In the spotlight for this week's My Kind of Job is Matthew McKee, forensics & investigations team manager at Grant Thornton NI
What's your job?
I'm a manager in the forensics & investigations team at Grant Thornton in Belfast. The consultancy comprises a diverse range of services including forensic accountancy and digital forensics. A major part of our work is driven by the developing requirements of clients, and for me these are predominantly in the legal sector. My clients are largely law firms who are increasingly turning to technology and artificial intelligence as they seek modern solutions to tasks traditionally carried out manually – for example the review of large amounts of documents for Discovery or Due Diligence.
In many circumstances nowadays, the volume of this data is such that no human being could ever realistically review it – especially within the often tight time frames applicable in legal practice. My job is to help lawyers to properly utilise technology to help make their work easier and more efficient, whilst ensuring that their clients still get the best service possible. I work very closely with the law firms, and my colleagues internally at Grant Thornton, to help them project manage the digital review of the documents involved in their cases.
How did you get there?
After qualifying as a solicitor in Northern Ireland, I worked at several high-profile law firms where I developed an aptitude for e-discovery and legal technology. It was while working in a Dublin-based e-discovery role that I was introduced to the forensics team at Grant Thornton and on hearing that they wanted to expand their offering into Northern Ireland, it very quickly became a no-brainer.
Do you have a typical working day?
Not really at the moment. My job involves a lot of technical elements for active projects like data processing and analytics, setting up review environments, and helping clients to maintain them throughout a review. It also involves meeting with potential clients and a lot of presenting and delivering legal tech training to clients and colleagues, which I really enjoy.
What qualifications do you have?
I have an undergraduate degree in law from Queen’s University, a postgraduate certificate in legal studies and I am a qualified solicitor. I also have accreditation from key software providers that we use to provide our offerings and am working towards further credentials in e-discovery and cyber.
What other skills do you need in your role?
The role requires a great deal of attention to detail. Law firms and other clients engage Grant Thornton because they want to streamline their processes. Whether it’s reducing the time spent analysing vast amounts of data, scanning and reviewing contracts or carrying out due diligence, it is crucial to have a very detailed understanding of the legal system, what law firm clients want to achieve, and a very good understanding of the options open to them.
What's the best thing about your job?
The best thing is finding solutions to ‘unsolvable’ client problems, and seeing real value added for clients by helping reduce their manual workloads. One of the great pressures on the modern law firm is managing the ever-increasing amount of data that their clients have – so it’s great when I can help them tackle this challenge in an innovative way. It’s very satisfying when I can help a client find a technical solution to a technical problem.
What do you think are the greatest challenges/pressures of the job?
The most difficult thing is trying to keep up with the pace of change. Sometimes it seems like a new game-changing technology product comes to the market every week – but keeping abreast of the latest advancements is all part of the job.
What did you want to be when you were at school?
I wanted to play for Manchester United (which I’ll never completely give up on!) but my mother always tells me that I wanted to be a lawyer since I was small.
What advice would you give someone considering a career in your profession?
Go for it – as long as you’re prepared to work hard and keep learning. Also, don’t be afraid to innovate and try something new. If you see a way that something could be done better, suggest it – you might just have thought of it first.
What's the most common question people ask when they find out what you do?
Most people don’t know a lot about the world of legal technology, artificial intelligence or e-discovery, so generally they ask me what on earth any of it means.
How do you like to relax outside work?
I usually like to spend my free time with my wife and children.
