Leeanne Sara Mancari
Of CounselCo-Chair, eDiscovery and Information Management Platform
Co-Head, eXplore, eDiscovery Resource Center
Co-Head, eXplore, eDiscovery Resource Center
About
Leeanne S. Mancari is a Chambers-ranked eDiscovery litigator and advisor, co-chair of the firm's eDiscovery and Information Management Platform, and co-head of eXplore, DLA's eDiscovery Resource Center.
Leeanne manages all aspects of national and international discovery. She frequently serves as lead eDiscovery counsel on large-scale litigations, including multidistrict litigations. Her experience includes crafting and overseeing successful defense discovery strategy for matters with complex discovery issues. She frequently advises on discovery-related orders, drafts and argues discovery motions, and prepares and defends witnesses on eDiscovery-related topics. She formulates efficient and effective workflows for all phases of document collection, review and production, utilizing advanced technologies. Leeanne also advises on international data transfer issues. Further, Leeanne advises in pre-litigation and non-litigation settings related to information management, including preservation, records management, defensible deletion, risk assessments, and related policies and procedures. She regularly speaks on eDiscovery-related topics. Leeanne co-founded eXplore, DLA's eDiscovery Resource Center to bring high-level document review services to DLA's clients.
Leeanne's background is in complex litigation representing companies in the life-sciences sector in mass torts litigation, commercial disputes and investigations.
Leeanne regularly participates in the firm's recruiting efforts and is an active member of the firm's Leadership Alliance for Women (LAW). Pro bono is part of Leeanne's practice and she dedicates significant time to assisting people and communities in need.
Areas of FocusHealthcareLife SciencesLitigation, Arbitration and InvestigationseDiscovery and Information Management
Bar admissionsCaliforniaNew York
CourtsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitAll New York state and federal district courtsAll California state courtsUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California
Neri
EXPERIENCE
Representative Matters
eDiscovery Litigation and Counseling
- Advising large food and beverage entity with respect to discovery issues in similar lawsuits spanning the country involving personal injury and consumer fraud, focusing on maintaining consistent discovery approach and advising on complex preservation issues.
- Assisted global pharmaceutical company on numerous information governance initiatives, including defensible deletion projects, data eDiscovery risk assessments, and creation of corporate informative governance policy.
- Created eDiscovery risk assessment for large insurance company.
- eDiscovery counsel for client in a large complex products liability MDL; creating and overseeing eDiscovery strategy; responding to spoliation claims; preparing witnesses on eDiscovery issues.
- Retained as national eDiscovery counsel for pharmaceutical company; implemented eDiscovery policies and procedures, including preservation, legal hold and collection protocols; consulted on eDiscovery issues arising in various litigations; advised on foreign data collection.
- eDiscovery counsel for national insurer and eDiscovery contact for numerous litigations across country to ensure consistent approach to eDiscovery; negotiated eDiscovery issues with opposing counsel.
- Assisted global pharmaceutical client defend against discovery sanctions motion, prepared witnesses to testify on such issues; implemented record retention and litigation hold policies for foreign subsidiary; conducted data and information inventory assessment of foreign subsidiary and advised on retention procedures.
- Conducted inventory analysis for large insurance company to align records and data with records retention policies; drafted associated preservation procedures.
- eDiscovery counsel for accounting company on eDiscovery issues arising in government investigations and litigations.
- Counseled foreign tire company in potential product liability exposure in U.S. with regards to expectations for U.S. discovery.
Complex Litigation
- Defended large pharmaceutical company in several license agreement disputes pending in federal and state court.
- Acted as national counsel for pharmaceutical company in product liability multidistrict litigation.
- Retained as national counsel for Fortune 20 pharmaceutical company and its self-insurer in a national product liability/mass tort litigation consisting of federal multidistrict litigation and hundreds of state cases.
- Represented national consulting and auditing firm in multiple SEC and PCAOB investigations.
- Defended large U.S. pharmaceutical corporation in a litigation involving RICO and consumer fraud claims.
- Represented pharmaceutical company in a NJ state court litigation involving a failed M&A transaction.
- Represented pharmaceutical company in product liability litigation in NY State court coordinated proceedings.
- Represented pharmaceutical company as national settlement and ADR counsel in large mass tort litigation.
Education
- J.D., Fordham University School of Law 2004
Fordham International Law Journal
Dean's List - B.A., George Washington University 2000
Awards
- Chambers Global & USA
- Band 4, USA eDiscovery & Information Governance (2022-2023)
- Chambers comments, "Leanne Sara Mancari assists high-profile companies in establishing and implementing e-discovery procedures." Clients say, "Leanne is a terrific attorney who handles litigation and discovery with professionalism and grace. She is an excellent advocate for her clients and is great to work with." "She is highly skilled and strategic in her thinking. She is a hard negotiator that gets results on protocols and other discover strategy moves that achieve dollars and cents savings to her clients, and also achieve litigation strategic objectives."
- Band 4, E-Discovery & Information Governance (2021-2022)
- Clients praise Leanne as "thoughtful and innovative," noting that she is "particularly knowledgeable on ESI protocols and cross-border issues," and "offers a broad base of knowledge in an increasingly complicated field."
