Senior eDiscovery Consulting Team

Professor Alan Blakley, Esq.
Senior Consultant
Member of the eDiscovery Solutions Group Advisory Board

Alan F. Blakley has taught Evidence, Civil Procedure, Contracts and Advanced Trial Practice at the University of Montana and at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan.  Professor Blakley is a member of EDRM and The Sedona Conference working group on e-Discovery.  He is project leader for EDRM’s Code of Conduct project, and Chair of the Steering Committee of The Sedona Conference Working Group on Protective Orders, Confidentiality and Public Access.  Prior to teaching, Professor Blakley practiced law in Montana handling a variety of complex cases including national class actions.  He is licensed to practice in the courts of Montana and Texas and federal courts in Montana, Colorado, Michigan, the Court of Federal Claims, as well as federal courts of appeal for the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Tenth and Federal Circuits, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the United States Supreme Court. 

His writings include six books on discovery, including 2006 Digital Litigation Handbook published by American Lawyer Media. In collaboration with others, his book Discovery: Written and Electronic  is scheduled for release by NITA in Winter 2007 – 8.  His most recent popular article “Ethics and Professionalism in e-Discovery” appears in the August 2007 edition of The New Jersey Lawyer. His most recent scholarly writing “Digital Audio Files in Litigation: Did You Think Your Oral Comments Couldn’t Come Back to Haunt You?” appears in the Fall 2007 International Journal of Legal Technology Risk Management.  He brings an international perspective to the practice, having written about comparative e-discovery.  His article, “Information Technology and the Shift Beyond German Procedure in U.S. Courts,” was recently nominated for the best academic paper by the International Conference on Legal, Security and Privacy Issues in IT Law.

Beyond writing and teaching about e-Discovery, Professor Blakley has produced two videos for use in continuing legal education programs.   The latest, Electronic Discovery Update: Impact of the 2006 Federal Rules Changes, runs approximately one and one-half hours, uses a federal judge and practitioners to dramatize (in courtroom scenes) the impacts of the federal rules changes.    He is a frequent speaker at CLE’s across the country on topics relating to electronic information management, and is on faculty for NITA’s week long trial advocacy course.

Professor Blakley left academia in the Fall of 2006.  He is now a Senior Consultant with Third Coast Consultants where he offers a variety of services to law firm and corporate clients, as well as to the community at large.  Since he has conducted discovery in complex litigation, he is particularly suited to consult on litigation preparedness, to create discovery plans prior to filing litigation or prior to filing answers, or during preparation of initial mandatory disclosures.  He attends “meet and confer” and other hearings with clients.



Joan Feldman
Senior Consultant

Joan Feldman is an electronic discovery consultant and expert witness for select plaintiffs’ counsel.  Prior to affiliating with Third Coast Consultants, Ms. Feldman was a Managing Director for Navigant Consulting Inc., which acquired Ms. Feldman’s company Computer Forensics Inc. in 2005.  Joan Feldman  founded and served as president of Computer Forensics Inc. where she pioneered the use of electronic discovery in commercial litigation. 

Ms. Feldman’s background combines over thirty years of computer forensics and litigation expertise.  Ms. Feldman advises clients on strategic, cost effective e-discovery requests and responses.  A recognized author and authority on electronic media discovery and related topics, Ms. Feldman is a frequent national speaker, magazine contributor, and media resource for expert commentary.

Representative electronic discovery cases include product liability, trade secret theft, sexual harassment, contractual disputes, electronic document authentication, bankruptcy, insurance coverage disputes, construction accidents, shareholder class action, and antitrust litigation matters.

Prior to her computer forensic work, Ms. Feldman worked as a records management consultant for clients in the utility and nuclear power industry, developing needs analysis and recommendations for records and information management systems.  As a litigation consultant to law firms, her work included providing managerial support and staffing resources for litigation efforts, and serving as a consultant in the development, evaluation, implementation, and use of database management systems.  Ms. Feldman managed support efforts for many of the nation’s largest complex litigation matters.

Ms. Feldman is an expert resource for national and international media and a frequent guest lecturer at continuing legal education programs, universities, and industry groups.  Her book, The Essentials of Electronic Discovery: Finding and Using Cyber Evidence, was published in 2003.



