Hobbies and Interests: “I played volleyball in college and am now trying to get my kids interested in the sport. I’ve already brainwashed my 2 and 4-year-old daughters into loving the game. They are going to make quite the Beach 2’s Team!”
Ally Spear / Project Director – Discovery
Education: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | BA in Communication | John Marshall Law School | JD
Professional Background: After graduating from law school, Ally worked in private practice, handling criminal defense and general civil work for two years. Next, she spent four years as a prosecutor with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office, handling a variety of matters within the criminal division. After spending 11 years in the legal field, with 8 years as an attorney, she now applies her knowledge and experiences learned in the courtroom to assist clients and provide litigation services at Nextpoint.
How did you get started at Nextpoint? “I’ve known about Nextpoint for a while because one of my best friends, Sonali Hanson, has been with the company for several years. She spent a year telling me that she thought I’d really enjoy working here and should make the move, so eventually I left my career as a trial attorney and took the plunge. So far, Sonali has been absolutely right, and I haven’t looked back!”
Hobbies and Interests: “I really enjoy traveling and spending time with my Big Fat Greek-Italian family and friends. Any other activities I find myself doing usually involve any of those three.”
Nick Junemann / Project Manager – Litigation
Education: Michigan State University | BAs in Geography & Political Science – Pre-Law | Northwestern University | MS in Information Design and Strategy
Professional Background: Nick worked as a professional baker for a year and a half before transitioning to the legal field. He has worked in litigation services for 7 years, with the last 5 as a Litigation Support Manager.
How did you get started at Nextpoint? “I found my way to Nextpoint via vetting them as a potential ediscovery vendor for the firm I was working for.”
Hobbies and Interests: “I have a goal of going to 100 countries and am about a quarter of the way there! Another fun fact: I have never had a real hamburger.”
Mazen Alswar / Support Engineer
Education: University College of Bahrain | BA in Public Relations and Communications | SOAS, University of London | MA in Media Studies
Professional Background: Mazen studied media and politics and worked as a PR officer, then moved into international relations, where he served as a diplomat for Bahrain. He decided to switch courses and get into tech, so he joined a coding bootcamp where he picked up software engineering and spent the following year as a teaching assistant helping others make similar switches into tech.
How did you get started at Nextpoint? “After my contract as a teaching assistant ended, I wanted to gain more practical experience in the field. Luckily, an old friend who works at Nextpoint told me about an opening and encouraged me to apply.”
Hobbies and Interests: “I love soccer and almost headed down the path of professional soccer growing up. I also enjoy reading, watching anime and playing all kinds of video games.”
Galen Burghardt / Data Engineer
Education: DePaul University | BA in Political Science
Professional Background: From keypunching on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to renovation demolitions, ice cream scooping, and politics, Galen has done it all. Prior to Nextpoint, Galen worked in inside sales, sales operations, research, and graphic design for a variety of analytics/data warehousing providers.
How did you get started at Nextpoint? “After working in data warehousing and analytics for several years, I went to a web development boot camp to learn how to code on my own. From there, I spent maybe 5-6 months building my website just to get my head better wrapped around writing code. Over those months a good friend of mine from the boot camp was hired at Nextpoint in marketing and UX. She told me that Nextpoint was looking for someone to add to their Data Strategy Group. Now, here I am.”
Hobbies and Interests: “Anything tangentially related to trees fascinates me. I appreciate woodworking with my son, birdwatching, gardening, really anything that has anything to do with trees. The idea of something living as long as trees do is fascinating. Some live up to 10,000 years. It’s baffling.”
Peter Li / Software Engineer I
Education: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | BS in Information Science
Professional Background: “After graduating college, Peter worked for an insurance company for 2.5 years before joining Nextpoint in August 2021.
How did you get started at Nextpoint? “I graduated university back in 2019 and worked in Nebraska for a few years. I missed home and decided to come back to southeast Wisconsin. I joined Nextpoint in August 2021 and I’ve loved working with the team here.”
Hobbies and Interests: “I enjoy traveling and I studied abroad in Ireland for a semester.”
Mitch Dollar / Software Engineer II
Education: Indiana University | BS in Informatics and Medical Sciences
Professional Background: “Mitch did technical support for Epic, the medical software company, for 2.5 years before joining the Nextpoint team.
How did you get started at Nextpoint? “I wanted to switch up industries while still working in technical support. When I got the chance to enter the legal field with Nextpoint, I jumped at the opportunity, and it’s been great.”
Hobbies and Interests: “I play trombone (among other instruments) and have played in the Macy’s Day Parade. I’ve also played a solo in front of 20,000+ people!”
REMEMBER — you can always contact your Client Success Director to schedule a case consultation, clientsuccess@nextpoint.com.
Some Ediscovery and Litigation Services Provided:
ESI Protocol Prep: Win your “Meet & Confer” with our seasoned experts on your side
Data Collections: Lean on our specialists for email, cloud and remote collection projects
Tactical Data Reduction: Strategically reduce large data sets with advanced concept clustering
Artificial Intelligence: Leverage machine learning to make smart decisions early in a project
