The National Litigation Support Team is your consultant, your resource center, and your sounding board for all litigation support aspects of your case from beginning to end. We are here to support both federal defender offices and CJA panel attorneys 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, we can provide assistance and guidance based on our own experiences, industry standards, and general guidelines and principles we 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, which is a resource for the federal judiciary, federal defender offices, and Criminal Justice Act (CJA) panel attorneys regarding issues involving electronic discovery and litigation support technology. He 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 technology in the federal criminal justice system and provides suggested practices for the efficient and cost-effective management of electronic discovery. Sean is also a co-author of “Criminal e-Discovery, A Pocket Guide for Judges,” Federal Judicial Center (November 2015), which serves as a supplement to the federal judiciary’s bench book.
National Litigation Support Paralegals
Alex Roberts 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.
Joe Wanzala’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.
Carl Adams 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.
Nakiyyah “Nikki” Adams was the litigation support paralegal with the Federal Community Defender Office in Philadelphia, PA and the Federal Public Defender Office in Newark, NJ before joining the NLST in September 2023. Before working in the federal system, Nikki worked as paralegal at the Legal Aid Society in New York. During her career, Nikki spent considerable time using a wide range of litigation support tools such as Ipro Eclipse, Relativity, and Trial Director. Nikki graduated from law school in the Spring of 2023 and passed the New Jersey bar in Fall 2023.
Brian Brunelle served as the Computer Systems Administrator for the Federal Public Defender Office for the District of Connecticut for 26 years before joining the NLST in September 2023. Besides serving as the CSA in Connecticut, Brian has provided IT support for the Districts of Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire at various times. During his tenure, Brian has dedicated an extensive amount of time to train CJA panel attorneys and Federal Defender staff members on how to use technology effectively for courtroom presentation, managing the challenges of large volumes of discovery, and overall case management strategies. He has also provided his knowledge in the forensic analysis of electronic evidence, created automated procedures for processing electronic discovery in his office, and served as faculty for various NLST workshops.
Tisha Davis was a paralegal with the Federal Public Defender Office in Pittsburgh, PA for five years before joining the NLST in September 2023. In that position, Tisha was the lead paralegal on a 14-week-long capital trial, including taking charge of presenting evidence by using courtroom presentation technology. She spent much of her time assisting in the management of eDiscovery, creating fact chronologies, using software to visualize data, and helping in anything litigation support related as the need arose.
Claudia Kokot worked with the Federal Public Defender Office for the Western District of North Carolina for more than a decade before joining the NLST in September 2023. She was a trial unit paralegal and oversaw the organization and analysis of discovery received from the U.S. Attorney’s office for all complex cases in the office. Claudia worked extensively on white collar fraud cases and developed an expertise using Ipro Eclipse and CaseMap. In addition, Claudia assisted with courtroom presentation for hearings and trials.
National Litigation Support Administrative Paralegal
Rocio Pizzano is the point person within the NLST regarding office administration and management, including assisting in national and local finance, procurement, and property management. Before joining the NLST in November 2018, Rocio worked for the Northern District of California Federal Public Defender Office in Oakland, California. She worked in the FPD office for 13 years, first serving as a Legal Assistant before becoming Branch Administrator.
Computer Systems Administrator
Derek Ametam. Before joining the NLST, Derek was a systems engineer for Forex Capital Markets in New York, NY for more than a dozen years, managing a group of administrators to help with the on-site upkeep of data centers and servers in the Mobile Device Management Department. As part of his work, he traveled globally to assist in the setup of new offices and data centers in the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Australia, and Israel. He managed and deployed workstations, mobile devices, printers, and phones.