FTI Consulting, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of Strategic Discovery, Inc.
Acquisition greatly expands FTI Technology segment's West Coast platform, creates a bridge to the Asian market and increases its presence within the corporate client base
NEW YORK, Feb. 12 - FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:FCN), the global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations protect and enhance their enterprise value, today announced the acquisition of Strategic Discovery, Inc. ("SDI"), a premier firm known for its market and thought leadership as well as its steadfast commitment to advancing rational and cost effective responses for corporate clients facing Electronically Stored Information (ESI) demands. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Strategic Discovery is a leader in the litigation discovery industry with innovative, comprehensive approaches to paper and electronic discovery as well as records management. SDI's twenty-five professionals bring more than 250 years of direct hands-on experience solving problems in law firms, major corporations and top technology and consulting firms.
"We are pleased to welcome the Strategic Discovery team to FTI," commented Jack Dunn, FTI's President and CEO. "SDI is an ideal fit with our Technology segment and furthers its strategic development across several dimensions. From its headquarters in San Francisco, SDI will immediately give Technology a significant presence in the Northern California market, which will allow us to pursue opportunities and serve our clients better. In addition, the West Coast increasingly serves as a bridge to Asia, where SDI's ongoing work with clients will extend FTI's capabilities in that rapidly expanding region. Finally, SDI's focus on corporate legal departments complements our existing relationships and accelerates our expansion into the corporate marketplace."
"Having worked together before, we know the SDI team well," said FTI Technology segment leader David Remnitz. "With a strong cultural match and complementary business models, this acquisition is a natural fit for FTI to extend our platform of people and products. SDI's market leading expertise and dedicated professionals will not only add capacity to meet increasing demand, but as importantly, they will bring critical thought leadership and vision as we continue to serve our global client base in the years to come."
SDI's clients will benefit immediately from access to the FTI global network of more than 2,400 professionals with expertise in economics, forensic and litigation consulting, technology, restructuring and strategic communications.
"We had a number of options - and after a careful review selected FTI as the right choice for both our people and clients," said Adam Bendell, President of SDI. "We both agree that corporations must think - and act - strategically in order to control records and their discovery. Since its inception, SDI's mission has been to help clients navigate the maze of digital discovery with a focus on rendering demonstrable results. We stand committed to working with our clients and helping them to build rational, repeatable and responsive processes."
The SDI team will immediately enhance FTI's global end-to-end offering of software, services and consulting for corporate clients facing global electronic discovery-related challenges, including the need for:
o Proactive litigation readiness and records management consulting. This
"upstream" offering helps to seed sound, defensible and financially
viable corporate programs.
o Efficient and timely handling of responses to antitrust Second
Requests. As an example, SDI pioneered the first fully electronic
response to the FTC in connection with its work for HP in the HP Compaq
merger.
o Rapid data processing and review with Attenex® Patterns®
electronic discovery software. Both FTI and SDI are leading Attenex®
Advantage(TM) partners.
Highly regarded as luminaries in areas including antitrust focused electronic discovery, records and retention management strategies and strategic consulting for corporate litigation readiness, four SDI principles will assume leadership roles within the FTI Technology segment:
o Adam Bendell, formerly the President of Strategic Discovery, will
become a Senior Managing Director at FTI. Mr. Bendell brings to FTI a
wealth of experience and thought leadership around the complex issues
presented by large-scale electronic discovery. He was previously
President of SV Technology, Inc., and Chief Technology Counsel for
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
o Daryl Teshima, formerly a Principal of Strategic Discovery, will become
a Managing Director at FTI. He has published over fifty articles and
is a past member of the Executive Committee of the California State
Bar's Law Practice Management and Technology section. Daryl was
previously Director of Practice Systems at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
and Editor-in-Chief of Law Office Computing. He brings to FTI
experience working directly on more than fifty transactions and
litigations over the past decade.
o Sophie Ross, former Chief Operating Officer of Strategic Discovery,
will become a Managing Director at FTI. Ms. Ross is a seasoned
executive with over fifteen years of experience in growth company
management and operations with firms including Freeborders Inc.
(application outsourcing and software services), Revlon, Inc. and the
Boston Consulting Group.
o David Grant is a Strategist with Strategic Discovery and will be a
Director at FTI. David worked as a Litigation Support Analyst with
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. His client work focuses on major
antitrust and commercial litigation cases with significant electronic
discovery and trial preparation requirements, as well as proactive
discovery readiness projects.
About Strategic Discovery, Inc.
Strategic Discovery Inc. helps law firms and corporations craft and implement strategic responses to the challenges of electronic discovery and records retention. The company streamlines the handling of large document collections in complex litigation, government investigations, and antitrust second requests. Strategic Discovery designs programs for coordinating corporate discovery response across numerous matters and pro-active electronic records management. The company's focus is improving consistency and reducing the total cost of discovery.
About FTI Consulting, Inc.
FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations protect and enhance enterprise value in an increasingly complex legal, regulatory and economic environment. With more than 2,400 professionals located in most major business centers in the world, we work closely with clients every day to anticipate, illuminate, and overcome complex business challenges in areas such as investigations, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory issues, reputation management and restructuring. More information can be found at www.fticonsulting.com.
FCMN Contact: bob.joyce@fd.com
Source: FTI Consulting, Inc.
CONTACT: Jack Dunn, President & CEO of FTI CONSULTING, +1-410-951-4800;
Adam Bendell, of SDI, 800-959-8001;
or Investors: Gordon McCoun,
or Media:
Andy Maas, both of FD, +1-212-850-5600
Web site: www.fticonsulting.com/
