1 E-discovery: Mission Impossible
The following story illustrates how opportunities can arise unexpectedly.
Indeed, at 56 years old, I did not expect to find an interesting position. Often, arguments like “too old” or “overqualified” are used to reject employment, especially when it comes to a woman.
While applying for a project manager position, I received a job offer from the Legal Department of the bank. They were looking for an experienced project manager in the field of banking information systems to oversee an important project at both national and international levels.
During the first job interview, I met three directors, including an experienced lawyer who turned out to be a valuable ally. The other two directors were also very impressive in their respective roles. Although I did not fully understand the exact expectations of the position, I answered positively to the question: yes, I was familiar with the bank’s information system.
During the second job interview, I was terrified at the thought of meeting the Secretary General of the group. I expected to be disqualified, but after just 10 minutes, without dwelling on my profile, the person who would be my future supervisor informed me that he was following the opinion of his directors and that the U.S. authorities required us to start very quickly.
Never before had an internal job interview been conducted so swiftly. The spontaneous trust and mutual respect never wavered over the course of these six years.
I then understood that this position would be very special; the stakes were enormous for the bank, especially since the press had just announced a $9 billion fine imposed on a bank for similar misconduct attributed to ours.
Two days later, I attended my first meeting, which proved to be very intimidating, with American lawyers and a London-based consulting firm. They spoke rapidly in English and discussed topics completely unfamiliar to me.
I felt lost among people who seemed unreachable; among them was Pierre, a Partner Lawyer at the American firm, author of a book “deals of justice” about American justice, and advisor to the CEOs of CAC 40 companies. His reputation was already established. At that time, I did not imagine that Pierre would become both an initiator and a valuable ally for Theolex.
That’s how I embarked on the riskiest adventure within the group, accepting the position of Technical Manager of e-discovery.
But wait, what is e-discovery, and what does it entail?
E-discovery is an internal investigation commissioned by a U.S. regulator that requires you to provide all the data related to the investigation over a more or less extended period, with a certificate guaranteeing the non-alteration of this data, and within incredible deadlines.
My role involved collecting all the data related to the bank’s dollar payments over the past 10 years, which amounted to hundreds of millions of pieces of information. These data had to be collected, structured, and processed by a team of consultants from the London-based consulting firm.
Throughout my career in the group, I had always prioritized human relationships among colleagues. My choice of working in the IT field was not only driven by an interest in new technologies but also by the desire to explore the various banking roles in France and internationally. As a result, I had worked in more than 8 different departments, which allowed me to build a network of colleagues with diverse backgrounds. Little did I know that this network I had painstakingly built would be a source of support for this mission.
As I mentioned, e-discovery is an investigation, which means that from the start, you are in a state of shock due to the demands placed upon you. Imagine standing in front of your supervisor accompanied by an American lawyer, being asked if you remember precisely what happened 12 years ago on a specific date, and being asked if you could retrieve all the elements, documents, and emails you exchanged during that time, all within a two-week timeframe. Due to the confidentiality of the request, you are unaware of its nature, but the presence of a lawyer has a paralyzing effect on you.
The initial reaction of your colleagues to your request was one of refusal and rejection. The technical teams, mostly composed of constantly changing consultants, were not present at the time. All the data had been copied onto tapes or tapes, and we didn’t have the right readers, which became obsolete every 2 years. Finding the old readers would have taken months, while I was given a two-week deadline. Fortunately, we were able to find some old readers at a flea market, which will go down in the annals of the investigation.
It took reaching out to no less than 500 of my friends, technicians, engineers, and bankers with whom I share a passion for new technologies, to accomplish the feat of finding everything. Without the strong bonds that unite colleagues in difficult times, without the behind-the-scenes efforts of all those “silent computer specialists” who may not speak much but have the gift of never conceding anything to machines, nothing would have been possible.
Furthermore, as the investigation was taking place simultaneously in France, Europe, and Asia under the guidance of our American colleagues, success relied not only on technical knowledge but also on motivation and the warmest smile to overcome every obstacle. The word solidarity is written in every language.
This experience taught me that the most challenging challenges can be overcome through solidarity and cooperation among team members. We all have unique skills, and we must learn to rely on each other to achieve our common goals.
If the technical teams were under strong pressure, the pressure on the bank’s management was immense. It was crucial to quickly establish trust relationships with numerous directors in order to persuade the US regulators of our willingness to cooperate.
Fortunately, we found a valuable ally in Joydeep, a lawyer from the American firm. He played a crucial role in connecting us with the American teams and patiently explaining the situation to us. Thanks to this extraordinary man, who granted us access to his extensive global network of relationships, we knew which direction to take and managed to maintain this pace for four years.
Joydeep quickly took an interest in our small team. He is an extraordinary character.
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