Paralegal Discovers Lost Family through E-Discovery Tool

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A paralegal out of the law offices of Smith & Connors in New Orleans, Louisiana with a little help from the office’s e-discovery software has discovered a lost family connection.

Seattle, WA, USA, February 2, 2012 - (PressReleasePoint) -

A paralegal out of the law offices of Smith & Connors in New Orleans, Louisiana with a little help from the office’s e-discovery software has discovered a lost family connection. Marty Smutters was using the company’s e-discovery software to research laws, past court cases, and recent court appeals for an upcoming case, when she came across a document that was filed in Montana by a member with the same last name.

“After the hurricane in 2000, my family was scattered to all corners of the globe. I lost touch with some people that were really close to me,” Marty Smutters said. “For someone with the last name of ‘Smith’ or ‘Walker’ it might not seem so odd to see your last name in print, but Smutters is rather uncommon which got me thinking ‘hey maybe this is your family member’.”

Marty Smutters, her family and her aunt were displaced after a hurricane in 2000 destroyed their homes. The family lived next to each other on a small cul-de-sac in a suburb of New Orleans. When the hurricane hit the family lost track as the vouchers by FEMA sent them in different directions.

“We didn’t know where they went or where they lived. When a hurricane hits the last thing you think about it staying in contact with people. You’re in survival mode”, Marty Smutters said. “I tried looking on Google and Facebook but they never showed up. I honestly thought my aunt was dead.”

Many court documents not only list information that is valuable to the case, but it also lists who filed the document. Marty Smutters’ aunt, Tilly Smutters, is also a paralegal and the document listed her as the person who filed the paperwork.

“I saw the name and I just knew it had to be my family. Something told me in my gut to not let this drop,” said Marty Smutters. “It was like fate was telling me that my aunt was out there and still alive.”

Using Google, Marty Smutters looked up the name of the law firm Tilly Smutters worked for, and gave them a call. After leaving her name and contact information, Marty received a call five days later from Tilly, who is Marty’s long lost aunt.

“The first conversation was a little weird, only because you have so much to catch up on and you don’t know where to start”, Tilly Smutters said. “Once we cleared up the tears, and settled our emotions it felt like we never lost touch”.

Marty Smutters is planning to fly out to Montana sometime during the summer, where she will be reunited with her aunt. She will also get to meet for the first time her aunt’s husband, and thee of her cousins.