The mission of the National Litigation Support Team (NLST) is to address the impact digital information has on court appointed criminal defense practitioners for the Defender Services program for them to fulfill their sixth amendment responsibilities. They assist counsel in identifying issues related to the collection, production, and management of electronically stored information (ESI, or also known as e-discovery) and digital evidence. They provide technology, resources, education and training for CJA panel counsel and Federal Defender Office (FDO) team members to efficiently search, review, and analyze e-discovery and digital evidence. The NLST also serves as a resource to the Defender Services program to assist in the long-range planning required to address issues pertinent to evolving e-discovery practices and policies.
For CJA panel attorneys, the NLST is your consultant, your resource center, and your sounding board for all litigation support aspects of your case from beginning to end. They are here to support both you and FDOs throughout the country. Whether you are considering what data to request, how to manage the discovery you have received, or what type of presentation you would like to use in the courtroom, they can provide assistance and guidance based on our own experiences, industry standards, and general guidelines and principles they have developed that focus not only on document management but overall case management.
The National Litigation Support Team consists of:
Sean Broderick - National Litigation Support Administrator
Sean oversees the National Litigation Support Team. He provides guidance and recommendations to federal courts, federal defender organization staff, and court appointed attorneys on electronic discovery and complex cases, particularly in the areas of evidence organization, document management and trial presentation. Sean is the co-chair of the Joint Working Group on Electronic Technology in the Criminal Justice System (JETWG), a joint Department of Justice and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts national working group which examines the use of electronic technology in the federal criminal justice system and suggested practices for the efficient and cost-effective management of post-indictment electronic discovery. Before his current position, Sean worked as an investigator, mitigation specialist, and paralegal on numerous complex cases. In these different capacities, he dealt with a wide range of criminal and civil cases, including multi-defendant, white collar fraud, federal trial, capital trial, and habeas corpus death penalty cases. In addition to his hands-on work, Sean has spent considerable time training legal professionals in electronic discovery management, investigations and litigation support, both in the United States and abroad.
Sean can be reached at Sean_Broderick@fd.org.
Kelly Scribner - Assistant National Litigation Support Administrator
Kelly specializes in case management, workflow design and vendor relations. Prior to working with us, Kelly was the Director of Litigation Support Services for Loxodrome Solutions, Inc., a litigation support vendor which works with civil law firms in the United States on document management and discovery needs. Prior to this position, Kelly was a senior litigation paralegal for Affymetrix, Inc., a biotech company, and at Pillsbury Winthrop LLP in San Francisco. She has ten years of litigation support and legal experience relevant to our national needs, including project management of multi-national civil cases, overseeing onsite document collection, the assessment and selection of technology vendors, training end-users on litigation support software, and the supervision of large teams of attorneys conducting the review of legal documents.
Kelly can be reached at Kelly_Scribner@fd.org.
Alex Roberts - National Litigation Support Paralegal
Alex focuses on the technical areas of litigation support and can assist with identifying what technology to use and when to use it. Alex has more than 20 years of experience in the field of litigation support. Prior to joining us, Alex was a litigation support technical analyst and workflow coordinator for Foster Pepper, PLLC, a law firm in Seattle, Washington where he supervised and coordinated electronic discovery workflow, litigation software training, provided advanced legal database support and gave trial presentation consulting. Of particular note, Alex has worked in the past with CJA panel attorneys in the Western District of Washington, consulting and participating in a number of complex CJA matters.
Alex can be reached at Alex_Roberts@fd.org.
Joe Wanzala - National Litigation Support Paralegal
Joe's experience has included a focus on leveraging e-discovery solutions for complex litigation and identifying best practices. Prior to joining the NLST, Joe was a trial paralegal with the Federal Public Defender in Oakland, California. Before that he worked at several law firms including Shartsis Friese LLP, Orrick, and Morrison & Foerster; developing specializations in regulatory enforcement and white-collar defense. He also worked as an investigator on death penalty cases for the California Appellate Project and was a policy analyst for the California Public Utilities Commission, Public Advocates Office.
Joe can be reached at Joe_Wanzala@fd.org
Carl Adams - National Litigation Support Paralegal
Carl joined the National Litigation Support Team in early 2022. Previously he was the Litigation Support Specialist in the Iowa Federal Defender Office for three years. At the FPD he assisted with discovery management, forensics including Cellebrite extractions, audio and video editing, and exhibit creation. Carl enjoys trying to solve problems using cheap and open-source tools. Prior to joining the FPD, Carl clerked for state and federal judges, and briefly dabbled in a private bankruptcy and state criminal law practice.
Carl can be reached at Carl_Adams@fd.org
Luz Vargas - National Litigation Support Paralegal
Luz has over a decade of experience working in all aspects of indigent criminal defense from client intake, discovery organization, trial assistance, appellate work, sentencing preparation, and litigation support. She was a trial unit paralegal in the Western District of Washington Federal Defender Office (Seattle, WA) as well as the District of New Mexico Federal Defender Office (Las Cruces, NM). Luz has assisted with discovery management involving a variety of formats including multimedia files, computer and mobile forensic files, and proprietary files. Luz also worked with a panel attorney at McGraw & Strickland, LLC where she fully experienced the type of support needed by all types of legal teams and can now put that experience to work as part of the National Litigation Support Team. Her focus as part of the NLST will be on case support for FDOs on the use of Ipro Eclipse SE and direct assistance to panel attorneys with the creation of hyperlinked spreadsheets, the conversion of proprietary audio and video files, and any other assistance that is needed to effectively organize and review government produced discovery.
Luz can be reached at Luzevelia_Vargas@fd.org