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Remembering an E-Discovery Shining Star, Kaylee Walstad

All Exterro-ites, past, present, and future, as well as so many of our customers, partners, and competitors in the e-discovery world owe Kaylee Walstad a great debt and mourn her passing.

It's been a difficult day to focus on much of anything other than the deep sense of loss that's pervasive in the e-discovery community today, with the sudden news of Kaylee Walstad's passing. Just days ago, Kaylee was cheering our team on over LinkedIn for some news we were sharing. The subject isn't terribly important, but the gesture on Kaylee's part was one of the many, daily reminders of who she was and what she did for the broader e-discovery community:

Cheer us on.
Share positive news.
Encourage personal and professional growth.
Make connections between people and organizations.
Advocate tirelessly for her colleagues and friends.
Build and lift up the community.

Kaylee touched the lives and hearts of many Exterro-ites. I remember meeting her in NYC at my first LegalWeek and she was warm and welcoming then to a writer new to the e-discovery space, but my favorite memories of working with her were on multiple E-Discovery Day celebrations, planning webinars and live events, ways to reach out to the members of the e-discovery community scattered across the country and globe in both virtual and real-world spaces.

I'll update this post with more remembrances from Exterro-ites, but I wanted to start with the first couple that I've collected. If you're a member of the e-discovery community and this post reaches you, whenever in the future, please don't hesitate to email me at Exterro and I'll share your warm thoughts and remembrances for others to see and kindle that welcoming feeling that Kaylee was uniquely able to bring.

I had the pleasure of working with Kaylee for over 10 years. I would say Kaylee had the best energy of anyone I knew the ediscovery industry. She wanted the best for you and she really cared. She will be very missed and will leave a huge hole in the ediscovery community.

Mike Hamilton, VP of Corporate Marketing

Kaylee and Mary have a Tuesday support call I've been going to. Yesterday was tough as everyone went around and talked about Kaylee. She is one of the most encouraging and supportive people I know. She always had a positive viewpoint to share and brought joy to so many people. The world definitely lost a bright light yesterday.

Bree Murphy, CEDS, Senior Solutions Engineer and E-Discovery Chick

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