- The Legal 500 United States
- Recommended, Dispute Resolution E-Discovery (2020-2022)
- Clients describe Leanne as "extremely capable and thoughtful in how she approaches and addresses e-discovery issues," who is "an expert in the field," noting "[s]he knows the caselaw, the technology and strategy and is an excellent advocate and lawyer."
- Named one of New York Metro Super Lawyer's Rising Stars and Top Women Attorneys in New York (2014)
Pro Bono
Leeanne is a prior recipient of DLA Piper's National Pro Bono Award for significant work on several pro bono matters.
Pro Bono Experience
- In 2018, through injunctive relief, reunited two separate refugee fathers and children after being separated at the border due to the "zero tolerance" policy for illegal immigration at the border.
- Traveled to Nepal and trained women lawyers on various substantive legal issues as part of an advancement for women initiative.
- Taught a legal writing clinic in Zambia for African law students seeking admission to practice as lawyers.
- In 2011 and 2012, Leeanne tried and won a case before the Hon. Jack Weinstein in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, enforcing U.S. treaty obligations on behalf of a foreign national under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. The trial result was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
- Successfully obtained relief for a class of children abused at a government detention center.
- Obtained increased benefits for a Gulf War veteran before the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Obtained asylum for a Somali refugee.
- Counseled magistrate judges in Guyana regarding juvenile justice as part of DLA's New Perimeter project.
- Assisted New York County and King's County District Attorney's offices with appellate work.
Bylines
- Co-author, "The Sedona Conference TAR Case Law Primer, Second Edition" February 2023
- Co-author, Implementing a Legal Hold (PA), Lexis Nexis Practical Guidance, 2022
- Co-author and drafting team leader, "The Sedona Conference Commentary on the Effective Use of Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) Orders" The Sedona Conference Journal, Vol. 23 (2022)
- Co-author, "Defensible Deletion: The Proof Is in the Planning," New York Law Journal, January 29, 2021
- Co-author, "The Sedona Conference Commentary on Legal Holds, Second Edition: The Trigger & The Process," The Sedona Conference Journal, June 2019
- Co-author, "Text, blood and rock 'n' roll," DLA Piper IPT News, Issue 36, Q4, 2017
- Co-author, "Pre-Service Removal Jurisdiction: Congressional Intent or Litigation Gamesmanship," Defense Research Institute's In-House Defense Quarterly (Winter 2015) (with Christopher M. Strongosky, and E. Giovannie Mercado)
- Author, "Go Far with TAR: Technology Assisted Review Options for Drug and Device Cases," DRI Rx For the Defense (May 2013)
- Co-author, "A Next Step Toward The Middle Ground: The U.K.’s Civil Justice Council's Latest Recommendations on Collective Action Reform in England and Wales," DRI Across Frontiers (Fall 2008) (with Christopher G. Campbell)
Seminars
- Speaker, Ethical Obligations in ESI Disclosure and Negotiation, The Sedona Conference Midyear Meeting, Portland, OR, April 28, 2023
- Speaker, The Great Resignation’s Implications on the Preservation, Collection and Control of Employee Data, Georgetown Advanced eDiscovery Institute, Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, 2022
- Speaker, Complex Privilege Issues: What They Didn't Teach in Law School, Electronic Discovery Leadership Summit, Miami, FL, Oct. 14, 2022
- Speaker, Dawn Raid Commentary, The 13th Annual Sedona Conference International Programme on Cross-Border Data Transfers and Data Protection Laws, Working Group 6 Meeting, June 29, 2022
- Speaker, Changes and Trends in TAR Case Law, The Sedona Conference Working Group 1 Midyear Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, April 29, 2022
- Speaker, Diversity in the Legal Sector: Branding or Sincere Initiative?, The Sedona Conference Working Group 1 Midyear Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, April 28, 2022
- Speaker, Ephemeral Messaging: Addressing eDiscovery Risks in Civil Litigation, sponsored by Innovative Driven, May 18, 2022
- Speaker, New technologies: Challenges and opportunities for practitioners, The Sedona Conference Working Group 6 Annual Meeting, Feb. 3-4, 2022
- Moderator and Speaker, The Sedona Conference Webinar on the Commentary on the Effective Use of Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) Orders, July 14, 2021
- Speaker, Ethical Considerations in eDiscovery: Rules and Responsibilities, LegalWeek, Virtual, Mar. 16, 2021
- Moderator, The Sedona Conference Townhall on ESI Protocols, Virtual, Dec. 8, 2020
- Speaker, ESI Protocols, sponsored by Driven, Virtual, Oct. 21, 2020
- Speaker, The Sedona Conference Working Group 1 Midyear Meeting, Charlotte, NC, May 2-3, 2019
- Speaker, Hot Topics in eDiscovery, sponsored by Driven, Los Angeles, CA, Feb. 20, 2019
Memberships And Affiliations
- Steering Committee Member, The Sedona Conference, Working Group 6 (International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure)
- Member of The Sedona Conference, Working Group 1 (Electronic Document Retention and Production)
My latest insights
Connect
Phone
+1 310 595 3088
(Work, Los Angeles (Century City))
