Team
- Founder & Managing Director
Prior to founding JD Supra, Aviva practiced for eleven years as an attorney, primarily in the areas of business litigation, including commercial real estate, securities, antitrust, patent, health care, disability, telecommunications, and construction. She has worked on large, complex litigation matters in the Second and Ninth Circuits of the federal courts, and also in the California state courts.
Combining her passion for writing and the law, Aviva’s practice focused almost exclusively on legal writing. She conceived the idea for JD Supra late one night while briefing an issue she was certain other lawyers had addressed already. With the help of an amazing team of technology, marketing, knowledge management, and media experts, Aviva spent the next year developing JD Supra as a venue for the legal community to share and showcase its work.
Aviva received her law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law (with honors), and received her undergraduate degree in English (summa cum laude) from the University of Connecticut. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the California Bar Association, and the American Association for Justice.
- Co-Manager
Eliot Gersten helped found the law firm of Gersten, Clifford and Rome, LLC over twenty-five years ago in Hartford, Connecticut. Eliot prosecutes and defends businesses and entrepreneurs in federal and state courts at all levels, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Eliot’s litigation experience includes constitutional law challenges, malpractice claims, insurance coverage and construction disputes, civil RICO, unfair trade practices and securities laws.
Eliot is also the managing principal of a commercial real estate development company as well as an active participant in a variety of successful start up companies. He earned his undergraduate degree from George Washington University in 1975, and his law degree from The University of Miami. Eliot is a member of the Hartford County and Connecticut Bar Associations and is admitted to practice in the local state and Federal courts as well as the Second Circuit and U.S Supreme Court.
- V.P. Business Development
John directs JD Supra’s strategic partnerships, new product development, and sales programs. Prior to joining JD Supra, John was Director of Key Accounts for CT Summation, where he ran sales teams, guided product development and account management, and conducted CLE and other presentations on a wide variety of topics relating to the use of technology in litigation and regulatory practices. During his twelve-year tenure at Summation, John developed the organization at startup, saw it through an acquisition by CT Corp, and helped to grow and structure the company for long term success.
John has over 20 years experience in sales, sales management, and general management roles. He has established new divisions from scratch, created product-specific VAR channels from the ground up, and developed new products from concept stage through implementation.
John graduated from the University of Iowa with BS degrees in Political Science and Business. He sits on the advisory boards of a number of national charities and has a long history of growing small businesses and startups into successful enterprises.
- Director of Communications
Adrian directs JD Supra’s content and marketing programs. As an early employee at Yahoo! he created and managed the company's first team of editors and writers whose work included the Daily and Weekly Picks features, news Full Coverage, Ask Yahoo!, and Buzz Index, as well syndicated editorial features in national newspapers and magazines. In 1999 he was described as "the most influential person in cyberspace of whom you've never heard" by Brill's Content media magazine, and placed on the publication's Top-25 Influence List. He has consulted on all manner of communications for a number of startups and non-profits. In 2005 he founded a literary arts magazine, PRACTICE: NEW WRITING + ART. His feature articles have appeared in the Chicago Sun Times, Forbes Traveler, and elsewhere. His poetry has appeared nationally in numerous journals and literary magazines.
– Director of Media Sales
Brittanie Williams is the founder and principal of RightHip, a strategic business development and marketing firm. Dedicated to helping organizations grow revenue, Brittanie has over 15 years experience in marketing communications, advertising sales, strategic partnerships and cause marketing. Prior to starting RightHip, Brittanie oversaw business development as an employee and consultant for a variety of web publishers including establishing the west coast offices of financial publisher WorldlyInvestor.com. She also developed the advertising and content syndication programs for the webby-award winning eNature.com, including partnerships with Yahoo! and National Geographic.
Brittanie started her internet career translating a strong print and direct response background into highly successful online media and marketing programs for Data Broadcasting Corporation and has used her expertise in online communications and advertising sales to serve a variety of clients from Fortune 500 corporations to early phase start-ups including McKesson, eBay, National Wildlife Federation, and Grist.
- Lead Engineer
Frank developed the JDSupra.com site. He is an experienced developer of custom Internet solutions for businesses of all sizes and has participated in every facet of web development, from initial site layout and architecture to user interface and graphic design, through information architecture, backend database integration for dynamic content generation, ecommerce integration, network engineering and administration, and traffic analytics. Prior to joining JD Supra, Frank’s clients included Pop Interactive and eNature.com, among many others. Frank holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering Technology from the University of Toledo and is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE).
- Web Strategist
Steve is the founder and principal of Stem Legal, a company dedicated to bringing web visibility to the legal industry. Prior to founding Stem, Steve directed web strategy, web marketing and SEO operations as well as the internal knowledge management programs and library services for Clark Wilson LLP. Steve has received multiple web development awards, including first place in the 2005 Internet Marketing Attorney Award (International Law Firm category), and his comments on web trends within the legal industry have appeared in a wide range of publications.
Steve is also the current President for the Vancouver Association of Law Libraries ‘07/’08 (VALL) and is a member of both the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) and the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), as well as a founding member of the Canadian legal technology and research co-op blog Slaw. Steve publishes his thoughts on legal web technology & research on his Vancouver Law Librarian Blog and Law Firm Web Strategy.