Michael Stoler

Innovator, problem-solver, fact-finder, organizer, analyzer, team player.

EXPERIENCE:

Corporate Research Specialist
Shearman & Sterling LLP, remote (April 2022 to February 2023)

• Performed research on business transactions and public filings for AmLaw100 firm using Intelligize, Refinitiv, Deal Point Data, Westlaw Business, Bloomberg Law, and other databases.
• Researched litigation, public records, and legal issues as needed.
• Worked on knowledge management projects, such as compiling and coding one-stop intranet page for signing up for newsletters and alerts from major databases.
• Helped monitor press releases and litigation alerts for opportunities for business development.

Research Analyst
Morrison & Foerster LLP, San Francisco, Ca. (June 2017 to September 2019), Washington, D.C. (September 2019 to March 2020), remote (March 2020 to April 2022)

• Performed legal and business research of all kinds for attorneys and marketing and administrative staff in all offices of a large (1000+ lawyers) firm as part of a team of approximately 28 researchers, using a wide variety of online resources, such as Lexis (including Intelligize, Lex Machina, Context, Courtlink, and Public Records); Westlaw (including Practical Law and Monitor Suite); Bloomberg Law; WKCheetah; Capital IQ; Pitchbook; D&B Hoovers; Orbit; PACER; CBInsights; Mergent; and state corporate and court databases.
• Specialized in competitive intelligence, compiling legal and business profiles of companies and law firms; background reports on attorneys and conference attendees; and notes on trends in key industries for a quarterly newsletter. Also handled a large number of requests for litigation searches and analytics; profiles of experts and judges; and public records searches.
• Frequently shared discoveries of and suggestions for new resources or ways of using existing ones, and for improving procedures to help the team work better.
• Three hours a day, monitored the queue of incoming research tasks, acknowledging and getting clarification of requests, logging them for colleagues to select and “claim” the ones they would work on, and insuring they were claimed in a timely manner.
• Handled all requests that came in on Saturdays, as the only researcher on duty.
• Served as the team’s go-to person for proofreading and copyediting work product.
• Used my foreign language skills to perform research in French, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Part-time Reference Assistant
San Francisco Law Library, San Francisco, Ca. (February 2017 to September 2019)

Provided circulation and legal reference services to the public.

Temporary Law Librarian
Taylor & Associates, Albany, Ca. (September 2016 to present)

Covered for librarian at mid-sized firm in San Francisco as needed.

Librarian
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, San Francisco, Ca. (August 2014 to August 2016; Assistant Librarian, August 2006 to August 2014)

• Performed a wide range of law and business research and reference tasks for the lawyers, administrators, and business development staff of the San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices of a large (approx. 900 attorneys) international law firm as part of a national team of a dozen librarians, using Lexis, Westlaw, Bloomberg Law, PACER, CEB Onlaw, and others.
• Managed the physical library collection, including acquiring and deaccessioning print materials, distributing periodicals, working with a filing service to update publications, and filling out invoices.
• Helped onboard new attorneys and trained them in the use of library resources.
• Notarized documents for the firm, especially at large deal closings.

Freelance Cataloger
(August 2006 to February 2011)

Cataloged private collection of law books, from 17th to 20th centuries, for prominent attorney.

Cataloging Intern (Library Assistant II)
The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, (January to September 2006)

Cataloged pamphlets from the French Revolutionary era in local and national systems, using Anglo-American Cataloging Rules and Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books, and performed subject classification using Library of Congress Subject Headings.

Case Clerk
Bartko, Zankel, Bunzel & Miller, San Francisco, Ca. (February 2003 to April 2005)

• Organized and managed all documents for a group of complex litigation cases, including filings, document productions, and original records stored offsite, with a high degree of accuracy.
• Retrieved, copied, and assembled for documents for filings, depositions, etc., in response to attorney needs.
• Performed basic paralegal tasks, including document reviews for subject matter and privilege, and assisting at depositions.
• Indexed documents in MS Word and Access.
• Supervised digitization of key documents and learned and implemented specially created database system (based on Filemaker Pro) for storing and retrieving them.
• Quickly learned new skills and computer programs as required for specific document management and manipulation tasks.
• Performed online research, e.g., for locating witnesses.
• Provided backup in firm law library.

Library Assistant
Taylor and Associates, Albany, Ca. (December 2002 to February 2003)

• Maintained law libraries for various firms in downtown Oakland.
• Ordered and processed new books and updates, and handled statements and invoices, filing, and shelving.

Producer, Screenwriter, Co-Director
"Reservoir Jedi" (June 2002 to June 2004)

• Wrote, produced, and co-directed short independent parody film.
• Researched copyright issues involved.

