ROBERT KEELING, founder and head of Sidley’s eDiscovery and Data Analytics group, is one of the country’s preeminent authorities on eDiscovery. Keeling serves as global outside discovery counsel for some of the nation’s best known and most technology-focused corporations. Keeling is ranked by the 2021 edition of Chambers USA for eDiscovery and Information Governance, with Chambers noting that his “expert understanding of e-discovery makes him a valuable resource for civil and criminal cases.”
An experienced litigator and white-collar lawyer, Keeling’s practice has long included a special focus on eDiscovery. He regularly serves as coordinating discovery counsel on major litigations, government investigations, regulatory enforcement actions, and internal investigations. Keeling guides clients through every aspect of modern discovery and successfully handles some of the largest, most sophisticated, and most data-intensive matters in the country. Clients benefit from his unique blend of real-world litigation experience and cutting-edge technological skills.
For more than a decade, Keeling has remained at the forefront of technology in litigation and government investigations. Today, whether working on a matter that has millions of documents or only thousands, Keeling applies a tailored combination of data analytics and machine learning (e.g., “predictive coding”) to quickly identify key evidence, minimize client costs, and synthesize information into compelling legal arguments.
In his eDiscovery counseling practice, Keeling helps highly sophisticated clients across a broad range of industries to:
- effectively manage eDiscovery costs and risks;
- navigate emerging eDiscovery issues, including mobile device management, ephemeral data, collaboration platforms, and data stored in the cloud;
- implement best practices for defensible eDiscovery policies and procedures, including streamlining legal hold processes;
- defensibly remediate and dispose of unneeded data;
- create or improve records retention policies; and
- address records management and information governance issues.
Keeling’s extensive litigation and investigations experience gives him uncommon perspective when advising clients on the practical consequences of the eDiscovery policies, procedures, and practices they adopt.
Keeling was selected as the inaugural chair of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) Global Advisory Council, a body of distinguished members of the judiciary, the legal profession, industry, and academia.