April 10 (Reuters) - Legal technology and artificial
intelligence company CS Disco ( LAW ) has hired a new chief executive
following the exit of its former leader amid sexual misconduct
allegations last year.
The Austin-based electronic discovery software maker said
Wednesday that Eric Friedrichsen will start as president and CEO
on April 29. He takes over from interim CEO and board member
Scott Hill, who has held the role since co-founder Kiwi Camara's
abrupt departure last September.
Friedrichsen was CEO of expense management software company
Emburse until January.
"I am proud of the way the DISCO team responded to a very
difficult year in 2023 by recommitting to our customers and each
other," Hill said in a statement. He called Friedrichsen the
right leader "to successfully write DISCO's next chapter."
Camara stepped down as CEO after the company's board opened
an investigation into allegations that he groped a young female
employee, the Wall Street Journal reported in September, citing
anonymous sources. The Journal in October also reported on
employee concerns with how Disco handled clients and product
issues. The company defended its customer practices.
Camara has not publicly responded to the misconduct claims,
and he could not immediately be reached for comment on
Wednesday.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison was hired to review
the company's workplace policies, with Washington, D.C.-based
partner Jeannie Rhee leading the engagement, a firm spokesperson
said.
A Disco spokesperson said the review was "fully completed"
by the law firm, but declined to share details about any
findings.
Disco separately said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission filing in January that Luke McNeal, its senior vice
president of global sales, was leaving the company immediately
"as a result of actions inconsistent with the company's
standards."
The Disco spokesperson declined to elaborate on the reasons
for McNeal's exit. McNeal did not immediately respond to a
request for comment via LinkedIn.
Disco, Camara and the company's chief financial officer,
Michael Lafair, were hit with a securities class action after
Camara's exit, accusing the defendants of misleading investors
about the company's financial condition.
Cooley partner Aric Wu, who is representing the defendants
in the lawsuit in Texas federal court, did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
Disco in 2021 became one of a small number of legal
technology companies to go public. The company, which launched
in 2013, grew out of Camara & Sibley, a Texas litigation
boutique that Camara helped found.
The company sells artificial intelligence-powered products
for lawyers, and in December released a generative AI tool.