Richard Hood, Attorney At Law
You may have heard of TV commercials that state:
" Warning!! Have you ever been injured by the makers of ***** ***** ? "
(Some risky drug or medical procedure's name scrolls across the screen.)
"If so, call the Law Office of ******** ******. " ( A local Attorney's Name.)
" You maybe entitled to damages."
"Call the number on the screen , if you or your loved ones have been injured by these products. Operators are waiting to take your call."
===========================
At the other end of the phone is a call center who directs you to a lawyer.
I imagine his business card reads on one side:
==========================
Richard Hood, Attorney at Law
Computer Forensic Litigation
========================= ( On the other side it reads:)
"Have Computer.
--- Will Travel."
==========================
In reality, it's simply, Richard Hood, Attorney At Law, who uses computer forensics to solve civil law suits. Mr. Hood specializes in "Mass Force Litigation, which means in simple terms, suing companies who's conduct "allegedly" hurts lots of people.
That's the commercial, but behind the commercial is a real lawyer who has considerable knowledge of computer forensics to discover digital evidence.
Rich travels 150,000 hours a year to work closely with clients.
He has a staff of 3 attorneys and 10 paralegals and a database of 2700 active files.
"Other companies hire and hire people until they become bloated or until it becomes unmanageable
."
"I can do it for less because I use technology in my work."
At his office, his database system includes a Microsoft ASP front end, a SQL Server back end, with a management system which includes, Crystal Reports, EnCase, and Paraben, litigation-support software.
Rich Hood, began his career as a Policeman, making $19k a yr., in Athens, Ga.
He later went to school to become a lawyer with hopes of becoming a District Attorney. He was happy to step up to a better position but was disappointed when he learned the D.A. only made $30k a year.
He went back to school to learn computer science at a for-profit, trade school called "Career Blazers " and completed a certificate program for -- MCSE, Microsoft SQL Server 3.5 and 4.0
"It was the beginning of tech boom in the mid-90's. I was hoping to make $100K - right out of the start"-- he laughs.
- "In end, I learned how to be an IT guy."
He liked shopping at "Micro center" for computer parts and began building his own 386 boxes. Later he built his servers. During the mid '90's, he was a computer instructor, working for the government run program called "Welfare to Work ".
Later he became a consultant - A Jack of All trades.- Master of None. "If you ask me, and give me a couple of days, I would figure it out."
He later started an Application Service Environment business. (Hosting Service).
He Hosted an Exchange Server in the cloud environment (remote hosting) long before the days of its current popularity.
"Building the facility was fun but to convince clients to move their data (from a local host to a remote host) was tough. " Soon, business declined.
"Later the business laid me off."
Next, he went back to school and became a lawyer, clerked for a judge and listened to cases. Around the court he was known as the Computer guy.
A juvenile was charged with a crime and confessed, while in juvenile detention, according to the police. But the twist was, they lost the recording of the confession due to a backup error.
The defense said the confession was coerced. The juvenile confession was recorded and "erased". Later the Judge asked me what I thought, since I knew something about computers. I told him the data was not actually erased and only the directory of the file was deleted. The Data was still there, if it was not overwritten with new data. The data disk was so large, that it was unlikely that the data was overwritten with new data.
"Oh you can recover this stuff?" asked the judge.
It was possible, according to Hood. With expert help, the data was recovered.
This began the turning point in Richard Hood's career. He began his career as a computer forensic specialist and lawyer. He helps clients conduct investigations, recover or preserve digital data. He guides the discovery and litigation process, plus runs his own business.
The lesson to be learned is you must reinvent yourself and take advantage of career opportunities to advance in your career. It helps to be a computer ninja.
====
To learn more about computer forensic opportunities, search the web and find sites that specialize in forensic jobs:
For example:
http://www.computerforensiclabsinc.com/
Computer Forensics Labs, Inc.
1780 South Bellaire Street, Suite 519
Denver, CO 80222
http://computerforensicsdenver.com/
Elwectronic Crime Scene Investigations LLC
1730 Blake St. Ste B20
Denver CO 80202
303.482.1304
other
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Job Description
As a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers Investigations & Forensic Services practice, you will help identify and analyze vulnerabilities in order to manage and mitigate risk. Our in-depth process of forensic accounting diagnosis allows our clients to continue their business, recover lost funds and halt further economic losses.
Skills Preferred:
Working experience delivering forensic technology, eDiscovery services, and building relationships with clients. Working experience with any of the following products / tools: EnCase, Paraben, litigation-support software, Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Basic, Microsoft .NET framework, Microsoft Access, SQL, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes/Domino, or system administration experience in Microsoft, AS400, Linux/Unix, or Macintosh.