Dr. David W. Rowe, ESQ
Senior Consultant

David W. Rowe is a practicing attorney and psychologist.  After earning his law degree from the University of Michigan, Dr. Rowe has over twenty years’ experience in civil litigation.  Prior to law school, Dr. Rowe earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Tennessee and taught psychology at the University of Tennessee and Davidson College.  He has been a post-doctoral fellow in Law & Psychology at the University of Nebraska,  where he taught and researched the use of social science methods in trial advocacy. 

A partner in the law firm of Kinsey Rowe Becker & Kistler, LLP, Dr. Rowe has extensive experience in commercial litigation, class action litigation on behalf of corporate shareholders, class action litigation on behalf of disabled individuals, family law, and employment discrimination.  He works as a mediator on a wide variety of cases, including products liability and tort cases.

As a Senior Consultant with Third Coast Consultants, Dr. Rowe uses his extensive background in psychology and trial work to provide any combination of the following services:

• Focus group research and trial simulations to identify patterns in mock jurors’ reactions to case themes and presentations
• Assisting in developing the story of the case
• Preparing witnesses for trial
• Assisting counsel in the preparation of questions based on relevant research and effective interview technique and advising counsel on best practices for obtaining the information needed in exercising challenges
• Post-trial juror interviews

Kyle J. Koehler
Senior Consultant

Kyle J. Koehler is business director of Third Coast Consultants as well as a consultant to assist law firms and corporations in identifying the proper vendors and software applications for their needs.  Furthermore, Mr. Koehler helps clients by becoming the liaison between them and those vendors or software providers.  Client corporations and law firms often do not have the time or desire to remain current with software or with all the vendors available.  Mr. Koehler can bridge that gap.

Mr. Koehler has several years of experience with a national litigation support vendor that manages electronic data discovery, scanning, imaging and coding.  He also has worked with a software company that specializes in document management for large assets including oil and gas, utilities and energy clients.

A native of Beaumont, Mr. Koehler attended Baylor University and Lamar University.  His network on America’s Third Coast and throughout the country is extensive.  Irrespective of the work of other consultants, Mr. Koehler will probably become involved when it comes time to translate theory and advice into practice.

Kenton J. Hutcherson, ESQ
Senior Consultant

Kenton J. Hutcherson is a principal with The Hutcherson Law Firm in Dallas, Texas.  Mr. Hutcherson’s practice is focused on leveraging electronic discovery to gain a credible advantage in litigation.  Mr. Hutcherson pioneered the practice known as “Critical eDiscovery”—the scrutiny of electronic document productions to uncover discovery misconduct.  He developed several patent-pending systems and methods to objectively identify and prove the withholding of material electronic documents, electronic document fragmentation, scrambling, deliberate duplication, burying, spoliation, alteration, and fabrication.

Mr. Hutcherson received his juris doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School where he was both a Heffernan Scholar and Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu Fellow. Also a National Merit Scholar and Dedman Merit Scholar (four-year full scholarship), Mr. Hutcherson studied in the prestigious Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his bachelor’s degree. For his senior thesis, Greed, Plan II awarded him its Model Thesis Award. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Hutcherson taught English as a foreign language in a public school in Sapporo, Japan.

Greg Jackson
Senior Consultant

Greg Jackson is an electronic discovery and litigation support specialist.  Mr. Jackson has over 20 years of experience in the fields of electronic discovery and litigation support management.  He has been an integral part of trial and arbitration teams throughout the World.  His patent pending systems and methods of identifying discovery misconduct provide a strategic litigation advantage to a wide range of cases including telecommunications and wireless networking, hospitality, insurance, banking, finance and healthcare matters.  Mr. Jackson serves as an active member of The Sedona Conference working group on e-Discovery.

Mr. Jackson applies imaging and database technologies to manage millions of documents and terabytes of electronic evidence.  In addition, his litigation support experience and technological know-how were part and parcel to the creation of one of the first offshore litigation coding facilities in the world.  He has been a leader at implementing technological innovation, as well as offshore data processing solutions, for cost savings in litigation.

Greg's passion for technology prepared him for the next wave of discovery: electronic evidence investigation.  His unique ability to leverage data mining techniques lead to the development of patent pending systems and methods that prove electronic discovery misfeasance including document alteration, fabrication, fragmentation, scrambling and replication.

Mr. Jackson works closely with litigation support, consultants, attorneys and clients to achieve beneficial results for your case.

