Mirza Zia Baig, Chief Executive Officer

Mirza Baig is a seasoned executive and skilled operator with over 15 years of management experience. Prior to Legal Advantage, he was the Managing Director of Anwar Ibrahim & Associates, a boutique financial advisory firm focused on privatizations, large M&A cross-border transactions and complex project finance initiatives. Prior to that he was CFO and Executive Director of AOL’s e-commerce division, a $350 million revenue generating unit of AOL. At AOL, he closed over $450 million in investments and deals which earned over $300 million in profits for the company. He was formerly at Pleiades Group, a private equity group in New York. He has led $4 billion in deals in 25 transactions. Mirza started his entry into the legal industry as a research analyst and paralegal at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP.

Mirza received his BS from Cornell and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Akbar Sharfi, President

Akbar Sharfi is an experienced international management executive. Most recently he served as a Principal in Tipton Equity, leading deal sourcing and execution in globally in outsourcing, direct marketing, marketing services, and BPO/IT sectors. Prior to that he was a Principal at Harbinger Investments, a real estate fund. Akbar also served in the Business Affairs group at AOL, where he closed over $100 million in investments in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Akbar worked on large strategic projects at Bell South. He has also held the CPA designation while with Ernest & Young.

Akbar is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of North Carolina with a BS and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

M. Farrukh Baig, Vice President of Technology

Farrukh Baig is a technologist with deep understanding of delivery and the complexities of the legal Industry. Prior to Legal Advantage, Farrukh was the Branch Chief of Systems and Network at the White House. Farrukh also managed complex litigation projects for the White House and requests from the US Department of Justice. He is a three-time recipient of the annual Distinguished Service Award, the highest civil service award at the Office of the President. He has managed large projects in the last 15 years at Northrop Grumman, the IRS, and United Airlines.

Farrukh graduated with a BA from State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo and holds Master's from American University and University of Maryland at College Park.

David Hemperly, Vice President of Business Development

David Hemperly joined Legal Advantage in 2007 and leads the company's North American and Canadian business development for its intellectual property services. He also oversees the sales and account services teams. Previously, he oversaw Legal Advantage's sales for its Washington, DC regional office. David helped grow the Prior Art Search team and embedded himself in the USPTO's EAST public search facility interviewing potential clients and examiners to better understand what attorneys need in their patent search results. Under his leadership, Legal Advantage's patent search business grew tenfold in customer reach and revenue. Additionally, he assumed national responsibility for marketing and industry events in the IP space.

Prior to joining Legal Advantage, David held senior sales and marketing positions at a number of legal and marketing service companies, including Peer-Web, Inc., Active Interest Media, Neopost, Inc., and Yellow Book USA.


S. Rao Samavedam, Vice President of Operations

Rao Samavedam is a senior executive with over 15 years of strong, decisive leadership with well-known organizations in the operations and IT sectors. Prior to joining Legal Advantage, Rao was in charge of a 300 person business unit for Convertz where he drove operations delivery through devising and implementing viable strategies and policies; setting roadmaps; planning for business continuity and training cross-functional teams on committed delivery of streamlined solutions in industries including the legal industry. Over the years, Rao has delivered solutions that allowed firms to consistently attain over 50% productivity and/or cost enhancements.

Rao graduated with a BS from Nagarjuna University and MS from Andhra University.

Aqil Chishty, Sr. Director of Operations & Marketing

Aqil Chishty is a seasoned business professional with more than 10 years of experience in operations, technology and marketing with Fortune 100 companies. Prior to joining Legal Advantage, Mr. Chishty was a Sr. Manager with the Advertising Operations group at AOL (TimeWarner) focusing his efforts on upcoming technologies and the marketplace. Prior to AOL, Mr. Chishty was with the Technology group at UUNet (Verizon) focusing his efforts financial and billing practices within the company. Mr. Chishty began his career with Coca Cola in their Sales and Marketing division where he consistently beat sales targets by more than 50% year over year.

Aqil Chishty graduated from the Cullen School of Business at the University of Houston with a BBA. He furthered his education and earned an MBA from the R. H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland with a focus on Finance and Strategy.

Harold Pieroway, Director of Account Services

Hal Pieroway is a specialist with experience in the design and development of products across a wide range of disciplines. His practice as lead designer and as contract designer in several manufacturing companies gives him a strong grasp of the intricate and complex subject matter found in modern technology projects. He has worked on award-winning mechanical design projects for an ISO-certified company in the fiber-optic manufacturing field among other areas of the high-tech sector. As both product designer and project manager, he has acquired a solid familiarity with the whole gamut of manufacturing processes used in our rapidly evolving technological society.

Hal graduated from Carleton University with a degree in Industrial Design.

Livia Hashim, Director of Trial Graphics

Livia Hashim brings well over 10 years of experience in graphic design and courtroom presentations. Prior to joining Legal Advantage, she was a Design Director for several leading legal and graphic design firms that provide legal consultation for major legal trials including corporate, civil, and criminal cases. As Design Director, she was responsible for working directly with senior attorneys and clients to create graphic presentation in some of the biggest cases in the country including Abner et al v. Kansas City Southern Railway, Mid-Valley Bank vs. Perry-Smith, Alamad vs. American Airlines, Dorsa Carol vs. Aetna, Lois Petrova vs. UPS, Amado vs. HP, Stein v. PacBell, Garcia/Ferraro v. Bucknell University and dozens of other cases. The work included graphic consultation, conceptual development, graphic design, and final trial presentation for court cases at all levels. Livia also created graphic presentations for many large companies such as Bell Atlantic, Misonix, Guardian, Gyma Laboratories, Arbros, Silipos, Marquee Photography, KSW Financial, Eagle Electric, Conde Nast, and Vogue Magazine.