As part of our Women’s History Month series celebrating the remarkable women who help shape CDS and the broader legal technology community, we’re proud to spotlight Michelle Broxman, Senior Consultant at Complete Discovery Source.
Throughout March, CDS is highlighting five outstanding professionals whose leadership, expertise, and perspective continue to drive innovation in legal tech and eDiscovery. The series recognizes the impact of women across the organization, leaders who are not only delivering results for clients but also helping mentor the next generation of professionals in a fast-evolving industry.
Let us introduce you to our second spotlight: Michelle Broxman, Senior Consultant, previously featured in our Real People, Real Results series. A lawyer by training, Michelle entered eDiscovery through document review and quickly learned that success in legal tech comes from collaboration, authenticity, and continuous learning. She shares how listening to clients, leading with honesty, and pairing AI with human judgment helps teams navigate complex challenges and deliver smarter outcomes. Get to know Michelle and the story behind her path in eDiscovery.
What led you into eDiscovery, and what surprised you most when you first started working with legal teams?
I am a lawyer by training and came into eDiscovery via the document review world.
It feels obvious now, but I think the thing that surprised me most is that nobody on the call knows everything. Some folks know the law but not the tech, or the tech but not the law, or know both but don’t know this specific circumstance. Only by working together do we figure out the challenges.
As a woman in a male-dominated field, what perspective or strength has helped you navigate challenges and earn client trust?
Competence goes a long way, no matter who you are. In addition, clients are people. Listening to their priorities and being honest about options – and limitations of those options – is critical in building trust.
After years in this fast-moving industry, how has your leadership style evolved and how does that help your clients today?
Authenticity. I’ve worked with some great leaders over the years, and while they have been super different from each other, one thing they have had in common is that they bring their authentic self to their leadership style.
Can you share an example of a matter where your strategy made a measurable difference?
What was the challenge?
A legal team tried one of our AI tools (for the first time) on a matter with highly nuanced responsiveness criteria. Early results of the AI tool showed persistent ambiguity, raising concerns about whether the tool was up to the job they needed it to do.
What did you change?
Instead of forcing AI to fit the workflow, I helped reframe how it was used, focusing on understanding why the model struggled, setting realistic expectations, and positioning AI as an analytical support tool rather than a primary decision‑maker for this matter.
What was the outcome?
The team landed on a hybrid approach, which was perfect for them. It allowed the AI to find patterns and speed things up dramatically (and quickly identify the truly borderline cases), but then left the most nuanced judgment calls for the humans.
What do you wish you had known earlier in your career, and what advice would you give women entering legal tech today?
None of us, and none of our colleagues or clients or competitors, were born knowing this stuff. If you want to know something, you should feel empowered to learn it. If it feels like too much, break it down further. You’ve got this.
We hoped you enjoyed getting to know our Senior Consultant Michelle Broxman for our Women’s History Month series spotlighting our female tech experts. Stick around to meet more women driving real results at CDS.