Luis Fernando Alarcón
Senior Consultant

Luis Fernando Alarcónis a bilingual and information specialist based in Bogota, Columbia.  Sr. Alarcón earned a Licenciado en Lenguas Modernas from Universidad Incca de Columbia and has taught at  elementary and high schools as well as the Universidad Nacional de Columbia.  He has spent time in the United States improving language skills.

As a consultant in Latin America for 3rd Coast, Sr. Alarcón helps businesses understand their needs for managing the information that they create.  He helps analyze the systems they have in place so that any software or procedure will fit with the company’s cultura and will not rewuire the company to replace existing systems, but allow them to build on what they have.  Because, he knows the business cultura of Columbia and he is an educator, Sr. Alarcón  is essential in helping companies teach their employees how to manage electronic information and how to implement policies.

Many consultants come into companies and tell them they need new software to replace what they have, or that a software product will solve all of their problems, or all that they need is a new policy or procedure.  With consultants like Sr. Alarcón, Third Coast Consultants provides a comprehensive solution to the difficulty of finding information in different places within your company - a solution using resources you already have and education of your employees.

Lee Pendergraft, CRM
Senior Consultant

Lee Pendergraft, CRM Senior Records Management Consultant practicing from Houston, Texas, helps clients identify access, organize and manage information tailored to their specific business needs.  He has over thirty years of experience in the records management profession; over twenty five of them involving strategic business and program planning for the implementation of enterprise-wide active and inactive records management, document management, content management, archival conservation/ preservation, and business recovery programs.

Lee is an internationally recognized expert and advisor for a broad based clientele - involving compliance through the coordination of information management, administrative and operational services. His consulting engagements have included an extensive range of industries plus a variety of Federal and Civil government agencies spanning several business sectors; such as mining, manufacturing, transportation, medical, science and technology, aerospace, utilities, oil and gas, entertainment, banking and investments, legal, tax preparation, and accounting services.

Lee possesses a wide range of professional expertise and competencies ranging from development of policies and procedures, to project planning and execution, through implementation and training for both traditional paper-based as well as electronic record keeping systems and technologies.

Lee has been recognized as a leading expert in the imaging and records management fields for over thirty years. He is frequently invited to speak at ARMA (Association of Records Managers and Administrators) and AIIM (Association of Information and Image Management) chapters, regional seminars and international conferences, as well as classroom workshops at colleges and universities.

Early in his career, during his first professional position, Mr. Pendergraft was recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior for his work in organizing, indexing, and microfilming records for both the National Landmarks and properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His efforts ensured the protection and preservation of irreplaceable documentation and artifacts for historic properties as well as the engineering and architectural information about historic properties of both National and World Heritage stature.

Next, he worked on projects for the Environmental Protection Agency to microfilm and extract data for the national hazardous and toxic substances registry and hotline. Then Lee served as a director for an international team of experts assembled for microfilming and data extraction from 11.5 million birth, death, and adoption records to create the first certified, fraudulent free, voter registry supporting the Presidential election for the country of El Salvador in 1984. The success of this project and the resulting election put an end to that country’s civil war. Soon afterward he was honored as a participant in a documentary film about this historical event.

During his distinctive career, Lee has made presentations at more than 55 professional events. Additionally, he has written more than twenty articles for numerous industry publications. Lee also shares the Records and Information Management industry’s unique distinction with Dr. Michael Pemberton from the University of Tennessee as co-author of the original ARMA Code of Professional Responsibility. This created a new paradigm for Records and Information Management professionals by replacing the ARMA Code of Ethics in 1990. Soon after, other associations used this new Code as a model to update guidelines for professional practices in their industries.

Lee also served on the original teams that created the first sets of Records and Information Management industry professional competency standards and guidelines for electronic messaging. He later led the team that created the current guidelines for the evaluation of records storage facilities and records storage contractor services. 

Before he was thirty years old, he developed the curriculum, published a workbook, and taught a Microfilming Technology course at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School in Washington D.C. for AIIM; along with workshops for multiple industry sponsors at the “Office of the Future” when it was located at the Watergate complex. As one of the industries tireless educators, Lee developed and taught the curriculum for records management courses at Miami Dade Community College and the business school at Kern County Community College in Bakersfield, California. He currently serves as the Houston ARMA Chapter ICRM Ambassador and education liaison for CRM candidates who meet monthly for certification examination study groups.