The Executive Team
Who's who at Gavel & Gown Software Inc.
Ron Collins, President & Founder
Ron Collins is a lawyer and the founder and CEO of Gavel & Gown Software Inc. As a partner at a large international law firm with a busy practice, Ron became frustrated with the “solutions” technology companies were pushing at lawyers. Ron decided to design how software should work if the lawyer’s needs were put first. The result was the first generation of Amicus Attorney and very soon afterwards, the founding of Gavel & Gown.
An internationally recognized expert on the subject of law and technology, Ron is a speaker and widely published author on the field. He is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management as well a member of the Advocates Society, the Canadian Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the International Computer Lawyers Association, and is a past Director of the Canadian Society for the Advancement of Legal Technology. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Ron has a strong academic background that includes a Fellowship as the top law student in Canada and a Masters in law from Oxford
Diana Piquette, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Diana Piquette is Gavel & Gown's Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Diana is a results-oriented professional with over 20 years experience driving high performing sales and marketing divisions. Prior to joining Gavel, Diana held a number of national roles with Microsoft. These included managing their Small to Mid Market Customer and Partner Channel Business Units as well as leading their Anti-Piracy initiatives. Prior to Microsoft Diana was the Western Director for Olivetti and Sales Manager for Pitney Bowes. Diana is known for her customer focus and her passion for excellence.
Scott Glover, Controller and Director of Operations
Scott Glover is Gavel & Gown’s Controller and Director of Operations. Scott has over 20 years of management experience with various firms, and has worked throughout most of the United States and Canada. He worked as Director of Operations for TLC Vision for six years, when the company raised over $200,000,000 in funding and grew to become the world’s largest laser vision provider. His past experience includes senior management positions with a number of startup firms and rapidly growing companies. Scott graduated with HBA and MBA degrees from the Richard Ivey School of Business, with a focus on finance and general management. He is responsible for overseeing Gavel & Gown’s Finance, Human Resources, Operations, and Customer Service departments.
Christopher Cardinal, Chief Technology Officer
Christopher Cardinal joined Gavel & Gown in 2003 and currently occupies the role of Chief Technology Officer. A software industry veteran, Christopher has led development teams from start-up to large multinational companies. As one of the initial employees at Fulcrum Technologies in Ottawa he rose to Vice-President, Development after its acquisition by PCDocs and Hummingbird. During this period, Christopher travelled widely in Europe and Asia, representing the company before major buyers and at conferences and seminars. Thereafter Procarta became his next passion, a startup business process management company, where he occupied the position of Chief Technology Officer. Christopher’s years of practical experience and technical acumen are brought to bear every day in better satisfying Gavel & Gown's customers and keeping the company at the forefront of innovation.
Steve Fenlon, Customer Service Manager
Steve is the Customer Service Manager for Gavel & Gown's customer service and technical support team. Steve has developed customer centric support programs from the ground up for companies both large and small - each time with stunning results. Believing that customer service is not just a department but rather an organizational mission, he has enabled his teams to deliver customer delight and have a great time doing it. Steve leads the Gavel & Gown team in seeking to wow our customers at every opportunity.
Ion Tranca, Development Manager
Ion Tranca has been Gavel & Gown’s Development Manager since 1999. After completing a M.Sc. in Computer Science, Ion joined the IT workforce as a hardware and software engineer, working in the field of industrial automation. He then completed a M.Sc. in Mathematics, concentrating on software development where he designed and implemented complex axis motion control algorithms. In the early 1990s Ion was a successful entrepreneur in Western Europe, and then moved to Canada where he joined Gavel & Gown in 1994 as a Software Developer. He has been actively involved in every product release ever since. He was responsible for overseeing the design and implementation of the network protocol for Amicus Attorney 1.5, one of the first multi-user legal applications, as well as architecting and designing a true client/server application, Amicus Attorney 3.0. As Development Manager Ion leads an enthusiastic development team and is responsible for the full cycle development process of Gavel & Gown’s flagship product. Ion ensures that Amicus Attorney stays the product of choice from usability and advanced technology perspectives.
Dale Wainwright, Product Director - Amicus Attorney
Dale is the Product Director for Gavel & Gown’s flagship product, Amicus Attorney. In the first half of her career, as a law clerk and document assembly expert, Dale coordinated the design, creation and implementation of the first automated system for processing condominium transactions in North America. Later as General Manager at ExperText Systems, a legal software company specializing in document assembly and automated practice systems, Dale was involved in all elements of product design, management, implementation, training and marketing. Her broad range of skills and experience as both a user and designer of optimal legal solutions continues to make Amicus Attorney the practice management application of choice by legal professionals.
Georges Alves, Product Manager - Amicus Accounting
Georges Alves is the Product Manager for Gavel & Gown’s time, billing and accounting product, Amicus Accounting. His career began at Alumni Computer Group where he first started working with PCLaw legal billing and accounting software. After five years as a Technical Support Team Leader, Georges managed and developed the dealer channel and helped increase their customer base by fifty percent as Marketing Manager and Channel Manager. When LexisNexis acquired Alumni Computer Group in 2005, Georges took on the role of Product Marketing Manager for the entire LexisNexis Practice Management Group, overseeing market strategies for PCLaw, HotDocs, Time Matters, Billing Matters and Practice Advantage. Georges’ extensive knowledge of the legal vertical and his understanding of accounting software make him a critical component to the Amicus team.