Knowledge Architect
ejemoni, inc. (now H5 Technologies), San Francisco, Ca. (November 2000 to May 2001)

• Varied duties in rapidly changing startup environment.
• Structured information for a database allowing computer relevance judgments on text documents.
• Set up and ran company intranet, helped write press releases, published company newsletter, and organized morale-building activities.

Test Administrator and Evaluator
Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation, San Francisco, Ca. (June 1999 to November 2000)

• Administered a battery of tests to measure natural cognitive characteristics and acquired knowledge, then analyzed and interpreted the results to make educational and career recommendations in conferences with clients.
• Advised on the improvement of our tests and creation of new ones.
• Informed the public about the mission and services of the Foundation.
• Maintained the research database using MS Access, Excel, and Word.

Library Researcher
Advanced Information Consultants (AIC), Canton, Mich. (December 1998 to December 1999) EBSCO Document Services (EBSCOdoc), Burlingame, Ca. (November 1994 to July 1998)

Located journal articles and other materials in the UC Berkeley libraries for business and academic clients.
• Used understanding of technical literature, library catalogues, classification systems, and procedures to design and implement structures for organizing work more efficiently.
• Used understanding of communications technologies to facilitate transmission of information between the home office and the field.
• At AIC and for first two years with EBSCOdoc, worked alone, completely responsible for filling all orders.
• During rest of time with EBSCOdoc, worked with, and helped train and supervise, as many as five other researchers.

Linguist
ESS Inc., Fremont, Ca. (March 1993 to November 1993)

Based on knowledge of phonetics, used special proprietary data compression software to analyze and code speech and sound effects for recording on computer chips.

Teacher, Latin and Social Studies
The Academy, Berkeley, Ca. (September 1992 to June 1993)

• Taught principles of Latin grammar and vocabulary to middle school students, including the analysis of sentences into parts of speech, the logical process of translation, and the etymological principles linking Latin and modern English words.
• Explained historical processes as sequences of causes and effects, with emphasis on the links and parallels among diverse cultures.

Teacher, Latin, French, and English
St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School, Alexandria, Va. (June 1990 to June 1992)

• Emphasized the structures of Latin sentences and inflections.
• Created study guides to reduce the amount of rote memorization through understanding of patterns and rules.
• Organized and trained students for interscholastic competitions and events.
• Taught remedial English with emphasis on essay structure.
• Worked with other foreign language teachers to formulate departmental standards and policies.

EDUCATION:

San José State University, School of Library and Information Science

Master's of Library and Information Science, December 2006

City College of San Francisco

Spring 2004: Introduction to Legal Writing

Fall 2003: Introduction to Legal Assisting

Peralta Community Colleges, Berkeley and Oakland, Ca.

Fall 2005: Beginning Conversational Spanish (continuation)

Summer 2005: Beginning Conversational Spanish

Spring 2003: Java Programming

Fall 1998: Computer-related Mathematics, C Programming, Introduction to Statistics

UC Berkeley Extension

Fall 2000: Editorial Workshop I: Introduction to Copyediting

Spring 1998: Introduction to Forensic Sciences

UC Berkeley Summer School

1992: Intensive Ancient Greek

Harvard University,Cambridge, Mass., 1989, B.A. with Honors, Linguistics (with Classics)

• Specialized in historical linguistics, relationships of words and languages in family trees, and etymological processes.
• Classes in French, Russian, German, Latin, Greek, Anglo-Saxon, Church Slavonic.
• Wrote senior thesis on puns, linguistic ambiguity, and sound and sense associations; created organizational and classificational schema for puns reflecting accepted divisions of the field of linguistics.
• Activities: Marching band; drama and musical theater
• Awards: Boylston Prize for Elocution (1988, 1989); Quincy House Scroll (1989)

SKILLS:

Languages:

Proficient in French; intermediate Spanish and Portuguese; Russian, German, Spanish; Latin (used to teach); Ancient Greek; beginning Hebrew.

Computers:

Strong experience with Microsoft Word and Excel, also Access, Explorer, Powerpoint, Filemaker Pro, HTML; some C and Java; Video Studio and Movie Maker

PUBLICATIONS:

• “Some Writing About Rioting”, NOCALL (Northern California Association of Law Librarians) News, April-March 2018
• "Lingua Latina pro Biblothecariis Iuris, Part II: Grammar”, NOCALL News, Nov.-Dec. 2017
• “Lingua Latina pro Biblothecariis Legis, Part I: Pronunciation”, NOCALL News, Sept.-Oct. 2017
• “Dinner at Maxims”, NOCALL News, March-April 2017
• “A Modest Proposal on Propositions”, NOCALL News, March-April 2017
• “Fairness and Accuracy in Reporters”, NOCALL News, Jan.-Feb. 2017

REFERENCES: Available on request