Dechert LLP

Strategic eDiscovery and Data Management

Partner

Ben Barnett is a leading eDiscovery attorney who has played a key strategic role in significant civil and criminal matters for more than 17 years. Many of the eDiscovery strategies that Mr. Barnett developed in the crucible of national multi-district litigations in the U.S. now serve as “best practices” for companies facing serial litigation and investigations.  Mr. Barnett helped engineer and implement Dechert’s client-focused eDiscovery Advisory Team (eDAT) and Preferred Vendor Program (PVP) which aim to transform eDiscovery from an area of legal and financial risks to a source of strategic strength supporting clients’ litigation and business objectives.  In the past decade, Mr. Barnett’s work has increasingly been for clients facing simultaneous multi-jurisdictional criminal investigations and civil litigation such as the Takata Airbag litigation which arose from the largest automotive recall in U.S. history.

Recently, Mr. Barnett was the chief architect of the disclosure strategy for the global Airbus investigation which resulted in a same-day resolution with authorities in France, the UK, and the U.S. in 2020.  Working within a client-created Virtual Law Firm, Mr. Barnett designed, implemented, and managed a strategy to accelerate the identification and production of key evidence to the authorities in three jurisdictions while navigating a maze of different data security laws, privacy restrictions, languages, and legal privilege regimes. This unified strategic approach significantly reduced the time and cost of disclosure and generated millions in cooperation credit for Airbus.

Through this client work, Ben has expanded his expertise into privacy and cybersecurity issues, including data transfers between jurisdictions, navigating national blocking statutes and privacy regulations, and the impact of the tectonic shift to cloud-based data storage.  In addition to addressing these issues in the context of litigation and investigations, Mr. Barnett also advises clients on pro-active and holistic data management strategies and data monetization projects.

Mr. Barnett maintains an active pro bono appellate practice in keeping with his long-standing commitment to public service. Prior to joining Dechert, Mr. Barnett served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. He also worked on Capitol Hill for five years prior to and during law school.

Board of Governors, Philadelphia Bar Association Co-Chair, Large Firm Management Committee, Philadelphia Bar Association Member, University of Pennsylvania Inn of Court Newlin Township Planning Commission